CHAPTER 669: CHAPTER 369: HE NEVER MANAGED TO SAY THIS APOLOGY UNTIL THE END

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Grayson Forrest was speechless: "Don’t you think this kind of marriage is too casual?"

"The elders’ thoughts are a bit traditional, but you can change them."

"Originally, I felt unhappy about being forced into an arranged marriage.

But after meeting you today, I suddenly think it’s not such a big problem."

Grayson Forrest rubbed his brows: "I already have someone I like."

"I know. Uncle said you’ve taken a fancy to some village girl.

That girl is studying at a university far away."

Grayson Forrest was shocked. How did Dad know about this? Could it be that he’s keeping tabs on me?

"You can’t be with her. Even if it weren’t for me, Uncle wouldn’t allow you to marry her."

Grayson Forrest frowned: "What exactly do you know?"

"Uncle often keeps in touch via letters with the team leader who oversaw your time in Little Bull Village.

So, whatever happened while you were there, he knows.

There are some things Uncle shared with Auntie, and I overheard some of them.

I know the girl is quite pretty, but she was defiled.

I also know you got involved with her."

Grayson Forrest stood up: "Regardless of whatever, I will only tell you two things, listen well. First, I already have someone I like and will not marry you.

Second, regardless of whatever agreement you and your grandfather might have, I hope you respect yourself and leave my house. I don’t want to ruin your reputation."

After saying this, he departed. He returned home, flipped over the table, and argued with his parents.

His father, trembling with rage, pointed at him: "Look at yourself, infatuated with that little demon girl!

You treat worn-out shoes as treasures. I tell you, Grayson Forrest, if you want to marry that woman, there’s only one way—wait until I’m dead."

Grayson Forrest sneered and turned to enter his room. His heart was heavy, suffocated by the realization that his own father was watching his every move.

Though he was deeply upset, he never put aside his dreams.

He studied tirelessly every day, determined to get into the university he longed for.

In the days after his return, he often wrote letters to Matilda.

But letter after letter, they all sank like stones into a vast ocean.

He felt confused and couldn’t understand why Matilda never replied to his letters.

When they were in Little Bull Village, she used to send letters home and would always include one for him.

His worry became unbearable. Three months after returning to the city, he finally boarded a train to Zorchester City.

Yet, upon arriving at Zorchester Traditional Medicine University, he discovered that Matilda had already gone to a university in Beijing for an exchange program a month earlier.

He asked the staff at the school where Matilda had gone, but no one would tell him.

Thus, he left disappointed.

For an entire year, he had no contact with Matilda.

Until a year later, when he too entered university and began living his long-dreamed college life.

Time passed swiftly. During the summer break of his sophomore year, he returned to Little Bull Village.

But upon seeing him, the Sullivan family greeted him with expressions of contempt. At first, he was puzzled.

It wasn’t until later, when he met Mr. Sullivan, that he learned from him what had happened.

In the second month after he had left that year,

a woman went to Matilda’s school to see her, claiming to be his fiancée.

She asked Matilda to stop seducing her fiancé.

She even said she was pregnant and the child needed to be born.

Enraged, Matilda left Zorchester City for Beijing.

Back then, he explained to Mr. Sullivan that it was all a misunderstanding.

But Mr. Sullivan had no choice, as Matilda had already married.

Matilda had already enrolled in university a year later than most, and while in school, an older student who treated her well had been pursuing her.

She told the senior student about her experiences, and the senior, unperturbed, accepted her. So, the two got married.

At that moment, Grayson Forrest felt his heart ache deeply. He could never have anticipated that this would be his and Matilda’s ending.

The woman he loved so much, the woman he had waited so long for, unexpectedly, didn’t trust him at all...

Enraged, he left Little Bull Village and never returned.

Back in Anchester, he had a huge argument with his family.

His dad said: "Even if this was something your mother and I arranged, so what?

Do you think you’re in the right?

You don’t even listen to your parents anymore. Do you have any sense of humanity left?

As for that Sullivan woman, don’t even think about it.

I’m telling you, either marry Hailey Snow or... sever ties with me as my son."

"So you’re that desperate for me to marry Hailey Snow, huh? Fine, I’ll marry her, but don’t regret it."

And so, he married Hailey Snow, with a wedding ceremony kept as simple as possible.

Later, after graduating from university, he began his own business, almost completely neglecting Hailey Snow.

During the eight years of their marriage, Hailey Snow never became pregnant.

This disappointed Grayson Forrest’s parents immensely.

His mother often took Hailey Snow to the doctor, but no hospital ever said she had a health issue.

At the time, Hailey Snow was fiercely proud and never disclosed the truth—that in all those years Grayson Forrest had never touched her.

And so, many years passed. Until one day, Grayson Forrest drank too much.

Hailey Snow took care of him without complaint. Seeing her placid demeanor, he became furious and insulted her.

But instead of crying, she smiled and said: "After so many years, it seems like you’ve finally found a new way to vent your frustrations."

Overwhelmed by his anger, he retorted: "You think I only have this way to express myself? I can be even harsher."

That night, for the first time after their marriage, he took her.

She said to him: "I thought that, after so many years, even if we didn’t have love, it would eventually transform into familial affection. But today I realize—I will always be your enemy.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter. Grayson Forrest, hear me, since I married you, I will stay by your side until death."

That day, he regretted deeply. Yet what use is regret?

A month later, Hailey Snow found out she was pregnant. She was overjoyed beyond words.

But from that day onward, Grayson Forrest stopped coming home.

Hailey Snow didn’t get angry. She endured it silently, even through her pregnancy and delivery, never calling him once.

Grayson Forrest only learned that he had become a father three days after the birth.

Guilt drove him to return home. Seeing the baby in swaddling clothes, he felt for a moment that he truly was a bastard.

He could dedicate himself wholeheartedly for many years to a woman who didn’t trust him,

but had failed the woman who had silently stood by his side all along.

From that day onwards, he began to return home.

Yet, even after returning, the lack of deep-rooted affection between him and Hailey Snow caused his attitude towards her to remain indifferent.

But Hailey Snow was easily satisfied.

Later, as his business grew larger, his time at home became less frequent.

When Kay Forrest turned six, Grayson Forrest had to travel to Beijing for business. Feeling unwell in his stomach, he decided to visit a hospital.

On that day, he encountered Matilda Sullivan, now a deputy chief physician in Traditional Medicine.

After sixteen years, their paths crossed once again. Remarkably, they recognized each other instantly.

Grayson Forrest, still holding resentment, stood up to leave upon seeing her.

Matilda remained seated, unmoving, and as he opened the door, she spoke: "I went to look for you later."

Grayson Forrest turned back to look at her.

Matilda clasped her hands together. Though she was nearly forty years old, her face still bore the youthful glow of a young girl.

"My dad told me about your situation. I realized I had wronged you, and I regret it deeply.

I did go to look for you, but by then you were already married."

Grayson Forrest sneered: "Am I supposed to just wait forever for a woman who doesn’t trust me?"

"It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you—it was that I lacked confidence.

You knew what happened to me back then.

Facing you, I always felt scared. I kept thinking: you’re so outstanding; what if you ended up with someone else?

And the more I thought about it, that ’someone else’ truly appeared.

But... I hadn’t expected that, in the end, you wouldn’t stay with that woman either."

Grayson Forrest frowned: "What do you mean by that? Are you saying the woman who approached you claiming to be my fiancée wasn’t the same as my current wife?"

Matilda nodded: "That’s right, not the same. Your current wife is even more beautiful."

At that moment, Grayson Forrest’s heart felt a tidal wave of pain. He had misunderstood Hailey Snow for so many years.

The person who had pretended to be pregnant and sought out Matilda wasn’t Hailey Snow—it had never been her...

He opened the door and left without looking back. That day, he skipped an important conference and immediately booked a flight back to Anchester.

He knew that when he left for Beijing, Hailey Snow had been bedridden with a critical illness.

He wanted to return and tell her he was sorry.

With full anticipation in his heart, he envisioned Hailey Snow forgiving him so that their family of three could finally live happily ever after.

But reality defied his hopes. When he arrived, Hailey Snow had already passed away due to late-stage lung cancer.

She had died harboring resentment only an hour before he entered her hospital room.

That apology he wanted to give—he never got the chance to say it.

And from that point onwards, Kay Forrest would resent him to his very core.

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