Filed To Story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“What you said made a lot of sense,” Christopher smiled, “but I’ve had enough of being a good son in the eyes of my parents, a good friend in the eyes of my friends, and a good boyfriend in the eyes of my lover. I’ve had enough of following all the rules I’m expected to follow. Please understand me, and please understand Cecy too. I truly believe… that this is what she wants as well.”
Christopher paused for a while, then added, “You know that Halston is now single again, and so is Cecy. Nothing would be in their way if they wanted to rekindle their relationship. If that happens one day, then I’ll be the happiest person for them!”
“So you really are jealous!” said Cecilia’s mother. “You must really believe that she still has feelings for Halston, but that’s really not true! Cecy is just…”
Cecilia’s mother desperately tried to explain everything, but the door behind her suddenly opened.
Cecilia stood there with a face as pale as a sheet.
“Mom!!!” she yelled. “Stop it! I respect his decision, and I wish him nothing but happiness. Please just let him go and stop embarrassing me and making things awkward for him, okay?”
The truth was that she had long sensed that Christopher no longer loved her. She knew that this day would come sooner or later, though she wished it had happened before her wedding so at least she would not have to bear the label of a divorcee.
She chose to jump off the cliff partly because of the pain Halston inflicted on her, but perhaps, more significantly, Christopher’s cold difference.
These men no longer loved her, and the realization came as a huge blow. She felt like a failure. She felt hopeless. That was why she momentarily lost her mind and did such a stupid thing.
Christopher looked at Cecily apologetically and told her, “I know you still love Halston. To be precise, you’ve never stopped loving him. He’s free now, so pluck up your courage and fight for him!”
It was then that Halston stepped out of the elevator
His arrival left everybody stunned.
Cecilia’s mother was the first to react. Seeing that her son-in-law Christopher really was going to slip through their fingers, she quickly latched onto Halston instead.
“So you’ve come, Halston! Cecy here has been talking about you just now. There’s been a misunderstanding between you two. I think it’s high time you clear it all up!”
“The truth is,” she continued, “Cecy was inexperienced and very naive emotionally through those years. That’s why she…”
“Mom!” Cecilia interrupted her, feeling humiliated. “Didn’t I tell you to stop talking about that?”
Both of these men once loved her deeply, but right now, neither of them wanted her. This came as, without a doubt, a huge blow to a woman like her. If her mother kept on fawning over these men, trying to please them so they’d take her back, she would soon be left without a shred of dignity!
Christopher, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed. He even casually patted Halston’s shoulder and half-joked, “I’ll leave everything here to you now. I trust that you’ll handle everything well.”
His calm and nonchalant attitude made Halston seem like the groom who had wrongfully left his bride at the altar, not him.
Halston wasted no time and asked Cecilia, “Would it be convenient for you if we spoke in private?”
Cecilia bit her lips and nodded almost flirtily. “How could it be inconvenient when it comes to you?”
Halston then followed Cecilia into the private ward. Once they were both inside, Halston closed the door.
They were initially standing very close to each other, but when Halston noticed that Cecilia was trying to get nearer to him, he took a huge step back away from her.
“You fell into the sea and almost drowned,” he said. “I think you’d better lie down and rest.”
This made it awkward for Cecilia, but she then quietly stepped away from him and returned to her bed. Yet when she looked into Halston’s eyes, she saw that they were gentle and filled with affection.
“So you’re not as cold and heartless as you look!” she observed. “I still mean something to you, and you still care about me, right?”
“Of course I do,” Halston replied honestly, not trying to deny anything.’ You’re still the woman I used to love very much, and you’re one of my few confidantes. I’m not a robot made of steel and iron, so of course, you mean a lot to me, and I definitely do care about you.”
“Used to?” Cecilia smiled bitterly. There was such a painful expression on her face that it was obvious how heartbroken she was. “I’d rather you never loved me at all. That way, I’d never have to endure this agonizing pain of losing you.”
That feeling of being loved was so blissful and perfect that it made it that much more excruciating when she realized that she had lost the love he used to feel for her!
‘Not this again!’ Halston thought, helplessly massaging his temples.
He had no idea when the Cecilia Smith he knew, who used to be so level headed, independent, and optimistic, would become so difficult, a person whose mind was filled with nothing but love and romance!
“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” he replied coldly. “Let’s just let go of the past and move on. The more you bring it up, the more you’ll make it awkward between us. We might end up not even able to be friends with each other.”
“So you’re saying there really is no chance for us?” Cecilia asked, unable to take it anymore. With tears in her eyes and having lost most of her self control, she began to raise her voice. “Even if both you and I are not married, even if we’re both single right now, there’s no chance we’d be together again?’
“That’s right!” Halston answered without any hesitation. Looking straight into Cecilia’s eyes, he attested, “There’s no chance we’d get back together. I don’t love you anymore, and it doesn’t matter if you’ll marry Christoper. Do you understand?”
Cecilia felt as if her heart was slashed into a thousand pieces. Because of the extreme agony she felt, her face was drained of all color, and she looked frail and weak.
But this time, she no longer had any stupid notion of ending her life.
‘Men are just dumb pigs!’ she thought. ‘They’re just not worth it!’
Cecilia took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. Then, with a stony face, she asked, “Since you have no feelings left for me, why pretend you cared and took the trouble to come all the way here?”
“There’s only you and me here now,’ said Halston, getting straight to the point. “Can you tell me if Flossie actually pushed you into the sea?’
“Hahahaha!”
Cecilia, who had been weeping bitterly just moments ago, suddenly burst into laughter as if she had just heard a hilarious joke. In fact, she kept laughing uncontrollably for a while.
Halston frowned, visibly displeased. He asked her, “What so bloody funny?
“Hahahaha!”
Cecilia continued to laugh. She had to take a long time to catch her breath again, before she finally told Halston in a mocking tone, “It’s you, Halston! I think you’re really funny!”
“I had assumed,” she added, “that the love between you and Flossie Ellsworth was as strong and unbendable as steel! But surprisingly, you couldn’t even stand this minor test! Compared to your feelings for me back then, your feelings for her are simply different… Are you sure that you love her more than you love me?”
Halston’s cold and chiseled face displayed even more displeasure.
“I never said I loved her,” he denied.
“I see!” Cecilia raised her brows and chirped, suddenly feeling a lot better. With a faint smile, she continued, “If you really did love her, you’d never even think about asking this question. But since you did ask, it proves that you don’t really love her that much at all, or perhaps… you just don’t understand her yet.”
“The truth is,” she added, “it doesn’t matter whether she pushed me or not. What’s important is whether you believe she would do such a thing.”
■ II
Halston fell silent. Cecilia’s words made him think and reflect on himself. He was so lost in his thoughts that he unconsciously clenched his long fingers.
“I thought I’d really lost,” said Cecilia meaningfully, “but it seems that I still have a chance of turning the tide in my favor.”
After making such a suggestive statement, she quickly lay down in her bed and closed her eyes.
“I’m exhausted now. I need some rest. I won’t give you the answer that you want. You’ll have to figure that out yourself.”
Seeing Cecilia’s resolution and determination, Halston said nothing more and left the room. He did not get the answer that he had come to seek, though Cecilia had managed to bring some clarity into his mind.
Perhaps he did not really love Flossie after all. Perhaps this feeling was just a momentary possessiveness.
If it was true love, then he would trust her unconditionally, right? How could he even doubt her?
‘Halston Guajardo,’ he thought to himself, ‘you really need to sort yourself out and control your emotions!’
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.