The Day Our Promise Breaks

Charles's kick landed hard, and there was no holding back. His face was twisted with disdain. Dahlia was tossed aside like she was nothing, ending up sprawled on the ground in sheer humiliation. It all happened so quickly that for a moment, Dahlia's mind went blank. She couldn't wrap her head around what had just gone down until the sharp sting of pain brought her back to reality. It wasn't a figment of her imagination; Charles had actually been rough with her.

Dahlia slowly lifted her head, looking at Charles from a few steps away, her eyes wide with disbelief. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the mist in her eyes to get a clearer view of him. She searched his face, hoping to see some flicker of compassion or hesitation. Even a tiny bit would've been enough. But there was nothing. Just a cold, unyielding expression. His eyes were like a raging fire, as if he wanted to burn her to ashes.

Tears welled up again in Dahlia's eyes. This time, they weren't for show, not an attempt to win Charles over with pity. This was genuine heartbreak. She couldn't accept that Charles felt nothing for her. Her legs felt like jelly, unable to support her anymore. She lay there, looking up at him, refusing to give up. "Charles," she pleaded, "after ten years, if you take Debbie out of the equation, have you really never felt anything for me? Is there truly no place in your heart for me?"

"None," Charles shot back without a second thought. He hadn't realized it before. Why he couldn't get close to her even though she was Debbie. But today, now that she wasn't Debbie at all, he finally got it. All along, his feelings for Dahlia were painted with shades of Debbie. He saw Dahlia, but he was really looking at Debbie.noveldrama

"I don't buy it! You're lying! How could you have treated me so well just because of an identity?" Dahlia shouted, breaking down as Charles watched her with cold indifference. His voice was brutally clear. "Dahlia, without Debbie's identity, you mean nothing to me."

That sentence shattered Dahlia.

Even though she had always known what she banked on with Charles, she had dared to dream that he

loved her for who she was, noter

because of Debbie's identity She thought Debbie's identity was just the bridge that started it all. But now, Charles had mercilessly burst her bubble. To him, without Debbie's identity, she was nothing.

The physical pain she felt couldn't rival the agony in her heart. Heartbroken, Dahlia looked at Charles and whispered, "I don't believe you. You're lying. You have to be lying..."

The sky was growing dark, a storm brewing on the horizon. Andrew hurried over to Josephine, urging her gently, "It's about to rain, and you've just woken up. You can't risk

catching a chill. Let's get youhock to

the hospital so you can recover. Charles knows the truth now, and he won't let Dahlia off easy."

"Mom/Godmother, please listen to Dr. Nelson. Let's go back to the hospital," Evelyn and Adam chimed in, joining Andrew in persuading Josephine.

Charles, too, stepped forward nervously, careful not to get too close, and

promised hoarsely, "Ms. Josephine, trust me. I won't let you and Eve down again."

Josephine sat in her wheelchair, glaring at Charles with a fiery hatred as she hissed, "You'd better honor Charlie's memory!"