Chapter 18 The Truth That Shattered Everything
Hunter felt his mind go blank. A loud ringing filled his ears, drowning out everything else.
He stood frozen, unable to move, until at last, he stammered, “W–what did you just say?”
Jamie, who had been listening quietly the whole time, finally grasped the full truth.
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Fury surged through him like wildfire. If the man standing before him weren’t Hunter, he might have punched him then and there.
Jamie snapped, “I won’t say it twice. What’s wrong–are you deaf? Or are you just too ashamed to admit how ridiculous this is? Can’t face the truth, can you?”
Indeed. It was, after all, a brutal truth.
For years, Hunter had treated Celine with kindness, out of a sense of gratitude. As for Dana, he had resented her, convinced that she’d abandoned him when he needed her most. That bitterness had eaten at him for years.
And now? Now he learned he had gotten everything wrong. Dana had been the one who saved him; she had never stopped loving him. Dana never left him.
It was absurd. Absolutely absurd.
He felt like a fool. A complete, pathetic fool.
That was when Hunter finally broke. He had a mental meltdown.
Laughter burst from him, wild and manic, followed by sobbing that came in waves. He kept repeating one word-“joke“-over and over again, like it was the only thing he could hold onto.
Dana said nothing. She stood there quietly, watching him fall apart.
She had been through hell these past three years–physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Compared to what she had endured, Hunter’s suffering was nothing.
Eventually, his hysterics faded.
This time, he didn’t beg for forgiveness.
He just looked at her one last time and fled.
Hunter stumbled onto the speedboat like a man fleeing a nightmare. “Get us out of here,” he barked at Adrian.
Adrian, startled by his disheveled state and bleeding arm, started the engine without question. Jamie stood on the dock, watching the scene unfold. He frowned, confused by Hunter’s sudden retreat.
But Dana, standing quietly by the window, said softly, “There’s no need. He won’t be back.”
Jamie turned to her, puzzled.
Dana began to speak, her voice distant, like she was telling a story that had lived in her mind for years. “There was once a starving man. Just as he was about to die, a pie fell from the sky. He thought it was a gift from the heavens, and it saved his life. That night,
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Chapter 18 The Truth That Shattered Everything
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he dreamed of God, who told him that a certain family had shown him disrespect. So, the next day, the man, filled with gratitude and rage, went and killed that family.”
Jamie narrowed his eyes and said, “So he realized there was never a God. The ones who saved him were the family he killed.”
Dana nodded. “He’ll never be able to face me again. For the rest of his life, he’ll live in the shadow of what he’s done. That is the punishment I’ve given him.”
On the speedboat, Hunter said only one thing to Adrian, “Take me to Celine.”
Then he sat down, slumped like a broken marionette, eyes vacant, staring at nothing.
His condition was getting worse. Blood kept pouring from the gunshot wound in his arm. Adrian had wanted to take him to a hospital right away, but after one look at the wild, unhinged expression on Hunter’s face, he didn’t dare act without permission.
In the end, all he could do was find a rope and tie it tightly around Hunter’s arm to slow the bleeding.
Nearly ten hours later, they reached Verton just before dawn.
Hunter wasted no time. He stormed straight into Celine’s villa, burst into her bedroom, and yanked her from her half–sleep.
Celine hit the floor with a gasp, pain jolting her awake. When she looked up and saw the blood, bruises, and the cold, violent expression on Hunter’s face, she froze. “H–Hunter? What happened to you?”
He didn’t answer. He slapped her. Then again. And again.
The blows kept coming until her ears rang and her vision blurred. Through the pain, she heard him growl, “You did this. It’s your fault Dana and I are finished.”
Celine blinked, dazed. “You found her?”
Hunter didn’t respond to the question. “I did everything–everything wrong–because of you. Now she’s gone. I’ve lost her.
Forever.”
But Celine smiled through her swelling lips. She managed a weak smile, despite the pain. “She’s out of the picture now. But I’m still here. I’ve always loved you. Isn’t that enough?”
Hunter’s rage boiled over. He slammed Celine down, straddling her as his hands closed around her shoulders, fingers trembling with fury. “You?” he snarled. “You think you’re worthy?”
The murderous glint in his eyes was different this time–cold, deliberate. This wasn’t a moment of rage. It was a sentence.
Celine’s heart pounded. She could feel it–he truly meant to hurt her. “You’re going to kill me?” she gasped, trembling. “But I saved your life, remember? I gave you my blood!”
Hunter let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Still lying? Tell me, Celine–was that 1,200 cc of blood really from you?”
Celine froze. For a second, her mask slipped.
She didn’t know how he’d found out–but she knew this was dangerous. If she admitted the truth now, he might actually kill her.
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Chapter 18 The Truth That Shattered Everything
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So she steeled herself and said, “Yes. Of course it was me. I risked everything to save you. And now you want to repay me with
this?”
Hunter’s face twisted in fury. “Enough. The one who saved me was Dana. It was never you!”
Celine stared at him in disbelief. “No. That can’t be … How? Why would she–why would it be her?”
Hunter’s laugh turned manic. “Why not? Who else would give their blood without asking for anything in return? Who else would disappear without a name, without glory? Only Dana. And I–what a joke–I believed your lies. I let you fool me.”
His grip tightened again.
Celine’s face turned red, then purple, as she struggled beneath him, clawing at his arms. “Please, I was wrong. Don’t kill me.”
And just when she thought the end had come–Hunter let go.
Celine lay on the ground, gasping for air, overwhelmed with relief that she was still alive.
But before she could even feel a moment of relief, Celine’s cold voice cut through the air, “Strangling you would be letting you off too easy. I want you to feel the kind of pain Dana had endured.”
He stood up slowly, eyes hollow but burning with rage. Turning to the guards nearby, he said, “She’s yours to have fun with. Lock her up. Make sure she stays alive–but don’t show her a shred of kindness.”
“Put her in the warehouse,” he added. “She hates being alone. So give her a few dogs to keep her company–anything that’ll keep her awake at night.”
His words landed like a death sentence. Celine’s eyes went wide with terror. She clung to Hunter’s leg, sobbing. “Please, Hunter! Don’t do this! I didn’t mean to deceive you–I did it because I loved you. I was scared; I know I was wrong. Please, I’ll do anything- just don’t do this!”
But before she could finish, the bodyguards grabbed her and dragged her away.
Soon, the only sound that echoed through the house was her screaming–cries of fear, despair, and regret.
Hunter didn’t move. He stood at the window, lost in silence, watching the sky turn pale with morning.
Adrian approached quietly. “Boss, let me take you to the hospital. That wound still hasn’t stopped bleeding.”
But Hunter only shook his head. “No. Let the bullet stay.”
Every time he saw the bullet lodged in his arm, he was reminded of just how blind, how utterly foolish he had been.
He didn’t want to forget. He would live with the pain–sink into it, drown in it–because only through that endless regret could he begin to atone.
