Now They Want My Forgiveness - Chapter 155: Chapter 155
You are reading Now They Want My Forgiveness, Chapter 155: Chapter 155. Read more chapters of Now They Want My Forgiveness.
"Don't care." Max's laugh was ragged. "Only when I'm this gone do things finally make sense. I need to think about what I've done."
When Lionel tried to intervene again, Max shoved him off. "Sit down, man. Ever stop to think? Back then... we were all accomplices."
"You're drunk," Lionel said flatly.
"I'm clearer than ever!" Max slammed his fist on the bar. "I've been turning this over for days. Why does she hate us so much? Shouldn't she understand? We wanted to save her—we just couldn't. Except... could we have?" His voice cracked.
Max continued, "I was 'busy with the company.' You were 'busy with work.' Meanwhile, Kevin actually went looking for her. Yeah, he failed, but he tried.
"And now? She trusts him completely. But us? She looks at us like we're strangers. You think it's just about the kidnapping? Bullshit."
He dragged a hand down his face. "We treated her like garbage. Ignored her. Meanwhile, she killed herself trying to please us. Learned Dad's favorite tea. Brought me water when I worked late. Gave me massages when my back ached.
"She studied like hell because she didn't want to be a burden. And what did we do? Stella might as well have been invisible. We coddled Anna because she was 'fragile' while treating Stella like she was indestructible. But everyone breaks eventually."
His next words came out hollow. "And Lionel... I think Anna might have orchestrated the whole kidnapping."
"You're delusional," Lionel snapped, recoiling like Max had struck him. "How could Anna possibly do something like that?"
"Think about it. When Stella asked her that day, Anna didn't deny it right away. And today, when I got home, I saw Anna, and she seemed more and more like Stella. Don't you get that feeling?" Max pressed.
Lionel frowned, signaling for him to snap out of it. "No way! You must've hit your head or something."
"No! I've never been clearer-headed. I think Anna really did it. And today? When I pressed her? She slit her own throat rather than deny it. Does that seem normal to you?"
Lionel made a sharp cutting motion with his hand. "Enough. Next, you'll be accusing me of being in on it."
A laugh escaped Max. "Lionel, you think you did nothing wrong? You used to be close to Stella. Why did you stop? Why did you say those hurtful things? Didn't you love Stella?
"She was away for three years, and you couldn't wait? Why did you choose Anna? And I'm asking you, why take Stella's blood when she was barely clinging to life? That was a goddamn execution.
"When my family got into trouble, your family didn't help. I won't say anything about that. I'll just assume you had your reasons.
"But don't you see that every time Stella was in danger, whether her kidnapping or when her life was hanging by a thread, you would hurt her? She trusted you the most out of all these people. Why did you deliver the final blow?"
The color drained from Lionel's face as memories surfaced.
At the time, he thought the kidnapping was just Stella running away. That was the only time he'd scolded her, telling her not to be so reckless and to stop causing trouble.
He had waited for Stella for those three years. He believed she was still out there, alive. But Anna had slowly worn down his defenses with her gentle tactics.
When Lionel tried to intervene again, Max shoved him off. "Sit down, man. Ever stop to think? Back then... we were all accomplices."
"You're drunk," Lionel said flatly.
"I'm clearer than ever!" Max slammed his fist on the bar. "I've been turning this over for days. Why does she hate us so much? Shouldn't she understand? We wanted to save her—we just couldn't. Except... could we have?" His voice cracked.
Max continued, "I was 'busy with the company.' You were 'busy with work.' Meanwhile, Kevin actually went looking for her. Yeah, he failed, but he tried.
"And now? She trusts him completely. But us? She looks at us like we're strangers. You think it's just about the kidnapping? Bullshit."
He dragged a hand down his face. "We treated her like garbage. Ignored her. Meanwhile, she killed herself trying to please us. Learned Dad's favorite tea. Brought me water when I worked late. Gave me massages when my back ached.
"She studied like hell because she didn't want to be a burden. And what did we do? Stella might as well have been invisible. We coddled Anna because she was 'fragile' while treating Stella like she was indestructible. But everyone breaks eventually."
His next words came out hollow. "And Lionel... I think Anna might have orchestrated the whole kidnapping."
"You're delusional," Lionel snapped, recoiling like Max had struck him. "How could Anna possibly do something like that?"
"Think about it. When Stella asked her that day, Anna didn't deny it right away. And today, when I got home, I saw Anna, and she seemed more and more like Stella. Don't you get that feeling?" Max pressed.
Lionel frowned, signaling for him to snap out of it. "No way! You must've hit your head or something."
"No! I've never been clearer-headed. I think Anna really did it. And today? When I pressed her? She slit her own throat rather than deny it. Does that seem normal to you?"
Lionel made a sharp cutting motion with his hand. "Enough. Next, you'll be accusing me of being in on it."
A laugh escaped Max. "Lionel, you think you did nothing wrong? You used to be close to Stella. Why did you stop? Why did you say those hurtful things? Didn't you love Stella?
"She was away for three years, and you couldn't wait? Why did you choose Anna? And I'm asking you, why take Stella's blood when she was barely clinging to life? That was a goddamn execution.
"When my family got into trouble, your family didn't help. I won't say anything about that. I'll just assume you had your reasons.
"But don't you see that every time Stella was in danger, whether her kidnapping or when her life was hanging by a thread, you would hurt her? She trusted you the most out of all these people. Why did you deliver the final blow?"
The color drained from Lionel's face as memories surfaced.
At the time, he thought the kidnapping was just Stella running away. That was the only time he'd scolded her, telling her not to be so reckless and to stop causing trouble.
He had waited for Stella for those three years. He believed she was still out there, alive. But Anna had slowly worn down his defenses with her gentle tactics.
End of Now They Want My Forgiveness Chapter 155. Continue reading Chapter 156 or return to Now They Want My Forgiveness book page.