Chapter 282: Guilt and regret
"Forgive you?" Margaret snapped before Nathan could respond. She strode forward, brushing past her son, and planted herself in front of Oliver. Her stare was hard and unforgiving.
Oliver couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes. Her gaze burned into him, dragging up every failure, every selfish choice, every moment he turned his back on her.
"It’s been over twenty years since we parted ways," she said, her tone icy and level. "We have lived separate lives, never crossing paths. I told myself that if I ever saw you again, I wouldn’t feel anything."
She let out a bitter breath. "But the truth is... the pain is still here. The disappointment still stings. Nothing has changed."
She took another step forward, her presence bearing down on him. She jabbed a finger into his chest.
"Do you even have a heart? Or did you replace it with stone long ago?"
He finally forced himself to look at her. "Margaret, I know I failed you. I made unforgivable mistakes. I was blind. But I was manipulated—Hugo and Susan..."
"Don’t you dare hide behind them," she snapped, cutting him off. "They didn’t force your hand. They didn’t make your choices. You did. You chose to believe them. You threw your trust away. I told you again and again, I had no romantic ties to Hugo, that we were only friends."
Her voice trembled with rage now. "You sent him to jail and demanded I cut him off. I did. I obeyed, without protest, without hesitation. But even then, you never stopped doubting me."
Oliver stood there, hollow, as Margaret’s words hit harder than any blow.
Tears shimmered in Margaret’s eyes, her heart heavy with the weight of everything that had gone unsaid for decades.