CHAPTER 148: LIFE HAD NOT BEEN KIND TO THEM

"I don’t care whether you are with someone else or not. Now I realize I want my family back, and you are not part of it."

Amelia’s expression twisted with rage and despair. "No! You cannot do that to me! How could you do that to me? Carl is our son. We are supposed to be a family! You said that yourself!"

"That was my mistake," James replied, his voice filled with regret. "I didn’t mean to give you any hope. I thought you were the one that I wanted, but now I know that it’s Laurel. It has always been her."

The finality in his words enraged Amelia, and she struggled to maintain her composure. "So, that’s it? You have made your choice? Just like that?"

In that moment, everything shifted. The weight of their broken relationship hung heavily in the air, obscured by unresolved feelings and anger.

Amelia was deeply wounded by James’s words, especially as she saw the finality on his face. She knew him too well; he meant every word he said.

This realization fueled the anger within her. "You can’t do this to me! You can’t do this to me!" She cried, her voice a mix of anguish and fury.

In her anger, she stood and struck James’s chest repeatedly, trying to inflict pain as a release for her own. She wanted to vent her frustration. To let him feel her pain.

To his credit, James allowed her to lash out, recognizing that it was his fault and feeling the weight of regret for everything that had transpired.

As he endured her blows, deep reflection dawned upon him. He realized he had created this entire mess on his own; he had betrayed Laurel’s trust, and now she was determined to leave him.

All of that for what? For someone like Amelia, who had been unfaithful.

He couldn’t digest the fact that Laurel, who used to love Carl to the bone, now ignored him completely, as if he meant nothing.

Carl’s drastic change left James with a big question. Something had triggered that change. It was most likely that what Carl said was true.

He had destroyed his own family. His life had been unraveled by Amelia, and that was a truth he struggled to bear.

"You lied to me. You are a liar. You played with my feelings!" She howled in pain.

Meanwhile, James was facing her rage without any further response.

The minutes stretched on until Amelia all of a sudden became eerily calm. She stepped away from him, wiped her tears, and, with a chilling composure, looked him directly in the eyes.

"Yes, I have someone else," she confessed, her voice steady. "I have been cheating on you since the beginning."

The confession struck James like a physical blow, but Amelia continued with an icy disdain.

"Do you really think I want to be with you? You are not good enough for me, James. You were a piece of trash sixteen years ago. Even now, you still are a piece of trash."

Her words cut deep.

"You don’t deserve me or Laurel."

James was torn between the pain of her betrayal and the rage. Amelia just admitted her affair.

His life had spiraled into this chaos, and all of this happened because of his wrongdoings. The reality felt like a knife digging deeper.

"Laurel deserved someone else better." Amelia lifted her chin, and she wiped her tears again, but now there was a disdainful smile on the corner of her lips. "Don’t blame me for this; you once wanted me too."

***

Laurel arrived around an hour later, still dressed in her nightgown beneath the jacket that she was wearing. The strong scent of alcohol lingered around her, despite her efforts to conceal it with perfume.

"How did you come here?" Ranon asked, his brow furrowed.

Laurel shifted uncomfortably, fully aware of the implication behind his question. "I am with a driver," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Ranon clearly didn’t want to hear that she had been driving under the influence, especially with Carl involved if she intended to take him with her.

Currently, Carl was still unconscious, sleeping in the bedroom; a doctor had checked on him. He reassured them that Carl was fine but needed time to recuperate, and he left after writing a prescription.

"Are you going to take him with you?" Hazel asked, her eyes shifting towards Carl.

The sight of him would draw your empathy. He was delirious, calling for Laurel in his sleep, and Laurel felt like her heart was being gutted.

Despite everything, Carl was still her stepson. For years, she took care of him like her own, and she was the mother figure in his life.

The memories of good times flooded back, leaving her feeling torn between her pain and the longing to care for him.

"What are you going to do?" Hazel inquired again, staying in the room while Ranon had already stepped out, expressing his indifference towards Laurel’s decisions.

He had made it clear that if Laurel planned to leave Carl behind, Ranon would call James to come and retrieve him, a situation Laurel was aware of.

"I will take him with me," Laurel finally spoke; she couldn’t bring herself to ignore Carl at this moment.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Carl’s face, her heart heavy with both betrayal and sadness. It pained her to witness such a bright young man grappling with darkness, a stark contrast to the Carl she once cherished.

"Okay, I will leave you with him," Hazel said softly, offering comfort by patting her shoulder before she walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Laurel let out a shaky breath.

Now that she was alone, she grabbed his hands and rested her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. She cried silently.

Life had not been kind to them, and Laurel wanted to love her son the way she used to, but she couldn’t... the wound was too deep.