Chapter 25
As soon as Dylan stepped into the mourning hall, he spotted Chester immediately, his hair completely white. Violet sat in her wheelchair, looking blank.
Dylan held a bouquet of lilies as he stood before Mandy’s portrait, paying his respects. He placed the lilies in front of her photo and gazed at it, lost in thought.
His feelings for Mandy were complex. He was grateful to her, but she’d consumed five years of his life. He hated her, yet she had also supported him financially, helping him keep his study afloat. But there was no bringing the dead back, and with Mandy gone, everything they had shared faded quietly away.
Dylan glanced at Mandy’s portrait one last time before turning to Chester and nodding. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Padden.”
Chester nodded back silently.
Then, Dylan walked over to Violet. He stared at her for a moment before quietly saying, “I’m sorry.”
Violet forced a bitter smile, offering no reply. Valerie, temporarily released from prison under guard due to Mandy’s death, was also present. She was family, after all. After her time inside, Valerie’s tough exterior had faded, leaving her feeling empty. She showed no emotion upon seeing Dylan.
But the second Valerie saw Mandy’s portrait, she dropped to her knees, crying uncontrollably. “Mom!”
The guests nearby looked away, unable to bear the sight.
Light rain began to fall on the day they laid Mandy to rest. People from other prominent families arrived to offer condolences. That was also the day Callum and Luna learned that Dylan had quietly returned, but they didn’t say anything. Later, Dylan filled them in on everything.
Luna hugged him. “We won’t let Violet off the hook if you were wrongly implicated in this.”
At the cemetery, Luna and Dylan huddled under an umbrella, watching Mandy’s coffin being lowered. Valerie cried so hard she seemed to faint; the guards behind her steadied her.
After the burial, the guests said their goodbyes and departed one by one. Dylan and Luna walked at the back, talking about their future plans.
“Dylan,” Violet suddenly called from behind.
Dylan turned to see her in the rain, watching him. “Will you… will you stay with me for a bit?” Violet asked.
Luna shot Dylan a worried look, ready to intervene if he hesitated.
Dylan pulled the umbrella tighter for a second, then lowered it. The rain fell harder as he walked to Violet, holding the umbrella over her while pushing her wheelchair toward the cemetery exit.
“Dylan, I don’t have a home anymore.” Rufus came to a halt. Dylan stopped and fixed his gaze on her. Mandy was gone, Valerie was locked up, Violet was left unable to walk, and Chester was too busy raising a new heir to come home for ages. He’d even been the first to leave the funeral.
Dylan opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. What could he possibly say? Had things always been like this between him and Violet?
Violet suddenly laughed, as if struck by a sudden thought. “If only we could hit the reset button,” she said. Then she could have loved him fully and supported him through everything. They wouldn’t have ended up in this situation, and they wouldn’t be facing such an empty future. Sadly, there was no room for regrets.
With the rain muffling other sounds, this was the first time Dylan heard his own voice so clearly. “There are bad times in life. All we can do is keep moving forward.”
Neither of them could turn back time. They’d never get a second chance. This was their first calm conversation since their divorce three years ago. “Let’s end this on a good note,” Dylan said.
He had mentioned this when they first met again, but all Violet could think about was the unending rain; she didn’t realize he was saying goodbye.
Mandy kept up and headed for the gate. “Let’s not meet again,” Violet matched his pace as his figure gradually disappeared into the distance. “Goodbye, Dylan,” she whispered.