Unrequited Passion

Chapter 4 Two People, Now in Different Worlds

Astrid smiled and replied, “How about I take you to a place where you’ll never be sad again, Carrie?”

“Carrie? Is that my name?” The girl giggled. “Aunt Maud only ever calls me ‘goosey’!”

Astrid was speechless, but there was no helping it.

“No, from now on, your name is Carrie, Carina Noelle!”

‘I hope your life will be as bright as Carina, the brightest constellation in the galaxy,’ Astrid thought.

“Oh! Yay! I finally have a name. Aunt Maud was right. She told me you’d give me a good name!”

Astrid couldn’t help but smile at her daughter’s innocent grin.

All she wanted to do was take her daughter and leave Bronzewood and her past behind.

Unfortunately, Astrid didn’t have any money. She only had her ring and her identification card on her when she was arrested. That ring was her wedding ring from Blake. She stared at the huge diamond on the ring with nothing but emptiness in her eyes.

“Come on, Carrie. Let’s go.”

Astrid led Carina away from the graveyard and brought her downtown. She found a pawnshop to pawn her ring off. To her surprise, the ring was actually worth a lot of money — $30,000, to be exact.

“Miss, the clarity and craftsmanship of your ring is first class. Are you sure you want to pawn it?” the shopkeeper asked.

Astrid forced a smile and replied, “Yes, please take it off my hands.”

She had already moved on. She was so over the guy that took away ten years of her life, so there was no use in keeping it anymore. That ring was her final link to Blake. Selling it off would mean that she was finally free from him.

Astrid used the money from her sale to buy clothes for Carina and herself.

They had just stepped out of the mall when a Rolls-Royce happened to be driving toward them. Its driver was caught off-guard since Astrid and Carina had come out of nowhere. He slammed the brakes, just in time to avoid a collision.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Ledger. These people came out of nowhere. I didn’t see them…”

His passenger, who had his face buried in his laptop, lifted his head. His eyes flashed dangerously. The driver shrunk fearfully into his seat, at a complete loss for words.

Blake was about to give the driver the scolding of his life when he noticed a familiar figure. He closed his laptop and tried to get a closer look. Unfortunately, she was gone.

“Drive!”

The driver immediately drove off. He was too afraid of what might happen if he delayed the order any longer.

Blake, on the other hand, was extremely rattled. He was strangely irritable. The sun shone brightly through the car window, highlighting his well-defined features and bringing an extra depth to his dark eyes.

He pondered, ‘It’s been five years. Five years! Why am I still being reminded of her?’

He propped his head on his fist, sinking into deep thought. All of a sudden, his phone rang, snapping him out of his reverie. He took a look at the screen, and his tensed lips immediately relaxed and broke into a smile as he answered the call. “Kayla, what’s up?”

“Blake, my leg is feeling much better now. I’ll be coming home next month, and I’ll be organizing a solo cello recital!”

“Mm. That’s great!” Blake replied. “I know I should be with you, but I have an urgent matter to deal with at the office around that time.”

“It’s alright, I understand. I’m doing much better now, Blake, so you don’t have to worry about me. Just remember to pick me up, okay?” Mikayla answered gently.

“Of course,” Blake replied bluntly. He ended the call, leaned his head back to rest, and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, for some reason, every time he closed his eyes, his mind would be filled with images of that god-forsaken woman, covered in blood, crying and screaming at him, begging him to believe her, telling him over and over again that she never killed his mother or hurt Mikayla.

‘What the hell is wrong with me?’

…

Astrid and Carina arrived at Cloud Coast, a beautiful city near the sea.

Astrid rented an apartment by the beach. The apartment was so much smaller than she was used to, around 50 square meters, but it was cozy enough to fit Astrid and Carina. Besides, there was a kindergarten nearby, which was perfect for Carina.

Despite having $30,000 in her bank account, Astrid knew that it wasn’t enough to cover their future expenses. She knew she had to get a job soon.

Unfortunately, she had a criminal record, no thanks to her time in prison. She ran into multiple obstacles during her job hunt because no company wanted to hire an ex-convict. Just as her stress levels had come to a head, she received a call from the kindergarten — Carina had fainted.