Chapter 8: Chapter 8

622 words

<html><head></head><body>Liam Anderson did all this to ruin my reputation and destroy me completely. He believed his father's death was my fault. Months ago, his father and I were in a car accident while running errands together. Liam's father died instantly. His mother had passed away long ago, so he relied heavily on his father. After the tragedy, my husband and I decided to take Liam into our home. Since no compensation was awarded, Liam assumed I had stolen the money. It made sense to him—I was also in the accident, so the compensation might have gone to me. But he didn’t know the truth. That day, I had introduced a client to his father, and we all had dinner together. Afterward, his father drank a little and insisted on driving home. I suggested getting a designated driver, but he refused. We argued about it. Worried about his safety, I got in the car with him. Soon after we left, he tried to drive against traffic. Before I could stop him, we collided with an oncoming truck. The impact spun our car around. His father hit his head on the steering wheel and died instantly. Drunk driving and going the wrong way made us fully liable. I even covered the medical bills for the other driver. To protect his father’s memory, my husband and I agreed not to tell Liam the truth. We let him believe it was just an ordinary accident. I never imagined he would resent me so much. Or that he would devise such a cruel plan for revenge. To prevent him from sinking deeper into bitterness, I decided to tell him everything. After retrieving my bag from the room, I felt calmer. As I walked downstairs, I saw Liam and Noah Lopez finishing checkout. They both stared at me in shock, their eyes filled with panic. Liam immediately tried to explain. “Noah and I were just—” I cut him off with a wave. “No need. I heard everything.” His face paled. “What… what did you hear?” I walked toward the exit. “Liam, come outside. I need to talk to you.” He looked confused but followed me out. Standing on the sidewalk under the sun, he looked young and handsome. I didn’t want such a bright soul consumed by hatred. “Liam, if I had known you’d hate me this much, I would have told you the truth sooner.” He stared intently, searching my eyes for honesty. I calmly explained everything. “The hospitals and traffic police have records. You can verify it yourself. Every word I’ve said is true.” Then I turned and left him standing there, stunned. The truth can be cruel. I never wanted to expose it, but I had no choice. Letting him live in hatred would have destroyed us both. That evening, Liam returned home and knelt before me. “Aunt Olivia, I’m sorry… I never knew you did all this for me.” My husband looked confused, unaware of what had happened. I explained the entire story to him, including Liam’s intentional scheme. My husband sighed with a bitter smile, his heart aching. “Liam, your aunt and I have always treated you like our own. She even decided not to have children because she wanted to focus on you. How could you be so foolish?” Liam froze at those words. He kowtowed to us, then stood up with determination. “Uncle, Aunt Olivia, I was wrong. I’ll take care of you both when you’re older. But I’m an adult now—I want to move out.” I knew he felt awkward staying, so I agreed. I never truly blamed him. Liam visits often now and no longer behaves inappropriately. We have become true family, bound not by blood but by love. </body></html>