Chapter 775
Chapter 775:
Janice remained silent, but her expression softened. In her mind’s eye, she could almost see them—the two of them, young and fearless, building something beautiful together.
Orson’s fingers tightened around the glass. “With her, I forgot I was a Welch. I worked tirelessly just so I could give her the life she deserved. Business miracles, they called them. But at the very peak of my success, I realized my victory meant nothing. Because what waited for me wasn’t a future with her. It was the pain of losing her. The Welch family acknowledged my success. And the moment they did, they demanded my return. They decided she was unworthy—born too humbly to stand beside me. But I didn’t care. I was willing to throw it all away for her. I tried to escape, but the Welch…”
family’s power ran deeper than I ever imagined. Even at the height of my influence, I could not defy them.”
Janice swallowed, her throat tight. She could feel it—the helplessness, the frustration of a man who had conquered the world but still lost the one thing he fought for.
“In the end, to protect her, I made the hardest choice—breaking up with her.” Orson closed his eyes, the weight of old regrets pressing against his chest. Even after all these years, the bitterness hadn’t faded.
“I can still see her face… the way she looked at me that day. Despair. Pure, gut-wrenching despair. But I had no choice. For her safety, I walked away. I lost all contact with her after that. My family dictated my future—I married someone else, had children. I convinced myself that this was it, that I’d live out my days in quiet numbness, letting time wear me down like a stone in a river.”
At that moment, a surge of emotion crashed over Orson, unraveling the composure he had struggled to maintain.
“But then she returned. No, it wasn’t her. It was her child.”
Janice felt her pulse quicken. Orson’s words confirmed her worst fears. Her hands clenched into fists, emotions flickering behind her eyes.
Cⲟntent ⲟriginally frⲟm gⲁl𝓝𝑜ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⫸𝒸𝗈𝗺
The truth was far more horrifying than she had imagined.
“That child was yours, wasn’t it?” Janice didn’t even wait for Orson to respond. “By pure chance, you crossed paths with her child and recognized her. Guilt consumed you. You wanted to do right by the child, to offer something—so you secretly arranged for part of the Welch family’s wealth to go to her. But you underestimated your sons. You thought you had hidden it well, yet they found out. And to ensure that not a single coin of the Welch fortune fell into the hands of an outsider, they orchestrated a massacre. They wiped out the White family overnight—every single one of them. Over a hundred lives, erased in the blink of an eye. All their assets were devoured by other families. When you learned the truth, you collapsed from the shock.
Am I wrong?”
Orson stared at her, his face pale, eyes filled with anguish. The silence stretched long enough to confirm everything.
“You abandoned the woman you loved. Why did you reach for her child years later?” Janice’s tone was cold, yet carried a hint of resignation. “Why disturb the life she had? If you truly wanted to make amends, you should have left her in peace.”
“I was wrong!” A raw, broken sob tore from Orson’s throat. “I should never have sought her out. None of this would have happened! Their deaths… it’s all because of me!”
Janice studied the shattered man before her. Despite everything, despite the anger burning inside her, she found herself reaching out, placing a hand over his. “You shouldn’t have sought her out, but I understand why you did. If I discovered that the person I loved had given birth to my child, I wouldn’t be able to suppress my joy either. I would want to give them everything, no matter the consequences. And you couldn’t have foreseen that your own sons would become monsters.”
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