Sitting on the bench in the hospital corridor, Clara felt exhausted. Isaac showed up, reminding her of the past and pushing her to rethink the relationship between Horace and her.
She had already decided that she would forgive Horace and give Neo a family since the kid missed his dad so much and Horace had tried to win over her heart again. But only after then did she realize that she overestimated her resilience. What had happened was like a thorn taking root deep in her heart; it didn’t hurt when everything was fine, but once she recalled the past, it would hurt like hell.
If she really came back to Horace, was she able to forget all the things that had happened and lived a happy life with him ever since? Clara doubted it. It would be worse if they broke up once again, which would traumatize their boy.
Taking in a deep breath and heaving out a sigh, Clara felt confounded and had no idea what she should do. So, she gave up thinking since it would do her no good. This should be a decision made by both Horace and her, so it would be better for her to talk to him before making any conclusions.
Clara stood up from the bench and headed to the ward; she wanted to check on Laura to see whether she was awake by now. When she reached the door, she heard Laura’s voice, and it seemed that she was talking to someone. Driven by curiosity, Clara didn’t enter the ward but peered through the window instead, and she saw Horace was standing in front of Laura’s bed while Laura was apologizing to him, crying.
“Horace, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. What happened back then was all my fault. But you have to forgive me. Please, I’m begging you. I promise it won’t happen again.” Laura grabbed Horace’s sleeve, tears pouring out of her eyes.
Horace threw off her hand with resentment and said in a cold voice, “Laura Hutchinson, what a wonderful woman who helped others kidnapping her boyfriend. You made me suffer and for that, I’ll never forgive you. You should be glad you are still a patient or you must be in jail right now.”
“No! No, you can’t do that to me. Horace, please.” Clutching on the bedrail, Laura cried miserably. “I’m sorry, Horace. It was…I was out of my mind. I was only thinking about the family, and I just wanted to save my family.”
“Yes, so you would rather watch me die!” Laura’s explanation made Horace infuriated. There was overt hatred in his voice.
Ever since he knew the truth, he felt like a complete idiot. All these years, he had believed it was him who killed Laura, and that she died at such a young age only because he took her out on a field trip. The regrets and despair had haunted him every night; once he closed his eyes, he would see Laura screaming and struggling in the fire. He couldn’t remember how many nights had been spent with himself crying and repeating “I’m sorry” to Laura. He had thought it was all his fault that he couldn’t even protect the one he loved. It had been two years since he was trapped in guilt. He had suffered from insomnia, and when exhausted, he would fall into sleep but not before half an hour he would be wakened up by the nightmare in which Laura was screaming at him. Finally, when he felt like he was about to end his life, he went for mental therapy, which included a year-long treatment for body and mind. Only after that did he manage to walk away from the pain and move on, but Laura was a name that he would never forget.
Even later when he met Clara and fell in love with this kind, gentle girl, he still left a place for Laura in his heart, the girl who he used to love with all his heart but lost her life because of him, which he would never forget.
So, when he met Laura in the graveyard, he was struck at first but later hearing about how she had been saved from the Hutchinsons filled him with gladness and relief. At that moment, when the regrets and sadness were gone, he was finally able to breathe again.
However, he had been in love with Clara, so it was not possible for Laura and him to be together again. Though Laura wasn’t the one he loved with all his heart anymore, he still considered her special in his life, so he never doubted anything she said or done. Even after Clara broke up with him and he started to know about the evil side of Laura, he never regretted being in love with her when they were both young. He began to hate Laura for doing evil deeds but he kept the pure love they once had as a cherished memory.
In the very end, even pure love turned out to be a trap. The relationship that he cherished and that he had kept in his heart for all these years turned out to be a stepping stone for her to gain benefits for herself.
“I didn’t mean to kill you!” The hatred in Horace’s words panicked Laura. “I never meant to kill you, Horace. I untied you in the end. Please trust me! I love you, Horace, and I’ll never hurt you.”
“You think I’ll believe you after all these?” Horace started at Laura pitilessly. He would never trust her again.
“Horace, please think about me, okay? I was out of my mind and I didn’t know what to do. Just forgive me and I promise it will never happen again.” Laura was nearly choked with sobs. “We…we grew up together and we loved each other so much and we were so happy to have each other, Horace. Don’t tell me you forget that.”
“Stop it!” What Laura said about the past only exacerbated Horace. How dare she said she loved him? She only tricked him like an idiot.
“Laura Hutchinson, it is the most regrettable and foolish thing I have ever done to fall in love with you! If I could roll back the clock, I wish I had never met you!” Glaring at Laura, Horace made himself very clear by saying out loud how he really felt, and by doing this, he also cast the young, naïve love away.