Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared)
Chapter 885

Tim gazed at his beloved little girl, her transformation a stark contrast to the vibrant child she once was.

His face etched with disappointment and indignation at her lack of spirit.

Finally, Michael was released from the basement.

He could barely walk, but through clenched teeth, he declared, "Either you kill me today, or if you let me go, I owe you nothing from this moment on. I'm severing all ties with the Whitfield family."

Alyssa watched Michael's staggering figure disappear into the distance, her face buried in her hands as she wept bitterly. After that, she never set foot in school again.

She had heard, though, that Julia and Michael had broken up. Still holding on to a thread of hope, she had people track Michael's every move.

The reports came back that Julia had retreated to her family home, locking herself away for three days and nights without stepping outside. Meanwhile, Michael knelt in the yard of Julia's house for the same stretch of time, not budging even as a downpour soaked him to the bone when was battered and bruised.

In the end, Julia Julia came out and broke up with him. The two of them wept together, heads in hands. Their breakup was as agonizing as severing a limb with a blunt knife.

Michael vanished after that, as if he had been erased from the world. No one knew where he went.

Two months later, Alyssa discovered she was pregnant. Terrified, she didn't dare to reveal the news to Tim. She kept her pregnancy a perfectly guarded secret until the truth came unravelled at five months, when Tim found out.

Tim sent her abroad to give birth.

When the child was brought back, no explanations were given to the outside world.

Instead, the media was fed the story that this was Tim's illegitimate child.

To protect Alyssa's reputation, Tim took all the responsibility.

By then, Julia was making a name for herself in the entertainment industry, with many suitors, including the man who would become her husband, Preston Pritchard.

As the plane began its descent, Alyssa ended her tale.

She closed her eyes, reliving the most painful part of her youth, her greatest tribulation.

To Agnes sitting beside her, Alyssa confessed, "Back then, I was the villain. I destroyed the love between your mother and Michael, a love as old as time. My obsession brought tragedy to three people, no, three families. So, I've accepted a lifetime of punishment. I've never known true happiness."

Agnes had remained silent throughout, just listening intently to Alyssa's story.

The tangled web of love and hate among the three was like an epic saga, heart-wrenching and shocking.

Even after all these years, Agnes could still sense the suffocating despair of Alyssa's youth.

Those mottled memories, stained with blood, were like open wounds on the journey of life, healing and breaking open again, never fully healed.

As they got off the plane, Agnes said, "It's all in the past. I think my mom has forgiven you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept that bracelet you gave her."

Alyssa looked at her, perplexed. "What are you talking about?"

Agnes replied, "The crystal bracelet you mentioned. I saw it at home, in my mom's jewelry box - her most treasured possessions. I saw that diamond-studded bracelet. When I was little, I accidentally broke its clasp. She was always gentle to me, you know? But after replaceing out, she scolded me harshly and never let me touch her jewelry box again."

Alyssa's face turned pale at the revelation.