Chapter 197
The car glided smoothly down the road. Victoria sat in complete silence.
Henry's hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as his fingers drummed against it, betraying his irritation.
The atmosphere between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.
When the car pulled into a cemetery, Victoria froze. "What? Are you planning to bury me alive?" she blurted out.
Henry was momentarily speechless. He shot her an exasperated look. "Why would I bury you alive?"
"Then, why did you bring me to a cemetery?" Victoria eyed him suspiciously.
The car came to a stop. "There's someone you need to meet," he said, his voice low and solemn.
Victoria sensed something was off. Without a word, she got out of the car.
The bodyguard yanked Sarah out, too.
When Sarah saw it was a cemetery, all the color drained from her face. She stared at Henry, pure fear in her eyes. "Henry, why are we here?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Henry didn't even spare her a glance. He just walked straight into the cemetery. Victoria followed close behind him.
Sarah tried to make a run for it, but the bodyguard caught her, forcing her to keep up with them.
As they climbed the stone steps, the afternoon sun blazed overhead, but the cemetery breeze sent chills right through to their souls.
They walked through rows of headstones until finally stopping at one grave.
The bodyguard handed over a bouquet of white roses. Henry took them and placed them in front of the headstone.
Then, Victoria noticed the photo and the name on the grave.
The face in the photo was so young. The girl was beautiful, with a radiant smile, now forever frozen in black and white.
Below the photo was a name—Tiffany Miller.
Victoria's eye twitched as she recalled what Trent Miller and Emma Miller had told her.
They had two daughters–Sarah and Tiffany.
Grace had shown up at the Miller family's restaurant to make a delivery. The weird things Sarah had said, plus the gravestone right in front of her... It was like all the pieces were starting to connect, but something was still missing, something crucial.
She turned to Henry beside her, confused. "Who is she?"
Henry's deep eyes stayed fixed on the photograph. "Her name was Tiffany. She was my friend - Mason's girlfriend. Six years ago, someone targeted me. They messed with my car and caused a terrible accident. Tiffany died instantly, while Mason went into a coma. He still hasn't woken up."
He spilled out a lot of information just like that.
Victoria's eyes went wide with shock. Her mouth opened and closed, full of questions but not knowing where to start.
Henry seemed to understand her struggle. His deep, magnetic voice cut through the cemetery's silence. "I was in another car. After the crash happened, I rushed over".
"I managed to pull Mason out, but Tiffany... A shard of glass from the overturned car had pierced her chest. She was coughing up blood, telling me to take care of her sister."
Victoria pressed her lips together as all the pieces finally clicked into place. The whole picture was crystal clear now.
Tiffany wasn't meant to die. She was just collateral damage, an innocent caught in the crossfire. Henry carried that crushing guilt, that karmic burden. In her final moments, he'd made her a promise–the only thing that had let her close her eyes one last time before taking her final breath.
The wars between powerful families were brutal, horrifying things. Henry took a massive hit that day, but he couldn't afford to stop and lick his wounds. All he could do was fight back harder.
And he won.
Afterward, he went to the Miller and made them a promise.
Trent and Emma Miller were devastated. Emma Miller cried until she passed out. From that day, Henry took Sarah under his wings. Later, Sarah asked him, "Can you be my boyfriend? Also, I want to learn how to dance."
And Henry said yes.
The wind rustled through the trees as Victoria absorbed this story, her emotions a tangled mess. So, there was no "first love". It was just a debt being repaid.
But why should any of this matter to her?
Henry tore his gaze away from Tiffany's photo to look straight at her face, his eyes dead serious. "I promised Sarah everything she wanted. I was even planning our wedding. But she left. She chose a different path".
"Being with her back then was just about repaying a debt. Nothing more."
Sarah, still restrained by the security guards, stared at him in shock as his words sank in. Tears spilled down her face, washing away her fear. "Henry, we've been together for a year. Are you saying you never had feelings for me? Not even a little bit?"
Henry ignored her, keeping his focus locked on Victoria. "That's the whole story with her. Victoria, you got anything to say?"
Victoria's long lashes trembled slightly. After what felt like forever, she finally spoke, "That still doesn't excuse how you've treated me these past five years. The cold shoulder, the hurt- all of it. We've been married for five years, Henry, but I've never gotten an ounce of respect from you".
"Are you telling me all this now to explain that you had no other choice? But honestly, what does any of this have to do with me? Sure, maybe you were backed into a corner, but why did I have to be your emotional punching bag?"
Victoria's voice was soft and gentle, barely above a whisper, as if she was afraid of disturbing those resting here.
She met his eyes, her gaze crystal clear and dead serious. "Henry, none of this justifies how you hurt me. What happened five years ago was an accident. I know I didn't drug you. I'll uncover the truth about that, and then we can get divorced, okay?"
Henry's lips pressed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. It felt like someone had punched a bleeding hole through his chest. He'd thought that clearing up this misunderstanding would make her reconsider their relationship or at least take divorce off the table.
But Victoria wasn't budging. And honestly, she was right. She'd been innocent from the very beginning. Even that incident five years ago–she was a victim, too.
Looking into those calm, clear eyes of hers, he forced out the word. "Okay."
Victoria smiled then, a genuine smile that reached her eyes.
She turned to Tiffany's gravestone and bowed deeply before walking away.
Henry stood frozen in place like his feet were superglued to the ground. All he could do was watch her figure walk away step by step, leaving his world behind.
He only realized his feelings for her when it was already too late.
She didn't want him anymore.
His explanations, which seemed so reasonable to him, held no weight with her.
She had simply come to understand his past, why Sarah had been special to him. That was all.
Henry had thought he was above such matters of the heart, viewing them with contempt and dismissal.
But when that dull ache consumed his entire being, he finally realized how terribly wrong he'd been.
Sarah collapsed to the ground, suddenly laughing as tears streamed down her face. "Henry, you've fallen in love with her. You've actually fallen in love with her."
Her face contorted with pain as she looked up at him. "I've been with you for a year. I worked so hard to make myself worthy of you. I loved you so much. Couldn't you feel any of it?"
Henry's gaze finally settled on her face, but his expression remained cold. "Every day I saw you that year, all I could think about was your sister grabbing my hand, covered in blood, making me promise to take care of you".
"Under that kind of mental pressure, do you really think I could have loved you?"
Sarah froze, her eyes still brimming with tears. Her face turned pale as she stared at him in disbelief. "So, that's how it was. That's really how it was."
She mumbled to herself, then, in a fit of rage, threw herself at the tombstone, pounding on it with hate–filled eyes. "It was you. You ruined my happiness. Why can't you let me have what I want even in death?"
"You knew how much I loved him, but your death took away any chance I had of winning his love."
She was nearly hysterical. The tombstone was unyielding, and her hands quickly became bruised and bloody from hitting and clawing at it, creating a horrifying sight.
Henry's brows furrowed. "Pull her away."
The bodyguards immediately stepped forward to restrain Sarah.
"If you didn't love me, why did you agree to my request? Why did you give me hope only to make me face despair?" Sarah wept bitterly, her face contorted with fury and resentment.
Henry looked down at her, disgust flashing in his eyes. "If Tiffany knew what kind of person you really are, she wouldn't be able to rest in peace."