He Thought I’d Always Stay—Then the Countdown Hit Zero Chapter 08

He Thought I’d Always Stay—Then the Countdown Hit Zero Chapter 08

Ethan’s body went rigid.

His fingers tightened around the umbrella handle until his knuckles turned white.

“Natalie…

His voice shook with disbelief and fear.

“I was protecting you.”

“Protecting me?”

I gave a soft laugh and stepped out from beneath his umbrella.

“You weren’t protecting me. You were trying to hide your own stupidity.”

“You encouraged her and gave her false hope. Now you’re grinding her into the mud to prove your loyalty to

me.”

“Ethan, your cruelty toward her is no different from the cruelty you showed me.”

“You only ever care about your own feelings.”

I didn’t look at him again.

I turned and walked into the rain.

The spare umbrella I had once planned to give him went into the trash can beside the entrance.

My attorney called to tell me that our divorce would become final in five days.

Ethan finally seemed to understand that gestures, breakfasts, and flowers couldn’t bring back someone whose heart had completely died.

So he began resorting to more extreme measures.

That evening, Rachel went downstairs to take out the trash.

She returned several minutes later, looking alarmed.

“Natalie! You have to come downstairs!”

“That lunatic Ethan is standing outside in the rain!”

I was reading.

My fingers paused on the page.

A violent storm raged outside, accompanied by thunder.

“Let him.”

I lowered my eyes to the book again.

Rachel stamped her foot anxiously.

“No, you don’t understand. His face is completely white. He looks like he’s about to collapse!”

“If he dies outside my building, how am I supposed to keep living here?”

I sighed.

I closed the book and stood.

“Fine. Let’s go.

The rain was even heavier than I expected.

Ethan stood in the open space outside the building.

There was nothing sheltering him.

Water poured over his body like a waterfall.

His white shirt clung to him, and his hair was plastered to his face.

He looked utterly miserable.

The moment he saw me, his eyes lit up.

He tried to walk toward me.

But he stumbled and nearly fell.

“Natalie…”

His voice was so hoarse I could barely hear it.

“I know I was wrong.”

“I really know now.”

He stood in the rain with red-rimmed eyes.

“I shouldn’t have ignored you. I shouldn’t have kept putting someone else first.”

“Please forgive me once.”

“Just once.”

He looked like a child who had made a mistake, stubbornly waiting for an adult’s forgiveness.

I stood beneath my umbrella on the steps, looking down at him.

My gaze moved to the numbers above his head.

[3,650 days.]

Ten years.

His terror and regret had stretched the countdown to an entire decade.

Perhaps this was the moment he loved me most in his entire life.

But…

“Ethan.”

My voice carried clearly through the rain.

“Are you standing here to threaten me?”

Ethan froze.

“If I don’t give in today, are you planning to let yourself die out here?”

“Then everyone can accuse me of being cold and heartless?”

“This is still about making yourself feel noble.”

I watched his face turn gray.

“Go home.”

“No matter what you do, I won’t change my mind.”

I turned and walked back inside.

The door slammed shut behind me.

It shut out the storm.