Chapter 225
Alex didn’t press further. He locked eyes with Ellie, his gaze unyielding.
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When Ellie turned to leave, Alex suddenly blurted out. “You told me once that you gave Haley a necklace as a gift, right?”
Ellie’s steps faltered, but she didn’t look back.
After a brief pause, she replied coolly, “No, I didn’t.”
‘Even after witnessing firsthand what others’go through, he still remains so indifferent. He’s heartless. It’s pointless to say anything to him,‘ she thought to herself.
Alex furrowed his brows and quickly stepped forward to block her path.
After a moment of hesitation, he pulled a bracelet from his pocket and held it out to her. The small emerald beads were perfectly polished, their rich green hue complementing a stunning ruby set into the clasp.
Dangling from the ruby were platinum tassels of varying lengths, adding a touch of modern elegance to the classical design. The craftsmanship was unmistakably exquisite, the work of a true master.
Gripping Ellie’s left hand gently, Alex looked into her eyes, his gaze softer than she’d ever seen before.
“The emeralds in this bracelet,” he began, his voice unusually earnest, “are from your mother’s broken bangle. I did everything I could to restore it.”
Ellie glanced down, watching as Alex tried to clasp the bracelet around her wrist. Suddenly, she yanked her hand away. “No matter how intricately you restore it or how much you embellish it with expensive gemstones, it’s not the same anymore. To me, it’s already ruined, completely unrecognizable as what I once cherished.” With that, Ellie pushed past him and walked away.
Alex stood frozen, clutching the bracelet in his hand as he watched her retreating figure.
‘She wouldn’t even take the bracelet made from her mother’s bangle,’ he wondered.
He had no idea how long he stayed there in the hallway, motionless. It wasn’t until Ryan appeared, one arm in a sling and carrying a water bottle with another, that Alex snapped out of it.
Alex immediately stepped forward, taking the water bottle and the plastic basin tucked under Ryan’s other arm. He followed him into the hospital room.
“Is this what you’re eating for lunch?” Alex asked, pointing at two plastic bags on the cluttered table filled with books and supplies. Inside were two small pieces of bread and a strange, unidentifiable blackened item.
Ryan nodded and turned to hand Alex an apple. “Sir, here. For you.”
Alex glanced at the lone apple sitting on the table across the room. Suddenly, a fragmented memory surfaced, a faint image of a young face.
She had placed a candy in his palm and said, “Sir, here.”
Taking the apple, Alex asked, “Have you thought about your future?”
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Chapter 225
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Ryan hesitated, shaking his head before nodding slightly. Finally he answered obediently, “Yesterday, a doctor named Ellie
number and told me I could call her if I ever needed help. She said she’d help me figure came to see me. She gave me h things out.”
Alex felt a heavy weight settle on his chest. “What else did she say?”
Ryan replied, “She told me there are more good people in the world than bad and that I should keep studying and never give up.”
Alex’s voice was quieter now. “Do you,
think I’m one of the good ones or the bad ones?”
Ryan smiled faintly. “Sir, you’re definitely one of the good ones just like Ellie.”
Late at night, in a private suite at the Earl Hotel, Alex stood by the floor–to–ceiling windows. He wore black slacks and a crisp white shirt, his tall frame silhouetted against the city lights.
On the coffee table behind him sat the apple Ryan had given him and the emerald bracelet Ellie had refused to take.
Alex stood motionless, his posture rigid, a quiet tension radiating from his entire being. He remained there until the first light of dawn.
