Chapter 9 I Fulfill You
"Caroline, don't be angry." Atticus immediately turned to Elysia for help. "Mrs. Tudor, please say something on my behalf."
Elysia hadn't asked Caroline to come back just to argue. "Caroline, since Atticus is here, you two should talk things through face-to-face. Resolving the issue is what matters now."
Caroline understood her mother's intention. She composed herself, walked over to the couch, and sat down. Seeing the atmosphere soften, Atticus took a seat across from her.
Atticus's expression turned serious. "Caroline, I'm asking for another chance to speak from the heart."
After a moment of silence, Caroline replied, "Is that necessary?"
Atticus leaned forward, dropping to one knee in front of her. "It is, if you're willing to listen."
Caroline lowered her gaze, her expression cold. "I don't think it's necessary anymore. And you're now disturbing my family. I hope this is the last time. If you come again, my mother won't open the door for you. You should know better."
"Caroline, a relationship involves two people. You can't just decide to break up on your own."
Caroline shot back sharply, "If it involves two people, did you think about me when you were with another woman behind my back?"
"I was drunk that night," Atticus quickly interrupted, turning to Elysia to explain. "Mrs. Tudor, I won a case that day, and the client insisted on thanking me. I really had too much to drink, and the client was completely wasted. I couldn't just leave her in a public place—if anything happened, I'd be responsible. That's why I brought her home. Nothing happened between us, honestly. Mrs. Tudor, Caroline misunderstood the situation."
Caroline looked at Elysia, whose brow furrowed with displeasure. She stood up and said, "Whether there's a misunderstanding or not, you know the truth."
"Mrs. Tudor, she really misunderstood me. You have to believe me." Atticus pleaded desperately.
Caroline snapped, "Atticus, you're so stubborn."
Seeing her reach for her phone, Atticus immediately thought of the video he'd asked her to delete. In a moment of panic, he blurted out, "You didn't delete the video?"
He regretted his words instantly. Looking back at Elysia, he could see her expression had clearly grown cold and distant.
Caroline had exposed him with just a fake gesture. Atticus felt frustrated yet helpless.
"I'll give you what you want," Caroline said.
Atticus awkwardly addressed Elysia, "Mrs. Tudor, I was so drunk that night, I didn't know what was happening."
Elysia lowered her eyes, her attitude now completely different. "Atticus."
"Mrs. Tudor." Atticus hung his head, knowing he was in the wrong.
"You should leave," Elysia said, dismissing him.
Atticus clenched his fingertips. "Caroline, can you forgive me just once? In front of Mrs. Tudor, I promise it will never happen again. I'll never drink with other women again. Please forgive me, okay? Give me another chance."
Caroline remained firm, shaking her head. "A man's promises aren't reliable."
Atticus remembered the phone from earlier. "Caroline, you can record my promise on video. If I don't keep it, you can make the video public and ruin my reputation."
"That's unnecessary," Caroline replied.
Atticus couldn't bear to lose Caroline—she was his best shortcut to changing his fate. He was willing to risk everything. He took her hand, pointed the phone at himself, and began apologizing and making promises to the camera.
"Caroline, will you give me one more chance?"
Elysia watched Caroline carefully without showing emotion. Though Atticus had indeed cheated, this was ultimately between them. If Caroline couldn't let him go, Elysia wouldn't stand in the way.
Caroline could see that Atticus genuinely regretted what happened, but his regret wasn't because he knew he was wrong—it was the helplessness of being caught red-handed with no defense.
"Trust, once broken, can never be repaired," Caroline said. "And I'm not indecisive. When I say it's over, I mean it. Please leave and don't come back."
Facing the reality that there was no hope, Atticus had to accept it. His expression changed from humble and meek to angry and defiant as he glared at Caroline.
"Do you still have backups of the video?" He demanded.
Caroline had expected his suspicion. "No, I deleted everything the day I returned."
Atticus reluctantly believed her and left the Tudor home. Just as he stepped out, Caroline followed him.
"Atticus."
"What is it?"
Atticus turned around quickly, only to see Caroline holding out the gifts he had brought. "Your things."
Atticus didn't take them, saying flatly, "Keep them."
Caroline ignored him and placed the items in the hallway.
The anger Atticus had been suppressing finally erupted. "You think this whole thing is my fault?"
Caroline looked at him in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
With an indignant tone, Atticus said, "Don't play dumb. You wouldn't let me kiss you or hold you. I'm a man—I have normal physical needs. You wouldn't let me touch you, so I found another woman. Isn't this situation your fault for pushing me to this point?"
His behavior, while not illegal, was morally wrong.
"Atticus, you have a convenient memory and no shame! We agreed before moving in together that we wouldn't have sex before marriage. We were just trying to live together to see if our habits were compatible. Now you're blaming everything on me—you have neither integrity nor accountability. There's no future with someone like you. They say exes should fade into the background quietly. You're not worth my time or effort to explain anything to. From now on, just be a good ex and stop bothering me."
With that, Caroline slammed the door shut.
Atticus's face turned red with anger, nearly exploding on the spot. Unable to vent his rage any other way, he kicked the gifts he had brought, only leaving after he had expelled enough of his fury.
Caroline walked into the kitchen, where Elysia was preparing vegetables and cooking as if nothing had happened.
"Mom," she called out.
Elysia continued working. "Did he leave?"
"Yes," Caroline took a deep breath. "He won't be coming back." Then, worried about Atticus going back on his word, she added, "If he does come again, don't open the door for him."
Elysia put the cleaned vegetables in a colander. "He makes a mistake and then has the nerve to come to our home and throw a tantrum. His loss of composure shows his emotional instability. Even if you married someone like that, you'd face endless arguments over big and small issues. He's not worth committing to. Fortunately, you discovered this early—otherwise, you would have suffered in the future."
Caroline nodded.
Elysia continued, "I need to call the person who introduced you two. What kind of person is this Atticus? And how could the matchmaker not properly check his character before making the introduction?"
Caroline seized this opportunity to subtly discourage Elysia from arranging more blind dates. "Mom, don't bother calling. Just ignore him. And please stop asking people to introduce potential partners to me. Right now, I want to focus on my career."
Elysia turned off the faucet and looked at Caroline, who pressed her lips together. She knew Elysia wouldn't give up so easily on the matchmaking front.
With a pitiful expression, Caroline said, "Mom, I'm still young. You're worried I won't find a partner, but many people at my workplace who are older than me aren't married or dating. They're not in a rush, so why should I be?"
"Do you not know why they're not married?" Elysia countered. "Is your situation the same as theirs?"