Chapter 10

David called me, his voice breaking with desperation. "Rose, I was wrong. Please, I beg you, forgive me just this once." Without a second thought, I hung up and blocked him again.

I threw myself into my work, alongside my senior colleague. Together, we pushed the brand to new heights. I was so absorbed in my career, in proving my own worth, that David became a distant memory. I never expected the next time I would see him to be at my celebration party, of all places. He made a dramatic entrance, his eyes red, and walked straight up to me.

"Rose..."

David lowered himself, pleading with me.

"Just five minutes. Please, just five minutes," he begged, desperation clear in his eyes. "And I'll sign it."

After a year of stalling, a year during which I was denied the divorce I had wanted so badly, now he was finally willing to sign, but only for five minutes?

Not wanting to make a scene, I agreed. I followed him to the back garden. There, he stood awkwardly, fidgeting, before he finally asked, "Are you doing okay?"

I looked at him. The man I had once known, calm and composed, was now a mess, his disarray clear in his every movement. I forced a smile. "Mr. Scott, you have four minutes left."

He gave a bitter, wry smile and pulled out his phone, showing me a video.

My stomach twisted as I watched. The footage was horrifying. Edith, bound and struggling, begged for mercy. But David, with a baseball bat in hand, hit her swollen belly with ruthless force. Edith screamed, cursing him, calling him less than human, her voice cracking as she swore he'd pay for what he'd done.

David's voice broke the silence. "I never wanted her to replace you. I just needed a child."

His words shattered whatever was left of my belief in love. His indifference to Edith's pain, his willingness to use her for his own selfish desires, it made me feel sick.

I finished watching the video, turned to him, and said, as calmly as I could, "Time's up, Mr. Scott."

David's smile never faltered, though it was full of bitterness.

"I'll sign, but I can still pursue you again."

With visible difficulty, he signed the papers and handed them to me. That was the moment I truly felt free.

I didn't respond to him. I realized there was nothing left between us. I had thought maybe David would care about the child, that he would have some semblance of affection for his own flesh and blood. But seeing how ruthless he was even toward his own child, I was finally relieved to have left him behind.

As I turned to walk away, a figure suddenly rushed out from the shadows. A silver blade flashed under the moonlight, sharp and blinding.

"Rose, I'm going to take your life!" Edith's twisted face screamed as she lunged at me with the knife.

Before I could react, I was shoved out of the way. My sister-in-law, who had arrived just in time, caught me. And then, I froze in horror as the blade sank into David's abdomen.

David, still holding onto Edith, shouted, "Call the police!"

Edith laughed maniacally. "At this point, you still want to protect her?"

With wild abandon, she yanked the knife out and stabbed him again and again. Blood splattered onto the ground as David's strength faded. By the time the police arrived, David had collapsed, weak and lifeless, his body like a falling maple leaf in winter, drifting gently to the ground.

I remembered the young man from that snowy night, the one who, before his body went rigid, managed to force out a dry smile and said, "Rose, I did it! I'll love you until the day I die."

That night, it snowed heavily, covering the blood that stained the ground. And David lay there, lost to me forever.

Later, I heard that Edith was arrested for murder and sentenced to life in prison. She would live out her days behind bars, consumed by regret.

The coldest winter was finally coming to an end. The tender shoots of spring were beginning to sprout, and I was turning a new page in my life. It was a fresh start, a new beginning.

(The End)