Chapter 83 The Bitter Truth

Chapter 83 The Bitter Truth
♤SEBASTIAN♤

“Yasmin, please! I beg you, put it down!”

The words tear out of my chest as I drop to my knees on the cold wooden pier. My heart pounds so hard it feels like it might burst through my ribs.

I slowly reach toward her, my hands trembling, desperate to close the distance between us without spooking her.

She stands near the edge, the silver blade shining in the moonlight.

“Are you going to tell me or not, Sebastian?” she demands, her eyes burning with fury.

“What’s the point of living a life that isn’t even mine? I’d rather die than keep living with this emptiness.”

The pain in her voice cuts deeper than any knife.

I watch her fingers tighten around the handle, and the terrifying thought of losing her again—this time for good—shatters the last of my resolve.

“Okay! Okay, fine!” I shout. “I’ll tell you. Just… please move away from the edge. Put the knife down. I’ll tell you everything.”

She doesn’t lower the knife, but she stops moving. Her chest rises and falls as she stares at me.

“Start talking.”

I draw in a shaky breath.

“Yes… you’re right. We knew each other before.”

My voice catches.

“We were in love, Yasmin. Madly in love. We were together for more than a year before the accident.”

Confusion crosses her face.

“The accident?”

“The plane crash,” I answer quietly. “You were supposed to be on Flight 234 that crashed three years ago. I thought you were gone. I thought I had lost you forever, Yas.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I quickly blink them back.

“Seeing you again with my father after spending three years mourning you… I couldn’t believe it until I was absolutely certain it was really you.”

I force myself to meet her eyes.

“Since then, I haven’t been able to think straight. The thought of you marrying my father drove me insane, and I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing. I… I…”

I stammer for a second before finally finding my voice again.

“So I tried to make you mine again.”

She stares at me, searching my face suspiciously.

“If we were so happy…” she begins, “then why was I on that plane? Why did I write you a breakup letter? What did I see, Sebastian?”

My throat tightens.

The real answer sits there, begging to come out.

But I can’t tell her.

I can’t let her remember what really happened.

“Please, Yasmin.” My voice is barely above a whisper. “Some memories are better left forgotten. Can’t we just move on?”

“No!” she cries, gripping the knife even tighter. In the process, the blade nicks her skin.

A thin trail of blood runs down her neck.

She doesn’t even flinch.

Instead, she fixes me with the most murderous glare I’ve ever seen.

“I need to know!”

Panic crashes over me. I have to give her something. Anything. A reason she can hate me for instead of letting the truth destroy her.

“I cheated!” The lie rips out of my throat before I can stop it.

“I cheated on you, Yasmin. I’m sorry. That’s what you saw. That’s why you left.”

Silence settles between us.

Yasmin just stands there, frozen, as if the words have stolen the strength from her body. Then, little by little, her fingers loosen around the handle. The knife slips from her hand and clatters onto the wooden planks.

“You… cheated,” she repeats quietly, her voice flat with disbelief.

I remain on my knees, unable to meet her eyes.

Guilt twists deep inside my chest.

No… that’s not what happened.

But I’d rather let you believe I’m a coward and a cheater than watch those memories destroy you all over again.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I slowly rise to my feet and walk toward her.

Pulling a clean white handkerchief from my breast pocket, I stop in front of her. My hands still tremble as I gently press the cloth against the small cut on her neck, stopping the thin trickle of blood.

She doesn’t pull away this time. She just stands there, shivering in the cold evening air.

“You shouldn’t have gone this far,” I murmur, cupping the side of her face with my free hand.

My thumb brushes away the fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Hurting yourself just to make me tell you the truth… Yasmin, you scared me to death.”

“If I hadn’t done it,” she says between sniffles, “you would’ve kept lying to me.”

“I know.” I nod, forcing myself to hold her gaze.

“And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Yasmin. I cheated on you, and it was the biggest mistake of my life. I never got the chance to look you in the eye and apologize before you left three years ago.”

As the words leave my mouth, I slowly slide one arm around her waist and gently pull her against me.

She doesn’t resist.

She just stands there, exhausted, her trembling body melting into mine as if she no longer has the strength to hold herself up.

“I never got the chance to tell you how sorry I was,” I whisper against her forehead.

“So I’m saying it now. I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for everything.”