After Eight Years, He Walked Away Like I Was Nothing - Chapter 40: Chapter 40
You are reading After Eight Years, He Walked Away Like I Was Nothing, Chapter 40: Chapter 40. Read more chapters of After Eight Years, He Walked Away Like I Was Nothing.
Chantelle’s POV
Lachlan just stood there—frozen, completely out of it—as I kept going, my voice cold and steady.
“You remember the day you took Kirsten and the twins to Disneyland?” I said, staring him down. “That same day, I got into a car accident.”
He flinched, but I didn’t slow down.
“I called you. Over and over. You didn’t pick up once. Not a single time. Later, I found the Disneyland receipt in your pocket.”
I let that sink in, then went on. “After that, Kirsten wouldn’t stop texting me. Every time you saw her, every dirty little secret between you two—I knew all of it.”
His face turned pale, but I didn’t care.
“While you were off playing happy family with her, I was dealing with the pain of losing our child.”
My voice cracked just a little, but I kept pushing through.
“And when I finally started to pull myself together… you let her kill my mom.”
I took a step closer, my voice now razor-sharp. “Two lives, Lachlan. There are two lives between us. How the hell do you expect me to ever forgive you?”
My eyes locked onto his like blades, full of disgust I didn’t bother hiding.
He stumbled back like my words had hit him physically—then, out of nowhere, he doubled over and vomited blood.
“C-Chantelle… I… I didn’t know,” he stammered, his whole body shaking. “I swear I didn’t know about the baby…”
He kept repeating it like a broken record, tears streaming down his face. But those tears? They didn’t move me. Not one bit. If anything, they made me hate him more.
Because the truth was painfully clear—whenever I needed him, he was never there.
Worse than that… he was the reason I suffered.
I chose the wrong man. And because of that, my baby and my mom… they both died.
The weight of that thought hit me all over again, and I couldn’t hide the flicker of pain on my face.
Cliff noticed right away. He stepped up beside me, steady and warm, gently placing his hand on my back.
“You okay?” he asked quietly. “Say the word and I’ll have him thrown out.”
I didn’t answer at first. I just tightened my grip on his hand.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Let’s go. There’s no point trying to talk to someone like him.”
Maybe it was because the pain had been dragged up all over again, but I found myself leaning into Cliff more than usual.
Lachlan saw it—and it was like something inside him snapped.
All of a sudden, he dropped to his knees, completely unhinged.
“Chantelle, please!” he begged, eyes wild. “I know I messed up, I’ll never waver again—I swear! I just want you. Just you… and the child you gave me. Please don’t leave me. I’ll die without you!”
He clung to my leg like a man drowning, completely losing any trace of dignity.
But I didn’t hesitate—I kicked him off me without a shred of mercy.
“I will never forgive you,” I spat. “I don’t want anything to do with you ever again, Lachlan. If you really feel guilty… then prove it.”
My voice dropped, laced with venom.
“Die with your sins.”
The look in my eyes made it clear—I wasn’t being dramatic. I meant every word. I wanted him to pay, to suffer, the way I had.
For a second, he just stared at me like he finally got it.
There was nothing left between us. Not love. Not even pity.
Only hatred.
His body started to shake as he reached out toward me, desperate.
But Cliff stepped in and blocked him without a word.
I didn’t say anything else. Just gave Lachlan one final, cold look—then turned and walked away.
Behind me, he tried to come after me again, but Cliff’s bodyguards stopped him before he could even take a step.
Lachlan’s POV
As I watched Chantelle walk further and further away, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground in total despair.
All this time, I thought the years we spent together would’ve been enough. I figured that as long as I was willing to apologize, there’d still be a chance for us.
But what I didn’t see coming… was the truth about her mother—that she could’ve been saved.
Or that we’d even had a child.
And all of it had slipped through my fingers without me ever knowing.
Just like the future I once pictured with Chantelle—it vanished right in front of my eyes.
For a long moment, I just sat there, numb. Silent. I didn’t try to chase after her. Didn’t try to find out where she went like I used to.
Instead, I dragged myself back to the manor, moving like a ghost—wooden and lifeless.
It wasn’t until I bumped into the butler that something inside me finally snapped back into place.
“Bring Kirsten here,” I said, my voice flat and cold. “I’m going to make her face Hanshou and atone for everything.”
Only then did I remember why I’d even kept Kirsten alive in the first place.
My heart sank. The weight of guilt nearly crushed me.
If Chantelle could never forgive me, then once I made Kirsten pay for what she did… I’d settle the rest with my own life.
At the thought, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter, hollow laugh.
Soon after, Kirsten—shattered from everything I’d put her through—was dragged in front of me. She looked wrecked.
I’d meant to question her. To scream. To unleash all the rage that had been eating away at me.
But the second I saw those empty, soulless eyes of hers… I just went quiet.
Even if I yelled now, I knew it wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t even flinch.
And honestly? I didn’t feel a shred of pity for her.
This woman had killed my child. Let Chantelle’s mother die. And on top of all that, she’d tried to pin someone else’s kids on me.
Because of her lies, I ended up hurting the one person I loved more than anything.
My throat tightened from the pain. I doubled over and spat out another mouthful of blood.
What I didn’t notice… was the faint flicker of satisfaction that passed across Kirsten’s lifeless face as she watched me suffer.
The next day, I took my time getting ready.
I shaved. Fixed my hair. Even chose my suit carefully.
It was only after seeing Cliff at the party last night that I realized how rough I’d started to look over the past month.
And even if Chantelle would never forgive me, I still wanted to leave her with at least one final, decent impression.
But just thinking about it made my chest ache all over again.
A little while later, I brought Kirsten with me and headed for Chantelle’s apartment.
Lachlan just stood there—frozen, completely out of it—as I kept going, my voice cold and steady.
“You remember the day you took Kirsten and the twins to Disneyland?” I said, staring him down. “That same day, I got into a car accident.”
He flinched, but I didn’t slow down.
“I called you. Over and over. You didn’t pick up once. Not a single time. Later, I found the Disneyland receipt in your pocket.”
I let that sink in, then went on. “After that, Kirsten wouldn’t stop texting me. Every time you saw her, every dirty little secret between you two—I knew all of it.”
His face turned pale, but I didn’t care.
“While you were off playing happy family with her, I was dealing with the pain of losing our child.”
My voice cracked just a little, but I kept pushing through.
“And when I finally started to pull myself together… you let her kill my mom.”
I took a step closer, my voice now razor-sharp. “Two lives, Lachlan. There are two lives between us. How the hell do you expect me to ever forgive you?”
My eyes locked onto his like blades, full of disgust I didn’t bother hiding.
He stumbled back like my words had hit him physically—then, out of nowhere, he doubled over and vomited blood.
“C-Chantelle… I… I didn’t know,” he stammered, his whole body shaking. “I swear I didn’t know about the baby…”
He kept repeating it like a broken record, tears streaming down his face. But those tears? They didn’t move me. Not one bit. If anything, they made me hate him more.
Because the truth was painfully clear—whenever I needed him, he was never there.
Worse than that… he was the reason I suffered.
I chose the wrong man. And because of that, my baby and my mom… they both died.
The weight of that thought hit me all over again, and I couldn’t hide the flicker of pain on my face.
Cliff noticed right away. He stepped up beside me, steady and warm, gently placing his hand on my back.
“You okay?” he asked quietly. “Say the word and I’ll have him thrown out.”
I didn’t answer at first. I just tightened my grip on his hand.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Let’s go. There’s no point trying to talk to someone like him.”
Maybe it was because the pain had been dragged up all over again, but I found myself leaning into Cliff more than usual.
Lachlan saw it—and it was like something inside him snapped.
All of a sudden, he dropped to his knees, completely unhinged.
“Chantelle, please!” he begged, eyes wild. “I know I messed up, I’ll never waver again—I swear! I just want you. Just you… and the child you gave me. Please don’t leave me. I’ll die without you!”
He clung to my leg like a man drowning, completely losing any trace of dignity.
But I didn’t hesitate—I kicked him off me without a shred of mercy.
“I will never forgive you,” I spat. “I don’t want anything to do with you ever again, Lachlan. If you really feel guilty… then prove it.”
My voice dropped, laced with venom.
“Die with your sins.”
The look in my eyes made it clear—I wasn’t being dramatic. I meant every word. I wanted him to pay, to suffer, the way I had.
For a second, he just stared at me like he finally got it.
There was nothing left between us. Not love. Not even pity.
Only hatred.
His body started to shake as he reached out toward me, desperate.
But Cliff stepped in and blocked him without a word.
I didn’t say anything else. Just gave Lachlan one final, cold look—then turned and walked away.
Behind me, he tried to come after me again, but Cliff’s bodyguards stopped him before he could even take a step.
Lachlan’s POV
As I watched Chantelle walk further and further away, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground in total despair.
All this time, I thought the years we spent together would’ve been enough. I figured that as long as I was willing to apologize, there’d still be a chance for us.
But what I didn’t see coming… was the truth about her mother—that she could’ve been saved.
Or that we’d even had a child.
And all of it had slipped through my fingers without me ever knowing.
Just like the future I once pictured with Chantelle—it vanished right in front of my eyes.
For a long moment, I just sat there, numb. Silent. I didn’t try to chase after her. Didn’t try to find out where she went like I used to.
Instead, I dragged myself back to the manor, moving like a ghost—wooden and lifeless.
It wasn’t until I bumped into the butler that something inside me finally snapped back into place.
“Bring Kirsten here,” I said, my voice flat and cold. “I’m going to make her face Hanshou and atone for everything.”
Only then did I remember why I’d even kept Kirsten alive in the first place.
My heart sank. The weight of guilt nearly crushed me.
If Chantelle could never forgive me, then once I made Kirsten pay for what she did… I’d settle the rest with my own life.
At the thought, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter, hollow laugh.
Soon after, Kirsten—shattered from everything I’d put her through—was dragged in front of me. She looked wrecked.
I’d meant to question her. To scream. To unleash all the rage that had been eating away at me.
But the second I saw those empty, soulless eyes of hers… I just went quiet.
Even if I yelled now, I knew it wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t even flinch.
And honestly? I didn’t feel a shred of pity for her.
This woman had killed my child. Let Chantelle’s mother die. And on top of all that, she’d tried to pin someone else’s kids on me.
Because of her lies, I ended up hurting the one person I loved more than anything.
My throat tightened from the pain. I doubled over and spat out another mouthful of blood.
What I didn’t notice… was the faint flicker of satisfaction that passed across Kirsten’s lifeless face as she watched me suffer.
The next day, I took my time getting ready.
I shaved. Fixed my hair. Even chose my suit carefully.
It was only after seeing Cliff at the party last night that I realized how rough I’d started to look over the past month.
And even if Chantelle would never forgive me, I still wanted to leave her with at least one final, decent impression.
But just thinking about it made my chest ache all over again.
A little while later, I brought Kirsten with me and headed for Chantelle’s apartment.
End of After Eight Years, He Walked Away Like I Was Nothing Chapter 40. Continue reading Chapter 41 or return to After Eight Years, He Walked Away Like I Was Nothing book page.