Chapter 14

"Tell me honestly. Why do you seem so hostile toward me?" 

Sebastian kept asking questions that Winter couldn't answer because none of the answers would make sense. 

He hadn't done all the evil things he did in his previous life, but he would do them once Camilla pushed him to do so. 

He would alienate her from her family and friends in six months.

He would cheat on her within a year.

He would start to ignore her completely and limit her movement, even as far as barring her from ever coming to the office or any public event in one and a half years of their marriage.

Ultimately, he seized her assets in two years, leaving her with nothing but heartbreak. 

"Answer me, Winter."

Finally, Winter turned around to face him. She tried to hide her tears, but recalling all of those horrible memories made her feel like she was still drowning in pain.

"I've just woken up from a long nightmare," Winter said, her voice trembling. "In that nightmare, I jumped from the balcony of the penthouse because you pushed me to the edge, Sebastian. You cheated, verbally abused me, and seized everything I had. You destroyed me and left me in ruin until I had nothing… but a broken heart."

Winter wanted to say that she had nothing but a baby and a broken heart, but Sebastian didn't need to know about that because imagining herself getting pregnant again with his baby was an utterly wretched image she didn't want to recall. 

Sebastian's hand started shaking when he saw the tears on her eyes.

He didn't know what went on in Winter's mind before she jumped to her death.

She must've hated him and cursed his very existence, hoping that he would suffer the same fate.

She must've been desperate for closure because Sebastian had truly shattered her.

For two years, Sebastian endured this guilt before he ended his life with a gunshot to the chest, but his pain wasn't comparable to Winter's.

'Winter, you may never know this. But in this life, I want to pay for my sin. I want to love you properly because I now realize how stupid I was for discarding a gem in my hand,' Sebastian vowed in his heart. 

But he never said any of those. He tried to maintain his arrogant attitude despite his pain. "You're insane. So you believe a stupid dream over me? Wake the hell up! This is not some goddamn dreamland. This is the reality. OUR reality."

Winter didn't understand why Sebastian emphasized that last sentence, but she couldn't be bothered to know at this point.

All she wanted was to get the hell away from him before she broke down completely and started crying uncontrollably.

"I don't care about what you think, Sebastian. I'd rather believe in my long nightmare than a scum like you. So let me go," Winter said, pulling her hand away from him. But Sebastian held her wrist so tight that she began struggling. "Let me go, Sebastian Saenz! LET ME GO!"

Sebastian snapped out of his daze when Winter began to get hysterical. 

He loosened his grip on her wrist and noticed a slight bruise started to form because he held her too tightly. 

Stunned by the sight, he attempted to defuse the situation. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Let me get it treated first—"

"Stop with your fake kindness! You're not fooling anyone!" Winter yelled as she rubbed her bruised wrist. She stepped back, feeling angry as she watched Sebastian looking so lost. 

She hated how he acted so vulnerable and kind sometimes. The old Winter would melt immediately and forgive him, but not now.

She would never forgive him for what he did to her, even if this version of Sebastian remained unaware of his sins. 

"We know we hate each other, Sebastian Saenz. So stop trying to fool me. I know you're a soul-sucking, greedy scumbag!" Winter yelled before she opened the door and left. 

She slammed the door in his face and accidentally bumped into Iris, who had been eavesdropping the whole time.

They looked at each other in shock, and Iris stammered as she tried to explain herself, "M—Madam—I mean—Winter, please don't misunderstand. I was just worried since I heard you two fighting inside."

Winter shook her head as she wiped her tears, "It doesn't matter. Just pretend you never heard anything, Iris.

Winter walked past Iris, and the latter tried to follow her, "M—Maybe you need to calm down first before leaving. Take a deep breath, Winter."

"I will be fine," Winter said as she entered the elevator. "This is between me and him. You're my friend, but you should mind your business, Iris."

"But I—" Iris couldn't finish her words before the elevator door closed. She stared at the reflective door and completed her sentence, "—I am really worried about you…"

Iris sighed. 

She didn't expect Winter to have so much hatred for her second husband.

'Just when I thought that she could finally move on…' Iris thought as she turned around and stared at the CEO's office door. 

*

Sebastian leaned against the wall as he lost his strength after getting yelled at by his wife. 

He didn't know if it was her words, tears, or both that made him weak.

But for now, all he wanted to do was beg for her forgiveness because he finally understood the depth of her hatred towards him. 

"What should I do so you can forgive me, Winter? I feel trapped when you don't even give me a chance in this life…'