Chapter 73 Regret

Coins

He had never imagined hurting his own brother, and it had never urred to him that a day woulde when he would hear of his death, much less know that he had been the one to send him there.

The truth felt impossible to ept. Part of him wanted to walk up to Tracy and demand the whole story but another was terrified of hearing the answer.

During his recovery, Chris spent his days trapped in a haze of doubt, hardly aware of what anyone visiting had said.

“Hey, I’m talking to you. What’s with the nk stare?” Winona’s tone was sharp and impatient.

Chris blinked himself back to the present and met her eyes with a detached expression. “If you want to sabotage Tracy, you can do it yourself. Stop trying to drag me into it.”

Winona stared at him like she could not believe what she had just heard.

“Did that heart attack rattle your brain? You were the one who swore you’d put her in her ce, and you insisted on handling it yourself. I didn’t drag you into anything”

Chris’s voice hardened, and his patience ran thin. “Fine, I’m walking away, then. bIf /byou want to give her a lesson, go ahead. I’m not interested in ying any more of your stupid gamesb.” /b

The Woodwards and the Millers held equal standing in Cloudville, so Chris felt no need to choose his words carefully.

Winona stood frozen for a moment.

In all the time she had known him, he had been kind, easygoing, and patient. She had never once seen him this short–tempered.

She watched him for a long moment before asking with suspicion, “Don’t tell me you’ve actually started to fall for that fake?”

Chris’s brows knitted together. “My feelings for her have nothing to do with you. I need rest. Get out.”

“You-”

She never finished the sentence. Chris pulled the nket over his head, pressed the call button, and had the nursee in to remove her.

In the hallway, Winona’s heel struck the floor hard in frustration.

iSomething /iihad /igotten iinto /iithis /iiman/i.

He had been the one to push for a spectacle in front of Erin. He had been the one who vowed he would humiliate Tracy so badly that she would never be able to show her face again.

Now, at the most important moment, he had thrown it all aside and left her in the middle of the mess. She had made her promise to iof /iMr. Norris and Erin, and she had no intention of going back on it.

Chapter 73 Regret

Her re burned into the closed hospital door before she finally turned and walked away with sharp woeps

bAs /bsoon as she left, Feliciastepped out of the elevator and entered the room alone.

After restless days of recovery, Chris sought out Tracy.

He did not go to the Jackman Vi but instead walked into the small shop where she worked.

He ordered a meal and sat in a shadowed corner, his mind weighed down enough that the shop’s owner grew uneasyb, /bthinking he might be there to cause trouble.

Tracy already suspected why he hadeb, /bso when her shift ended, she went straight to his car and climbed in.

The car stayed still by the curb, and they remained quiet for a long time.

Atst, Chris spoke. “Is it true? That six months ago, he … “His voice trailed off.

He knew the question was pointless, but some fragile hope kept him from letting bit /bgo.

Tracy turned to look at him. “It was a lie. Nothing is true. That’s the truth. Does that sound believable to you?b” /b

Chris stayed silent.

After a long pause, he asked in a rough voice, “Where is he now? I mean… his body. What did they do with it?b” /b

His eyes filled with tears. In that moment, the wall he had held up broke, and his vulnerability was bare.

He looked small and lost, but Tracy felt no sympathy. “I don’t know.”

He could not ept that.

She told him that he died in front of her, biso /i/bhow could she not know?

Tracy’s gaze did not wayer. “I’m not lying. Anyone who dies at the Angelic Etiquette Academy ends up on an operating table. Their organs are sent to whoever needs them. The rest, what they call waste, is either dumped in the river to feed the fish or carried into the mountains to feed the wild animals.”

She knew part of her said it to hurt him, but more of it came from helplessness and a quiet, deep sorrow.

It bwas /bthe truth.

And it bwas /bstill not the worst thing about the Academy.

The color drained from Chris’s face, and pain gripped his chest.

He reached for his medicine and swallowed a pill.

“I didn’t knowb… /bI bswear /bI didn’t know… God…”

09:17 bFri/bb, /b5 Sept ti

Chapter 73 Regret

Watching him cry, his features twisted in regret, Tracy finally asked the question that bhad /bbeen bin /bDerek’s mind at the very end. “So, do you regret it?”

She felt the question meant little.

Derek was clever enough to know that if the Academy had been anything short of hell, if he had lived but lost his freedom, Chris would not have regretted his actions at all.

But because it had been Derek’sst wish to hear that his brother regretted his actions, Tracy would see to it that it was carried out.

Chris answered without pause. “I regret it. I really do. I regret it with everything.”

“I failed him. I failed my brother… God … I… ‘

He cried like a child who had lost the thing he treasured most, stripped of every defense.

Tracy’s eyes, however, remained calm and empty, like still water with no life beneath.

Chapter 74 No Mercy

Chapter 74 No Mercy