A Second Chance at Forever ( Eleanor Shultz )
A Second Chance at Forever Chapter 1438

Chapter 1438

Sigrid had been Garrett’s rock, weathering the storm of tough times alongside him. And Chase? He had been hiding in the shadows, watching as Sigrid’s eyes slowly filled with Garrett, piece by piece…

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It seemed more heart-wrenching to witness the person etched in your very soul fall for someone else, rather than just falling out of love. Especially when she admitted it, it felt like Chase had been shot through the heart with a volley of arrows…

The pain gnawed its way into his palms before piercing through his limbs, slicing his flesh bit by bit, bleeding him out drop by drop. After such agony, life seemed utterly meaningless.

Leaning against the wall, Chase turned away, his eyes misting over. Slowly tilting his head back, he caught a glimpse of the azure sky and felt that the world was still beautiful. So why was his heart riddled with holes?

“Sigrid, I was ready to silently stand by you for a lifetime, under one condition-that neither of us would fall for someone else. But why did you have to be the one to break the only rule we had left?”

However, he seemed to forget that this ‘rule’ was one he had made himself, irrelevant to Sigrid. Naturally, he had to bear the bitter fruit of it being broken.

Unwilling to accept this bitter fruit, Chase placed his hand over his aching heart, then slowly turned to look at Sigrid, who was sitting next to Eleanor.

Back when he had cruelly left her, Sigrid had held up three fingers in a hysterical oath to the heavens.

She had exclaimed, “Chase, remember this-I will completely forget you and will love another. And when that day comes, don’t you dare look back, or may you be cursed to high heavens and never replace peace!”

Such a deafening vow had hammered against Chase’s heart chamber night after night, painfully unforgettable, etched in his mind to this very day.

He had feared the vow coming true, so he stayed close to her over the years, fearing she would love someone else. Yet when the day actually came, the pain was unbearable.

Chase could accept Sigrid not loving him, but not her loving someone else. It meant that he would have to watch the woman who once loved him with all her heart, love another the same way…

It was cruel, but she had forbidden him from looking back, threatening him with severe retribution. Perhaps Sigrid knew this day would come and thus severed his only path?

Through separation and unrequited love, Chase had experienced it all, like a living corpse. Holding a congratulatory gift, he entered the delivery room, “Cedric, Hailey, congratulations on the arrival of your twins.”

He greeted them with a smile as if nothing was wrong, but his ashen face clearly screamed of a life in tatters. Cedric surely knew what Chase had overheard just moments before.

Yet, he pretended nothing was amiss, Cedric simply pulled him to see the babies, cracking jokes to divert Chase’s attention.

Eleanor hadn’t even had the chance to respond to Sigrid before Chase’s abrupt arrival interrupted their conversation. The topic was dropped abruptly, and all eyes turned to Bernard.

Bernard, sitting nearby, hadn’t expected Sigrid to have any interest in Garrett. Although “not bad” didn’t mean she was in love, it implied a desire to take things further among adults.

Clearly, Sigrid was intrigued, but if she and Garrett were to become an item, wouldn’t that make Garrett his and Eleanor’s relative?

Bernard wasn’t keen on such an outcome, his cool gaze flickering towards Chase with a hint of indifference.

To break the awkwardness, Chase played with the babies before turning to Sigrid, “I heard what you said just now. Garrett is a good man. If you like him… grasp that chance.”

Sigrid only thought Garrett was a good man, nowhere near liking him yet. But when she caught Chase’s look of despair, she was reminded of her own past struggles and swallowed her clarification, “Thanks”

That word made Chase force a bitter smile, his lips pale, “Don’t take it the wrong way, I truly bless you…”

After that, the conversation died. The delivery room fell into a deathly silence, even as Cedric tried to liven the mood. Sigrid felt uncomfortable, bidding everyone goodbye before leaving.

Chase, pretending to dote on the children, sneakily watched Sigrid’s retreating figure, longing down to his marrow. For some reason, tears began to flow.

Hot tears fell on the baby’s clothes, leaving a small stain unnoticed by all but the infant who kept a steady gaze on Chase.

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Chase masked all his sadness, continuing to frolic with the child until he saw Sigrid got into Garrett’s car. Then he began his descent into the abyss….

Eventually, the dazed Chase staggered out of the delivery room under the watchful eyes of the four people. His days became a haze of cigarettes, liquor, and medicines…

He waited a lifetime; she never looked back.