“Erm, are you okay?” Edward asks hesitantly.
“Yup…” Natalia pronounces in a low voice, looking at her boots and the water in a small lake. “Okay…”
“Oh…” Edward exhales sharply, feeling that his heart is squeezing painfully. “Listen, Natalia, don’t get hurt, please. I didn’t really wanna hurt you and ain’t gonna do. If something is not right, say it, If you want to talk about something, I’ll listen to you. If you… Think we could…”
“Nope…” Natalia swallows up nervously, deciding to lie to Edward and hide her real feelings. “It’s okay. It’s okay… You’re right…”
“Really okay?”
“Really,” Natalia barely pronounces and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, still looking at her foot. “I completely agree with you… And… I believe we could hardly fix something…”
“I believe we concluded a mutual agreement?”
“We gave each other too much pain,” Natalia replies in a lower voice. “Too much to… Forgive each other easily… I can’t… Can’t forget everything you told me. Maybe, I will forgive you, but I’ll never forget… The pain you gave me is too strong…”
“Sure, I get it…”
“So, sorry, Edward…” Natalia moves her sad gaze to Edward. “But it’s the end… It’s all over… As you don’t mind, I will not hold you… It’s our final goodbye…”

“I still remember all of our dates,” Jamie replies thoughtfully with a smile. “It was the best time in my life… As wonderful as the wedding of you and me and the birth of our children. Those moments were so exciting and amazing… I will always remember them with a tremble. Until the death.”
“Despite nothing, I don’t regret anything about you and me. If I had a chance, I’d definitely live those moments again. I’d be back to youth, meet you and feel like a queen next to my beloved man, who was always nice to me.”
“I believe we passed all the stages of the relationships and can confidently say the hardest things are in the past.”
“Yeah… The honeymoon phase, the overabundance of emotions, the first understandings, irritation, fights, stress…” Rebecca sighs quietly. “Ah, how much we’ve experienced! We took a long way from the time when we wore pink glasses to the serious conflicts, reconciliation, and respect for each other. Maybe, it’s not everything, but I think we survived the crisis, which only a fewer people can survive.”
“For you, I’d survive anything. For my children. For my family. I’m no longer afraid of anything. I fear no death, no pain, no failures… Nothing! But the loss of my close people. It’s the only fear of mine.”
“Even if it was hard at times, and almost nobody helped us, any time I spent with you was truly wonderful for me. We would’ve rather fought like cat and dog but been together than lived apart and regretted not saving our marriage.”
“You said everything I feel now,” Jamie replies with a slight smile.

“And did he believe that man so easily?” Letitia gets surprised. “Did Edward easily believe those photos? Couldn’t he guess you didn’t think of betraying him?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what he was thinking about,” Natalia sighs heavily and runs a hand through her hair. “But on the other hand, I understand him and have no right to be mad. Because I’m the one to blame…”
“You say you told him everything?”
“Yeah, but does it matter? Of course, he said he believed me and felt very sorry about what happened. But I don’t think we’d get everything we had back. Our ways are separated. I think I should accept it and let him go.”
“At least, you told him the truth and gave him a reason to think about what he did. If he’s not a stupid guy, he will understand he was deceived by his own uncle.”
“He knows it, Mom. Michael confessed everything when he made Edward and Terrence go to his home and tried to kill us three. And… Revealed many secrets that put many things in the right places.”
“So, here’s another reason for Edward to think about his actions,” Letitia replies quietly. “As Michael himself confessed that he put you in the wrong on purpose and did his best to end your relationship, he is supposed to have no doubts.” “Now, it doesn’t matter. Because it’s all over now.”
“Do you think you can put the dot in your relationship?”
“Sadly. But who knows, maybe, it should’ve happened so. Maybe, Edward is not my destiny. Maybe, he’s just the experience that I will need in the future. He was probably sent to me to learn some lessons. No more.”
“Of course, I don’t like how that man behaved. But I must confess he was the best of all your boyfriends. Your father and I had liked Edward before that story started. And… I will be really sad if your breakup is final.”
“He was the best for me, as well.” Natalia sighs heavily with tears coming to her eyes. “But as happened so, I will meet someone to be better someday. I’ve always believed that it’s all for the best. So, I will not stop believing I’ll get a man that will be much better than Edward.”

“If the case had to do with me, and you did such a disgusting thing to me, I’d definitely start to hate you and end our friendship. I will not meddle and stand by someone’s side. Solve it with your family yourself. But I will keep neutrality. Though, I’ll say one thing: the most important thing is that you realized your mistakes at the right time and fixed some of them.”
“It definitely gives me relief,” Edward says quietly, calming down a little but still looking very tense. “Probably, the people will understand you later. At least, they’ll understand you didn’t wanna harm your family and acted like that just because of fearing your uncle.”
“Ah, Chris…” Edward doubles over and leans on his laps with his elbows. “Maybe, you did, but the others will not do. They’ll never forgive me for what I’ve done. I’m sure everybody is gonna think of my sins and start to judge me.”
“Maybe, will they understand it all when they calm down a little? Now your family knows the truth and just should accept it.” “I doubt. Nobody will longer wish to speak to me: Father and Mother, my brother and his fiancée, my ex-girlfriend, and their common friends… I can’t count on the forgiveness of Terrence and Natalia. The first one believes I betrayed him and gave a fuck about his feelings, and the other is mad because of all my insults and humiliations.”
“Well, I can understand Natalia’s offense, even if, as I’ve said, she should’ve understood what her silence would lead to. But do you really think Terrence wouldn’t forgive you?”
“Now, I can’t say I didn’t betray my brother. When I tried to kill Terrence, I betrayed him. Even if I told my brother about Uncle’s wish to make me do it before that meeting.”
“But you said you barely convinced him and your brother’s fiancée to help you when your ex was kidnapped.” “Convincing Raquelle was easier. For her friend, she was ready to forget everything. But everything was much harder about Terrence. He was ready to kick me out of his home like a dog. And he would’ve done it if Cameron hadn’t stopped him. Though, it didn’t stop him from attacking me with fists. But I didn’t answer him. Because I knew I was guilty of him. I had no right to deny something. I didn’t wanna provoke another scandal.”
“But he did agree.”
“I doubt he wanted to help me. Raquelle just convinced him. For her, my brother is ready for anything. Even to overcome pride and offense. He adores that girl and is entirely in love with her. I still remember how Terrence suffered when they almost broke up. That’s a long and unpleasant story, but it ended well, and they saved their marriage.”
“I think you’re wrong, buddy. If Terrence hadn’t wanted to see you and had dreamed of kicking you out, Raquelle wouldn’t have stopped him. He would’ve grabbed you by the collar and kicked you out. Your brother wouldn’t have listened to anyone, especially, a girl. Being furious, he would’ve just closed her mouth and told her to stand aside, and she would’ve been able to do nothing.”
“No, Chris, he was tolerating me all the time just for his fiancée. Even Mother, who is worried that we fought, wouldn’t change his mind.”

“What’s your name?” the stranger asks.
“Mine?” Edward moves his rounded eyes to the stranger. “Erm… Edward…”
“So, Edward, never lose your hope for the best. Yes, maybe, you made some mistakes, but trust me, that’s fine. Everyone gets wrong. There is no perfect person in the world. And we all have a right to a second chance. There is nothing bad in doing something wrong. But when you make a mistake, you will know what will be waiting for you and not repeat that mistake again. I’m sure if you got your girlfriend back, you’d do your best not to lose her. To give her happiness any woman deserves.”
“I’d move a mountain for her…” Edward sighs heavily. “For that blue-eyed blonde beauty…”
“Do it then. Literally.” The stranger slightly fixes his hat. “Remember, if your love for the girl is strong, you must prove it by your actions, not shout that you love her and can’t live without her. You should show her that you’re ready to do anything for her. She will appreciate it. Women adore someone to be ready to go through fire and water for them. And if the girl is totally in love with you, you will conquer her heart.”
“Yeah…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “Maybe, you are right…”
“If your hearts belong to each other by fate, they will always belong. If you must be together, fate will bring you to each other, no matter how hard you resist. I know people that say they love, but don’t actually know what real love is. Love is a very strong feeling that not everyone can feel. Sometimes it’s like poison spreading all over the body and slowly killing a person inside. Only the antidote may save the person. If it’s not found, the poison eats you entirely.”
“Well… If it’s about love like mine, it’s probably the truth.”
“I think in your case, the antidote is the girl you love. Only if you get her back, she will rescue your soul and fix your heart that is broken into little pieces.”
“Do you think this love will kill me if I don’t get her back or find a way to get rid of it?” Edward frowns slightly, looking at the stranger surprisingly.
“Maybe. There are two ways to recover: trying to get back the one, who stole your heart, or striking her out of your life and getting rid of everything related to her. Living and suffering from feelings for someone that has never answered you back or felt out of love with you is not the solution.”

“Oh, oh, here’s the protector!” Michael rolls his eyes. “Wake up, Terrence! Stop doing stupid things! You kind of seem a smart adult man, but you act like you have no brains. And put your love for this kid in your ass. If Edward is still a close person to you after everything he has done to you. Stop worrying about this worthless piece of shit and protect him. He does not serve this love and care.”
“YOU do not deserve it!” Terrence says confidently. “Not this man. And if you want to know, I want to tell you one thing. I will never be indifferent to my younger brother. Whatever happens between us. I cared, I care, and I will care about Edward.”
“Ugh, alright, stop, or I’m going to clean my stomach,” Michael winces strongly. “I’m sick of one brother worrying about another. And this gal screaming loudly and crying every time her ex does something to kill someone or die himself.”
“And we are sick of you showering him with mud for nothing,” Natalia says confidently, coming closer to Edward and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Edward doesn’t deserve the insults that he hears from you. And it’s unpleasant for us to hear you trying to humiliate him. It’s disgusting for us to know you see only weaknesses about him.”
“I’m not the one to blame that this kid makes himself the one. That he can do nothing good and necessary and lives nobody knows why. Who needs this talentless creature? What can he give someone? Nothing! A worthless piece of shit! A pathetic, cowardly creature that shouldn’t have been born in this world.”
“We need this man!” Terrence says with his head proudly up.
“Your life would’ve been better if your mom and dad hadn’t let him be born.”
“And our life would’ve been better if you hadn’t been born,” Edward says in a rude, low voice and sharply points the pistol to Michael, holding it tightly with his hands. “Though, I will fix this great mistake with pleasure.”