All too late for his love

Willow was at her wit's end with Matthew. She ground her teeth in frustration.

"Matthew, I will never agree to that! Aaron is innocent. Even murderers get a chance to prove their Innocence Why can't you give us a chance to show Aaron did nothing wrong?"

"Innocence?" Matthew laughed, and Willow couldn't believe how such a gentle face could turn so demonic.

"Innocence is a luxury you don't deserve, Willow. I gave you a chance to save this cripple, but you refused."

Matthew's dark eyes turned frigid, like black ice in a forgotten tundra. The sheer defiance of Willow's refusal to yield, even after his gruesome threat, ignited a fierce hatred within him.

With a swift pivot, his gaze became void of any humanity..

"Take out this cripple's eye!" he commanded.

"No!" Willow screamed, putting all her strength into shoving Matthew away to save Aaron. She fought to shove Matthew away, but he callously threw her to the ground, wrenching her ankle in the process. She lay there, unable to rise.

"Aaron!

The glint of the knife in Matthew's henchman's hand pierced Willow's eyes. Ignoring her own pain, she gritted her teeth and struggled to stand.

But she was too far from Aaron. Even if she managed to get up, she couldn't stop Matthew's men in time.

Willow's heart ached with helplessness. Aaron had fought to survive for a better life, not to be condemned to eternal darkness as a blind man.

Aaron's demeanor was eerily composed, though Willow sensed the fear pulsing beneath the surface.

A kid his age had every reason to be scared of a knife pointing at his eye. Yet, despite his trembling, he didn't break down or scream.

Instead, he locked eyes with Matthew, as if probing for something hidden within him.

"Uncle Matthew..."

Aaron's tears trickled silently down his cheeks, his voice barely audible.

"Uncle Matthew, I don't hold it against you. Mommy says you just forgot about us," Aaron murmured, his lashes fluttering as he shut his eyes.

Matthew couldn't shake the sense that gouging out this defiant cripple's eye would be a just punishment. Yet, Aaron's forgiveness cut through him. like an iron claw tearing at his heart.

The knife gleamed as it rose, casting a harsh light on the wielder's face.

he wielder's face!

Willow braced herself for Aaron's eye to be taken, but the knife unexpectedly clattered to the ground.

It was lan. Willow gaped at the tall, imposing figure before her. She never expected lan to return.

lan had come back to retrieve the suit jacket he had left in Willow's small apartment But deep down, it was just an excuse; he wanted to see her again. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Chapte 318