Chapter 403
Chapter 403:
“His brother James was always the golden child. When the accident happened, we couldn’t believe James would have been driving recklessly. We couldn’t face that he’d been drinking…” A sob escaped her. “It was easier to believe Alexander’s version was confused by his injuries.”
“You took James’s side,” Camille said quietly.
“While Alexander was still in the hospital,” Eleanor said, her eyes overflowing with tears. “While he was fighting to walk again, fighting through surgeries and pain no young man should endure. We chose to believe James’s lies, and Alexander has never forgiven us.” Her voice broke. “He shouldn’t.”
Camille felt her own eyes burning. The raw anguish in Eleanor’s voice was impossible to dismiss.
“We tried to reach him,” Eleanor continued after composing herself. “We went to his apartment the day after the funeral. He wouldn’t even open the door.” She pulled a small stack of envelopes from her bag, held together with a ribbon. “I’ve written him every month for four years. Birthdays, Christmas. Just ordinary days when I remembered something about him.” Her voice trembled. “They all came back marked ‘Return to Sender.’ Unopened.”
“Why come to me?” Camille asked. “After all these attempts, why now?”
“Because you made him smile again,” Eleanor said simply. She extracted a magazine clipping, a photo of Alexander and Camille at a charity event, his head thrown back in laughter.
That I’ve missed him with a pain so physical I sometimes can’t breathe with it.”
Her eyes met Camille’s, red-rimmed but steady. “That I’m proud of the man he’s become, despite us, not because of us. That I understand if he can never forgive us, but I needed him to know that we finally faced the truth. That we know James lied. That Alexander was right.”
“And his father?”
“Edward can barely speak about Alexander without breaking down,” Eleanor said quietly. “He keeps a file of every news article. He follows all of Alexander’s companies, buys stock in each one.” She gave a broken laugh. “He has this absurd idea that somehow, if Alexander ever checked his shareholder records, he’d see his father’s name and know we still care.”
“Your engagement,” Eleanor continued, “it gave us hope. That perhaps Alexander could forgive, could rebuild after betrayal. The way you did with your parents.”
. com brings magic to life
Camille stiffened. “You’ve been researching me.”
“Obsessively,” Eleanor admitted without shame. “You’re the woman our son loves. Of course, we’ve learned everything about you we could.” Her face softened. “And what we learned gave us hope. You’ve overcome betrayal. You’ve reconciled with those who hurt you. You understand the possibility of redemption.”
Camille thought of her own journey, of Victoria who had taught her the power of strategic thinking but was only now learning the strength in vulnerability. Of her own parents, who had asked for a second chance.
“I’ll help you,” she said finally. “Not because you deserve it, but because Alexander deserves the choice. To hear you out or to send you away again, that should be his decision, made with all the facts.”
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