Chapter 235: Finn, the Truth
He looked at Amelia with an almost pleading expression, as if he had countless things to say.
Seeing that look, Amelia only felt disgusted.
"Don't look at me like that. It makes me feel like I had really terrible judgment!"
Finn's expression froze.
Amelia continued, "You've gone after my friend twice now. What exactly do you want?" Despite how uncomfortable she felt, she remembered the purpose of this trip.
Finn suppressed his emotions and pointed to the sofa across from him.
"Sit. Let's sit down and talk."
Seeing Amelia still standing, he said, “Using your friend to force you to come here was wrong of me, but I just need five minutes of your time to talk.” “I mentioned it when I was at the door, but you weren’t willing, so I had to use this method.”
“The way you put it, it sounds like it’s my fault now?”
“That’s not what I mean.” He took a deep breath and said, almost begging, “Amelia, I just need five minutes. Please.”
Amelia had the sudden urge to slap him and walk away. But she remembered what Byron had told her—that heartbreak has five stages: Sadness, anger, bargaining, despair, and acceptance. She had experienced sadness, anger, and despair, but she had skipped the “bargaining” stage, which made it difficult for her to truly reach acceptance.
She and Finn had never said a proper goodbye. To clear the lingering shadow in her heart, maybe she needed to talk things through with Finn.
Once everything was out in the open, the knot in her heart would naturally untie. So after hesitating for two seconds, Amelia sat down. Seeing her cooperate, Finn finally relaxed a little. Finn finally allowed a faint smile. He poured her a cup of coffee, but Amelia didn’t touch it.
“We don’t have much time,” she said. “Keep it brief.”
Finn paused, then finally said what he had kept to himself for a whole year. “I didn’t betray you on purpose.”
Amelia didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
Seeing that her expression hadn’t changed, Finn’s heart ached again. The pain made him anxious. He feared that what he was about to say wouldn’t affect her either.
“Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked.
Amelia frowned slightly but still nodded. She had always hated the smell of smoke.
After Samuel learned this, he never smoked in front of her. Even when he had the urge, he would step away. Without realizing it, Amelia began comparing Samuel with Finn.
She came to the conclusion that Samuel respected her more. At least he had never forced her to do anything or made her unhappy.
Finn took a drag of his cigarette before beginning to talk about the past. Back then, something had gone wrong in his family.
His father had lost all the family savings at the gambling table. When he came home, he beat and cursed his wife—Finn’s mother—calling her a curse.
He blamed his innocent wife for all his mistakes. He often beat her, but that night he was especially brutal. Finn’s mother was beaten nearly to death.
Finn came home at that moment. He immediately attacked his father. In a surge of emotion, he used too much force and ended up killing him.
Amelia looked at him in surprise. Finn continued, “Scarlett happened to come to my house. She got the Lewis family to step in and fake the scene so it looked like something else had happened.”"...and make it look like my dad got drunk, accidentally started a fire, and burned to death inside.”
Finn continued, “They didn’t help me for free.” “Their condition was that I had to be with Scarlett.”
Amelia’s hands clenched. A storm of emotions rose inside her. She had never known any of this.
The Lewis family handled things so efficiently that even Byron hadn’t found out. Finn looked at her sadly and said, “Amelia, I really had no choice back then.” I was too young and inexperienced to deal with something like that. At first, I thought I could go along with her for a while, but then you found out. All I could do was say that I had fallen in love with her. Can you understand the situation I was in? The truth is, you were the only one I ever loved.
He stepped forward, trying to hug Amelia. She sidestepped to avoid him. Finn ended up hugging empty air, and his heart felt just as empty.
He smiled bitterly and asked, “Now that you know what happened, you still won’t come back to me, will you?”
Amelia's eyes no longer held hatred when she looked at him, but they didn't show much emotion either. “Finn, I understand you now, and I forgive you.”
But we can’t turn back time, and we can’t go back. You have a wife now, and she truly helped you and loves you.
Similarly, I have Samuel now, and he loves me too. You should do what I'm doing—let go of the past and live your life well. With the Lewis family's help, you can move on too. “You have a bright future.” Finn stared at her, as if unable to accept it. “Do you really love him?”
“Yes.” Amelia nodded. “I love him, even more than I thought I did.”
“But I can’t forget you. We shouldn’t have broken up. If that incident hadn’t happened, things might have been different.”“We'd definitely still be together.”
“I know. But I don't feel it's a pity.”
“What if I insist?”
Amelia looked at him deeply and said, “If that's the case, don't make me regret ever meeting you.” She added, “Scarlett is good.”“You should open your heart and accept her.”
Finn laughed. “Even now, we still haven’t slept together.”
Amelia frowned. “That’s not fair to her.”
“She’s the one who’s being unfair to me!”
“But she did help you back then. Otherwise you’d be in prison now, not respected as Mr. O’Connor.”
“That’s not how it is,” Finn said mockingly. “Now that I’ve reached this position, I finally have the ability to investigate what happened back then.”I found out that the day my father went gambling, his opponent was from the Lewis family. They set him up, made him lose everything, and got him drunk.They set him up, made him lose everything, got him drunk, and arranged for me to come home. It was all deliberately planned by them! You tell me, is she being fair to me?“Haven’t I been more than fair to her?”
Amelia frowned. She didn’t know it had been like that. But having met Scarlett once, she didn’t think Scarlett seemed like that kind of person. She knew Scarlett was definitely capable of such things. Never mind framing Finn's father—she could even poison her own grandfather. “I swear to God, everything I’ve said today is true. If I’m lying, may I never have you in my life.”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you.”
“Then are you willing to go back to the past with me? Samuel is not a good person. He used to be an illegitimate child, and his background is very complicated.” “Then are you willing to go back to the past with me? Samuel is not a good person. He used to be an illegitimate child, and without some ruthless methods, he couldn’t have secured his position today. He’s dangerous! You’ll be in danger around him!”
Finn was very anxious and tried to take her hand again. Amelia avoided him once more. “I don't care what methods he used to secure his position.” I only know that he’s sincere with me, and I feel the same way about him. If you try to scheme to break us up, I’ll never forgive you.“We won’t even be able to be friends.”
Finn froze. “Are you really that in love with him? Have you completely forgotten about me?”
Amelia moved her lips and said, “Finn, if you're willing, we can still be friends in the future—but only friends. If you don't want that, then we shouldn't see each other again.” “If you don't want that, then I'll try not to appear in front of you.” Finn opened his mouth and, after a long while, finally squeezed out a sentence: “This isn't fair to me.”
“This world was never absolutely fair to begin with. You think it's unfair to you, but what about me? Back then I knew nothing, yet I still had to bear the consequences.”Yet I suffered your betrayal and the pain it caused. I worked so hard to get out of that emotional shadow.I worked so hard to get out of that emotional shadow, and now you want me to go back to the past with you. Do you think that's fair to me?
If Finn had given her even the smallest hint back then, she wouldn’t have been so devastated. But he hadn’t.
“Back then, besides trying to avoid punishment, you were also thinking about how the Lewis family could help you succeed, weren’t you?”
“Finn, ask your heart—what do you want most, power and status, or me?”
“You’re just too greedy. You got the power and status you wanted, but you still want me too.”You got the power and status you wanted, and now you want me too. It doesn't work like that, Finn. People can only choose the one thing they want most. “If I asked you to choose me, could you really let go of everything you have now?”
Finn pressed his lips together and said nothing. Deep down, he knew he wasn’t the same person anymore.
When he first fell in love with Amelia, he was truly sincere. But after years in the dirty world of politics, he was no longer the same person.
Finn slowly lowered his eyes. He finally realized that Amelia would never love him again. And he no longer felt worthy of loving her.
The most painful thing is when your heart breaks completely. Finn looked as if he might collapse. “Finn.” Amelia stepped forward and looked at him. “I still believe I didn’t love the wrong person back then. Please don’t make me feel like I was wrong, okay?”
Finn raised his eyelids. His lips moved slightly, but no words came out. His lips moved slightly, but he couldn't say a word. A knock came at the door. “Mr. O'Connor, the show is about to start recording.”
Finn's voice was hoarse as he spoke, “I'll be right there.”
“Yes.” The footsteps at the door gradually faded away.
Amelia said, “I'm leaving now.”“I hope next time we meet, we can both be calm.” With that, she walked toward the door. Finn called out to her.
“Amelia.”
Amelia turned around. She heard Finn ask, “Can you hug me? One last time.”
He looked like a helpless child, fragile and vulnerable.
After a brief pause, Amelia turned back and gently hugged Finn. His body trembled slightly. A cool drop fell on her shoulder—he was crying.
Amelia’s heart felt heavy as well. Fate had been cruel to them. But there was no turning back now. She let go of him and walked out once more.
This time, Finn didn’t call out to her. When Amelia returned to the set and filming began, Finn never appeared.
The production team found a temporary replacement judge to take Finn's seat. In the third round, Byron got the highest score of the entire competition. In the third round, Byron got the highest score of the entire competition, far ahead of everyone else. Combined with the first two rounds, Byron ultimately won the championship. He also got the prize he'd been dreaming of: A set of gold utensils. On the way back, Byron chattered excitedly. Amelia went along with him outwardly, but deep down she felt a little low.
Fate had been unfair to Finn. Fate had been equally unfair to her. But people have to find their own balance. Look more at what you've gained, not what you've lost. Look more at what you've gained and think less about what you've lost. Gradually, Amelia convinced herself, and her mood returned to calm. At the same time, Francis got the news.