Chapter 177 Chapter 177

Chapter 177 Chapter 177
Kai's POV

"What do you like about Ezra that I don't have?" I asked, looking deeply into her eyes.

I wanted to know what made Amelia seem so much happier when she was with Ezra than when she was with me.

"Like?" Amelia frowned in confusion.

"You always seem happier when you're with Ezra," I replied. A sense of unwillingness crept into my chest as I said those words.

Amelia fell silent for a moment, as if considering her answer. "Maybe because Ezra and I have very similar personalities. It's easy for us to connect when we talk."

I nodded slowly.
It was true. Amelia and Ezra had many things in common. They were both playful, friendly, cheerful, and loved debating over trivial matters. They could joke with each other effortlessly, laughing over the simplest things.

And me?
I was a man who struggled to express himself. Too cold. Too rigid. Socializing was difficult for me, and I rarely smiled.

I was truly a boring person.

Amelia was warm and vibrant. She was better suited to someone like Ezra, someone outgoing who could light up any room.

For the first time, I seriously considered that possibility.

Maybe I really should let her go.

It was heartbreaking to think about the fate of our marriage. We had only enjoyed four months of happiness as husband and wife.
And now...
There were only four months left before everything truly came to an end.

"There's nothing inappropriate between Ezra and me," Amelia said without looking at me.

A faint smile appeared on my lips.
I knew. And I trusted her completely.
A woman like Keysa Amelia Rose would never betray our marriage.

"Hm. But Ezra likes you."
At last, the words escaped my mouth. Words I had kept buried for years.

I carefully watched her reaction. But there was no surprise on Amelia's face.

She remained calm, her head lowered as she continued eating the slice of cake I had given her.

"Has Ezra confessed his feelings to you?" I asked, studying her closely.

Amelia shook her head. "No. But I've known for four years."

I fell silent for a moment before finally nodding. "So you already knew," I murmured, scooping up a small bite of cake and putting it into my mouth.

"I overheard your argument back then. I'm sorry for causing problems between you two," she said softly before lowering her gaze again.

"Is that why you left?" I asked curiously.

"Hm." Amelia nodded slightly. "I didn't want to become a thorn in what should have been a harmonious sibling relationship."

My chest tightened. How many burdens had she been carrying alone all this time?

"You're wrong if you think my family is harmonious," I said quietly. "You don't fully know what my family is really like."

"Yes, that's true. I don't know anything about your family," she replied with a nod.

"That's not what I meant." I immediately corrected myself. "My family isn't as perfect as it appears from the outside. And Ezra..."

I paused, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"He has an obsession with taking away anything I care about."

Amelia immediately looked at me. Shock was written all over her face. "What do you mean?"

I exhaled slowly. It seemed it was finally time for Amelia to know about Ezra.

"Mom loved me too much. And without realizing it, she caused Ezra to develop a very deep resentment."
I stared blankly ahead as old memories surfaced.

"When we were younger, he often secretly destroyed things that mattered to me." I paused briefly. "And he also played with fire behind my back with Tania."

"What?" Amelia's eyes widened. "You're not lying, are you?"

I shook my head firmly. "No.When we were still in school, Mom once took Ezra to see a psychiatrist. After that, he changed. He went from being cold, rebellious, and difficult to handle into someone friendly and cheerful."

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "Everyone thought he had changed. But he hadn't."

I turned toward Amelia.

"Even now, I still see that hatred in his eyes."

I didn't know whether all my suspicions were correct. But I knew one thing. I didn't want Arana to become another victim of Ezra's obsession.

"I won't stop you from accepting Ezra after we separate." The words felt like a knife cutting through my own chest.

"But I want you to make absolutely sure of his feelings before deciding to be with him. Whether he truly loves you... or whether you're simply another obsession, just like Tania was."

A pain I couldn't describe spread through me as I said it. Because if I were being honest...
I didn't want to let Arana go to Ezra.
I didn't want to let her go to any man.

Amelia remained silent for a long time. "I don't like Ezra," she finally said. "But I also can't guarantee that we won't end up together someday. That's beyond my control."

My chest tightened once again.

"But I'll do my best not to become the source of problems between you two."

I smiled faintly. That was my Amelia. Always thinking about others, even when she herself was hurting.

"So mature," I murmured. "But why can't you be mature when it comes to our relationship?"

I looked at her wistfully.

Amelia immediately looked away. "You're the immature one," she huffed. "You're already old, yet you still act like a child."

"What?" My eyes widened. "I'm old and immature?"
I honestly couldn't believe what I had just heard.

There was quite an age gap between us.
When we got married, Amelia had only been eighteen while I was twenty-seven.
Now Amelia was twenty-three and I was thirty-two.
As far as I was concerned, thirty-two wasn't old.

"Being in your thirties isn't old, Amelia," I corrected her with a serious expression. "It's maturity."

"But not emotional maturity." She shot me a cynical look. "If you were mature, you wouldn't have----" Her sentence stopped halfway.

But I knew exactly what she wanted to say.
I let out a long breath.
That familiar guilt crashed into me once more.

"I'm sorry," I said for what felt like the hundredth time. "Yes. I really was immature."

I looked at her with deep regret.
"Please forgive me..." Slowly, I took her hand.
It was warm, and somehow, that warmth made my chest ache even more.

"Thank you."

Amelia looked at me in confusion.

"Thank you for not giving up." I tightened my hold on her hand.

"Thank you for continuing to move forward, even after falling so many times." My voice grew heavy.

"Thank you for always believing that you could stand back up again." My eyes burned.

Because I knew.

I knew how completely shattered she had been back then.
And I...

I was one of the biggest reasons for that destruction.
If I had found you completely broken back then...
I lowered my head.

...I would never have been able to forgive myself.
This translation preserves the emotional tone, character dynamics, and novel-style flow of the original chapter while making it read naturally in English.