Chapter 7
Tia Clark lingered in the cemetery for a long time. Just as she was about to leave, her steps halted abruptly at the sight of a group approaching from the other side.
Among them, Nathan spotted her immediately.
This was the first time the two had met since Tia’s car accident.
Nathan’s gaze darkened as he noticed the flowers laid in front of Victoria’s grave.
The next moment, Nathan’s mother, Eleanor Harrison, caught sight of Tia and rushed over, grabbing her with fervent anger.
Eleanor slapped her hard across the face. “Who gave you the right to be here? Get out! Leave!”
The blow sent Tia reeling, her vision swimming with stars. She instinctively took a step back.
“Eleanor, I just wanted to see-”
“Shut up!” Eleanor roared, “You have no right to visit her. It was your fault Victoria died. Leave!”
Tia’s left cheek flushed and swelled rapidly, but she bit back her words, enduring the pain in silence.
Nathan’s father, Arthur Harrison, quickly moved to hold Eleanor back. “Tia, go. Don’t come back here.”
But Eleanor wasn’t done. Spotting the flowers on the ground, she wrenched free from Arthur’s hold, picked them up, and hurled them at Tia with a heart–wrenching cry.
“We don’t need your fake sympathy. If you hadn’t run away that day, if you’d stayed to help her, Victoria wouldn’t have died so horribly. Five drunken men, and you left her there alone, to be defiled by them. When she died, there wasn’t a part of her left untouched!”
Eleanor’s hatred for Tia was all–consuming.
Even though everyone knew the truth–that the outcome would have been the same whether Tia had stayed or fled–Victoria’s tragic death had blinded them all with grief.
They all blamed Tia for not letting Victoria escape first.
The men who had done it were locked away for life, but Tia Clark was sentenced to live forever in guilt.
Through her tears, Eleanor continued to hit Tia, relentless in her anger. “My Victoria was so young, so kind, why did you run? Why did you leave her alone?”
Finally, she shoved Tia with a sob, “Why did Victoria have to die? Why are you still alive?”
Tia stumbled, her head striking another gravestone, blood quickly covering her forehead.
Nathan’s fingers clenched tightly, and after Tia struggled to her feet, he grabbed her wrist with force.
“Mom, calm down for Victoria’s sake. I’ll get her out of here now.”
With that, he dragged Tia out of the cemetery.
Outside, he shoved her away harshly.
Nathan’s eyes were dark, with anger and something else hidden beneath. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? I warned you never to come here again.”
Despite his anger, something else flickered in his eyes.
Tia’s voice was bitter as she spoke, “I just wanted to see Victoria…”
Nathan’s voice was icy, “You don’t deserve to.”
With those words, he turned sharply back into the cemetery, instructing the guards to escort her away.
14:56
Chapter /
That phrase, “You don’t deserve to,” pierced her heart like a knife.
Tia staggered away, tears streaming down her face as she walked down the road.
In her ears, Victoria’s clear voice echoed.
“Tia, this bracelet–one for you, one for me. We’ll be best friends forever; don’t ever think of leaving me.”
“Tia, I saw my brother picking out a ring yesterday. He’s planning to propose.”
“Once he does, you’ll be harder to reach. Let’s go see a movie tonight, okay?”
“Tia, run! Run!”
Tia’s tears flowed freely down her face.
Victoria, if only you knew how much I regret not standing in front of you that day, not letting you go first.
If I had died instead, maybe fewer people would be in pain.
Someone like me, with no family, it doesn’t matter if I die.
If I had died then, maybe Nathan would have loved me forever.
Maybe we wouldn’t have ended up like this.
The more Tia thought, the deeper her pain grew, until she could no longer hold back. Her emotions burst forth like a dam breaking, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
