Chapter 20

                                    

                                          
He stood before me. His gaze was gentle, as he rubbed the tears off my face and said, "I can't imagine a life without you, Park Y/n." 
I stood frozen in my place as I looked at him in shock. It felt like time had stopped and as if I was dreaming. How is he here? Is he really here? I couldn't believe my eyes as I stretched my hand out towards him, my fingertips delicately grazing his cheek, igniting a surge of warmth within me. 
My eyes started welling up again but this time with tears of disbelief as my fingertips trembled against his cheek. H-He...is here...but...how..? Shouldn't he be inside taking vows with Emma? 
"You...why are you..here?", my voice cracked, my eyes filled with tears as I gazed at him. He remained silent for a while but soon his trembling hands gently cradled my tear-stained face, his voice filled with remorse and yearning as he whispered, "Did I keep you waiting for too long?", his eyes searching mine for an answer. 
"I am sorry...", he paused, his eyes filled with tears. "I am..sorry...for being late...", he finished and taking a step forward, pulled me in his embrace. "I did not leave you, y/n...", his words broke down as he choked on his sobs. 
"I did not...ditch you...I never did..", he added, his grip around me tightened. "I searched for you everywhere...I never...d-ditched you...", he kept on repeating it over and over again. "Don't disappear again..please...", he said. 
Tears, like a torrential downpour, cascaded down my cheeks. "Y-You...", I tried to speak up but no words were ready to come out of my lips. Did he just say...that he never ditched me? He even tried to search for me? 
"L-Lies...", I finally managed to utter and he froze down in his spot. Separating himself from me, he gazed back at me again. He tilted his head a bit to the side as a lone drop of tear rolled down his cheek, as if he was hurt after listening to me say that but isn't that what he did...? 
"If...you didn't ditch me...then why didn't you respond to any of my texts?", I asked, tears never stopped, they kept on flowing down my cheeks, tracing the path of my pain. "What texts...?", his eyes went wide open, as he asked. 
I froze down in my spot, hearing him ask that. "Did you not receive my texts...?", I asked, completely taken aback. He shook his head in a no. "What were the texts about?", he asked, struggling with his tears. "My...", I paused. Words were not coming out of my throat but still I managed to complete it, "My pregnancy." 
"I did not receive any of them...", he answered, as tears finally started flowing down his cheek. Pure shock flashed across my features, and I stumbled back a step. 
"W-What?", I asked in stupefaction. 
If...he did not receive any of my texts then who was the person who broke up with me on those texts? If it was not him then....who was it? 
"Did you not break up with me?", I asked, pulling my brows together. "Were you not the one who asked me to not contact you anymore?", I asked, and held his arm. He shook his head in a no and he replied, "It was not me. I never broke up with you."
My lips quivered as I looked at him. Finally, everything started making sense. From not letting me meet him to offering me money to get out of his life...everything was an agenda to get me out of his life and to keep me away from him. 
So, For the last 5 years, I was kept in the dark...? And all this time...I condemned him not knowing he was the victim as well? 
I couldn't take my eyes off him as all the flashbacks started playing inside my head, my heart heavy with remorse. 
"From now on stay away from my daughter."
"Have I ever told you before how much I regret knowing you?"