Chapter 325 The Life That Should Have Been Hers.


    Finished


    Maybe it was because she was too normal that she made the Bets look all the more deranged.


    It was like dropping a same person into a madhouse. Every day inside that family was a form of torture.


    She spent fifteen long years in an orphanage. Then, after being brought back to the Bets, she endured three years of humiliation. Andter, five brutal years behind bars.


    In just twenty-three short years of life, she hadn''t had single day of true happiness. Not one moment free of pain.


    Every time I think about what she went through, my chest tightens like it''s being cut open.


    After she was gone, I walked around like a ghost. I couldn''t eat. Couldn''t sleep.


    Not even when my mother passed had I ever fallen apart like that.


    I used to think someone as cold-blooded as me would forget her quickly.


    But a month went by... and her memory didn''t fade. It only grew stronger. Her face, her voice, everything about her took root in me-and the ache of missing her ran deeper by the day.


    I''d stand in the living room, my eyes always drifting to the couch by the window.


    Back when she was still alive. Lauren loved to lie there and sunbathe.


    She was so frail that she''d often fall asleep without even realizing it.


    Her small, thin frame curled up on that couch made her look even smaller.


    The sunlight spilling across her body would seem to pass right through her skin, casting a golden glow all


    around her.


    I used to just stand there, watching her for what felt like hours.


    And in those moments, everything inside me felt peaceful. Like nothing else in the world mattered.


    But I''d never see that again.


    That first month without her felt like hell. Every second dragged, sharp and unbearable,


    I honestly believed I might never make it out of that darkness.


    Then I found out-she and I had a daughter.


    It hit me like lightning


    We''d only kissed once. That was the most intimate we ever gotten.


    No more than that.


    And yet, somehow, we had a child together.


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    Chapter 325 The Life That Should Have Been Hers


    child had alreadye into the world.


    I named her Nancy. In honor of Lauren.


    And from that moment on, I had a reason to live again.


    I never really liked kids. But I loved Nancy.


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    Maybe it was because she looked just like her mother. Or maybe it was the blood bond between father and daughter. I couldn''t say for sure.


    But I loved her.


    As the years passed. Nancy grew-into someone more and more like Lauren.


    She inherited Lauren''s beauty, but she was taller, more striking.


    She inherited Lauren''s brilliance too, but unlike her mother, she had the fortune to finish college and go on to take over Brooker Corporation.


    I watched her grow, pouring every ounce of love I had into her. All the care and warmth Lauren -I gave it all to Nancy.


    If only we had another life to try again.


    ever got


    I wish I''d met Lauren sooner. I wish I could''ve protected her, loved her, and made sure no one ever hurt her again.


    She had so much talent, so much heart. If she''d grown up in a happy home, with the support she deserved... her future would''ve been boundless.


    Fifty years have passed.


    I''m nearly eighty now. My body''s failing. The days feel shorter. My breath thinner.


    I sit quietly in the garden, rocking slowly in my chair, clutching the embroidery she made-the one titled Queen of Blooms.


    The sun warms my face. I slowly open my cloudy eyes.


    And in that blur of light, I see her again-twenty-three years old, still smiling that


    sweet, radiant smile. She holds out her hand to me and says gently,


    "Mr. Felix, I''vee to take you home."


    I smile too.


    Without


    No hold on.


    With a heavy groan, the prison gates creaked


    Ellior stenned our his buzz-cut silver at the temples he movements stiff and slow


    Chapter 325 The Life That Should Have Been Hers


    The bright sunlight hit his eyes, forcing them into a squint.


    Finished


    Ten years behind bars had blurred the world outside. It was familiar, yet distant-


    like stepping into a dream you couldn''t wake from.


    His thoughts drifted, unbidden, back to a decade ago.


    Back when he''d stood in front of this very prison gate mug and self-satisfied, waiting for Lauren toe


    Back when he''d used her of faking her limp-and ridiculed her without holding back.


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