My Sacrifice Became His Betrayal Chapter 08
He stared at me in disbelief, his lips trembling with raw pain. “Who … who is he?”
I stepped forward, walked past Howard, and slipped my arm affectionately through my lab mate Stephen Roberts’s. I introduced him plainly and firmly, “Stephen Roberts, my fiancé.”
Howard scrambled abruptly to his feet, closing the distance between us with a dangerous aura rolling off him. “What fiancé? Adrianna, we’ve only been apart for five years. How could you already have a fiancé?”
Howard scrambled abruptly to his feet, closing the distance between us with a dangerous aura rolling off him. “What fiancé? Adrianna, we’ve only been apart for five years. How could you already have a fiancé?”
Stephen stepped in front of me protectively, meeting Howard’s gaze straight on with a faint sneer. “That’s right. Just five short years. It’ll be long enough for Adri to fall for me and forget about you completely.”
Stephen’s words struck Howard like a blow. He stumbled backward again and again, and silent tears streamed down his cheeks.
Before I could linger in a daze, I followed Stephen back to the house.
Sitting on the sofa, I looked at him awkwardly and apologized softly, “Steve, I’m so sorry. I only did that to make Howard leave sooner.”
Stephen took my hand gently, his tone earnest and sincere. “Adri, when the lab exploded, I rushed in to save you, not just out of professional camaraderie.
“I ran in because I was worried about you. The truth is… I’ve fallen for you.”
His sudden confession left me flustered, at a loss for how to reply.
Sensing my hesitation, Stephen spoke openly. “Adri, I don’t care about your physical condition. I love you for who you are, not just your body.
Sensing my hesitation, Stephen spoke openly. “Adri, I don’t care about your physical condition. I love you for who you are, not just your body.
“Take all the time you need to think. I’ll wait for you, no matter how long it takes.”
I looked at Stephen steadily, my tone calm and resolute. “Steve, I have no intention of ever marrying again for the rest of my life.
“There are far more things worth a woman’s lifelong devotion than marriage. I don’t want to be confined to the bounds of wedlock. I want to dedicate myself to my country, hoping it will thrive and grow stronger with each passing day.”
Stephen nodded, his eyes glistening with emotion. “Then I’ll stay by your side, walking this path with you.”
From that day on, Howard never set foot on Jarvis Island again.
In my leisure time, I revisited that short-video blogger’s homepage, only to find his username had been changed to “TheAtoner.”
None of the old videos were deleted. The series simply ended forever at the sixtieth installment.
Just as netizens were speculating whether Howard had finally found me, a stunning trending topic swept across Twitter, taking everyone by surprise.
Howard was dead.
Howard was dead.
He passed away in the early morning of the third day after returning from Jarvis Island.
When his body was found, the bathtub was soaked in blood, and a paternity test report lay beside him.
It turned out Madalyn’s son was never his biological child at all. Madalyn got pregnant with a stranger after a drunken night out at a bar.
Word got out that Madalyn had actually died years ago. On the very day I left him, Howard had shoved her violently, triggering a fatal postpartum hemorrhage.
He’d only ever used his power and connections to cover up the truth and shield himself from punishment.
Howard’s sudden death, along with evidence implicating him in Madalyn’s murder, instantly dominated all trending topics.
The entire Atkinson family came under investigation by a special task force set up by the authorities.
I received the news while I was logging the final set of experimental data on my computer.
Stephen handed me a cup of warm water. “You’re on your period. You’d better avoid coffee today.”
I took the cup and took a slow sip, offering him a soft smile. “Thank you, Steve.”
Howard’s sudden death, along with evidence implicating him in Madalyn’s murder, instantly dominated all trending topics.
The entire Atkinson family came under investigation by a special task force set up by the authorities.
I received the news while I was logging the final set of experimental data on my computer.
Stephen handed me a cup of warm water. “You’re on your period. You’d better avoid coffee today.”
I took the cup and took a slow sip, offering him a soft smile. “Thank you, Steve.”
“Are you alright, Adri?” A flicker of heartache crossed Stephen’s eyes. “Let me take over your work tonight. You head back and rest early.”
I set the cup down on the table and shook my head gently. “You know me. I’m tougher than I look.”
Outside the window, the sea glowed, bathed in the glow of the sunset. I suddenly jumped up from my workstation, brimming with excitement. “Steve, look! The experiment succeeded! We’ve finally found a way to bring sunlight all the way down to the seabed!”