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Chapter 22
Thud! Mrs. Hartley slammed her teacup onto the coffee table, sending liquid splashing across the floor.
"Alexander Hartley! Explain yourself!" Her entire body trembled with fury. "How could Evelyn—such a wonderful woman—suddenly divorce you? Did you do something unforgivable again?"
Alexander lowered his gaze, his fingers absently tracing the faint ring mark on his left hand.
"It's my fault, Mom," he rasped. "She won't forgive me."
Mrs. Hartley froze. The hollow, lifeless version of her son from three years ago seemed to have returned.
"Fine..." She sank back onto the couch, defeated. "Our family failed her."
She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. "I know a few lovely girls—"
"No." Alexander cut her off. "I won't ruin anyone else's life."
The words stabbed through Mrs. Hartley's heart. Suddenly, she remembered that rainy night three years ago—when she had forced her son to marry Evelyn.
"Son..." Her voice shook. "I was wrong..."
Mr. Hartley placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. "At least you're alive. I've arranged for a therapist—"
"I'm fine." Alexander turned toward the window. "As long as she's alive... so am I."
Southsun International Airport
"It's him again!" a ground attendant whispered in shock. "How many times is this?"
"One year and three months straight," her colleague counted on her fingers. "Every single time Captain Montgomery is scheduled to fly, he shows up."
"Too bad..." Another attendant lowered her voice. "Captain Montgomery and Captain Carter are getting married!"
"Seriously?"
"Absolutely! I saw Captain Carter propose! They're wearing matching rings!"
Alexander's steps faltered. His heart clenched as if an invisible hand had seized it.
"No..." he murmured.
Just then, through the terminal's glass windows, Evelyn and Julian Carter walked side by side. Sunlight bathed them, casting a perfect silhouette of the pair.
Alexander's gaze locked onto Evelyn's left ring finger—where a diamond glimmered, bright and undeniable.