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Before Falling Stars Touch Earth We Remember Our Promises by Theo Jaxon Reid 15

Before Falling Stars Touch Earth We Remember Our Promises by Theo Jaxon Reid 15

Echo of Pieces by Charles Dickens 15 Summary

In Chapter 15 of “Echo of Pieces” by Charles Dickens, the story unfolds in the idyllic setting of Country A, where the Fuller family villa exudes warmth and comfort. Ethan, with a cheerful disposition, prepares a meal for Isabella, filling the air with the enticing aroma of pork chops. Their intimate moment is marked by playful banter, but it quickly shifts to a heavy atmosphere as Ethan grapples with the reality of Isabella’s health condition. He reassures her of his commitment to find a heart donor, but his emotions threaten to overwhelm him, reflecting the deep bond and fear of loss that permeates their relationship.

As dinner concludes, an urgent call pulls Ethan away, leaving Isabella to contemplate her life. Feeling restless and seeking solace, she ventures out for a walk, only to be confronted by Joseph, a figure from her past who embodies her pain. His desperate attempts to reconcile are met with Isabella’s defiance and anger, as she vividly recalls the betrayal that shattered their relationship. This confrontation reveals the emotional scars left by Joseph’s actions, and Isabella’s strength shines through as she rejects his pleas for forgiveness, underscoring her resolve to move on from the past.

The tension escalates as Joseph’s desperation turns to confrontation, but Isabella remains steadfast, articulating the depth of her hurt and the irrevocable damage caused by his choices. The scene is charged with raw emotion as Joseph attempts to shift blame, but Isabella’s unwavering stance highlights her growth and determination to reclaim her life. Just as the confrontation reaches a climax, a tragic twist occurs when a speeding Bugatti, driven by Ethan, collides with Joseph, leaving him injured and vulnerable. This shocking turn of events amplifies the stakes and sets the stage for further conflict, intertwining themes of love, betrayal, and the consequences of one’s actions.

The chapter culminates in a powerful blend of emotions, from the warmth of shared moments between Ethan and Isabella to the chilling confrontation with Joseph. Isabella’s journey of acceptance and strength contrasts sharply with Joseph’s desperation, creating a poignant narrative that explores the complexities of love and the scars left by betrayal. As the chapter closes, the reader is left anticipating the repercussions of the dramatic events that have unfolded, particularly how they will affect the intertwined lives of the characters.

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**Echo of Pieces by Charles Dickens**

**Chapter 15**

In the picturesque expanse of Country A, nestled among the lush greenery, stood the Fuller family villa, a charming abode that echoed warmth and homeliness.

Ethan, clad in a cheerful apron that seemed to reflect his buoyant spirit, carefully carried a plate bearing a freshly cooked Pork Chop to the dining table. The savory scent wafted through the air, wrapping around Isabella like a comforting embrace.

With a playful glint in his eyes, Ethan called out, “Honey, come try my cooking!”

As he spoke, he gently placed a generous piece on her plate, the steam still rising, promising a delightful experience.

“It’s delicious,” Isabella replied, her smile radiant, illuminating the room more than the setting sun outside.

Ethan’s heart swelled with joy, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he responded softly, “Then I’ll cook for you every day from now on, okay?”

However, as soon as the words slipped from his lips, a wave of regret washed over him.

The atmosphere shifted, growing heavy with an unspoken weight.

Ethan instinctively grasped Isabella’s hand, holding it tightly as if anchoring himself to her presence.

“Don’t worry, Isabella. There are still two years left. I promise I will do everything in my power to find a suitable heart donor for you. You’re not going to die…”

His voice trembled towards the end, breaking under the strain of emotion, a sob threatening to escape.

In an unexpected turn, it was Isabella who offered him solace, her smile unwavering. “Ethan, it’s okay. Since I met you, I’ve been so happy. Even if I die, I have no regrets.”

Ethan pulled her into a tight embrace, his tears soaking into her shoulder as he trembled, overwhelmed by the thought of losing her.

“I don’t want this, Isabella… I can’t bear the idea of losing you…”

“It was so hard to finally win you over,” she whispered, her voice steady yet filled with longing. “I want to be with you forever… Please don’t leave me.”

Isabella remained still, allowing him to hold her, feeling the warmth of his body against her own.

Deep down, she had already accepted her fate; she had made peace with the idea of death.

After all she had endured, she understood the importance of cherishing the present moment—living each day with joy, embracing life, and loving those who truly deserved her affection.

As dinner drew to a close, Ethan’s phone rang, shattering the intimate moment.

“There’s an emergency at the company,” he said, his voice tinged with urgency. He quickly gathered his things and left, leaving Isabella in the soft glow of the evening light.

Feeling a sense of restlessness, Isabella decided to take a solitary walk. Her health had improved significantly, and the confines of the villa felt stifling after a day spent indoors.

As she strolled down Sycamore Avenue, her mind wandered, reflecting on the beauty of the world around her. Suddenly, without warning, someone lunged from behind, enveloping her in a fierce hug.

“Isabella, I finally found you! I’ve missed you so much…”

Isabella froze, her heart racing. That voice…

It was Joseph!

His tone was thick with emotion, his longing palpable, yet Isabella felt a chill creep down her spine.

“Joseph, let go!” she demanded, her voice steady but laced with anger.

“I won’t,” he insisted, his stubbornness evident. “I went through hell trying to find you. I’m not letting go. Stop being angry and come back with me.”

Isabella couldn’t help but feel a wave of incredulity wash over her. Was he truly so blind? After all he had done, what made him think she would willingly return to him?

With a sudden burst of defiance, she lifted her high heel and stomped down hard on Joseph’s instep.

The moment he cried out in pain, she seized the opportunity to break free from his grasp, stepping away from the man who had brought her so much anguish.

Joseph looked up, his expression shifting from determination to shock as he met the icy disgust in Isabella’s eyes.

He curled his fingers, wounded, and spoke with a quaver in his voice, “Isabella, please don’t look at me like that. My life has been nothing but torment since you disappeared.

I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have believed Sophia and blamed you. Please, forgive me.”

“Just look at me, even for a second…”

His words dripped with desperation, but in that moment, Isabella felt an unsettling calm wash over her.

She knew that as long as Joseph was determined to find her, this confrontation was inevitable.

Running away would solve nothing; it was time to lay everything bare.

“Joseph,” she began, her voice steady and devoid of emotion.

“A year ago, when you insisted on removing my mother’s oxygen tube, I warned you that if she died, I would never forgive you.”

The weight of her words hung in the air, freezing Joseph in place, rendering him speechless.

Without another glance, Isabella turned to leave, but Joseph lunged forward again, gripping her wrist with urgency. “Isabella, don’t go! Please, listen to me…”

She interrupted him coldly, “There’s no need. There’s nothing left for us to say.”

“Don’t be like this, Isabella.”

Joseph’s gaze bore into hers, a stubborn plea in his eyes. “The reason we’ve come to this is just a misunderstanding. I didn’t know that Sophia was hired by my mother to break us apart. If I had known, I would never have let her come between us.”

“I’ve always loved you,” he continued, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s all my mother’s and Sophia’s fault for ruining what we had…”

Isabella violently shook his hand off, her eyes as cold as the winter’s chill. “Don’t shift the blame onto others. You were the one who succumbed to temptation, who betrayed me with Sophia, and even concocted that ridiculous excuse of a ritual marriage to justify your actions. You brought her into our lives, allowing her to cause my mother’s death. So, Joseph, the true culprit is you!”

Joseph’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Isabella, I was wrong, but I regret it deeply. I’m willing to change. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. What will it take for you to forgive me?”

In stark contrast to his frantic demeanor, Isabella maintained an almost chilling calm.

Her response was quiet but resolute: “Never. My mother’s life has severed all ties between us.”

Joseph’s heart felt as though it were being ripped from his chest. He struggled to speak through the pain, “What if I pay for it with my life? Will you forgive me then…”

Before he could finish his desperate plea, a sleek Bugatti sped towards him, the engine roaring as it accelerated to 150.

Joseph had no time to react.

With a thunderous crash—

He was propelled ten meters away, landing with a sickening thud on the ground, blood pooling around him.

Clutching his leg, he let out a pained scream, the reality of his situation crashing down on him.

The Bugatti’s window rolled down slowly, revealing Ethan’s face, a smirk dancing on his lips, brimming with an arrogance that was almost palpable.

Ethan rested his elbow casually on the window, his smile wild and carefree. “My apologies, Mr. Ashford. My driving skills are a bit lacking.”

Conclusion

As the dust settled around the chaotic scene, Isabella found herself grappling with a whirlwind of emotions. The confrontation with Joseph had forced her to confront the ghosts of her past, laying bare the pain and betrayal that had haunted her for so long. However, in the midst of that turmoil, she felt an unexpected sense of liberation. By standing firm against Joseph’s manipulations and refusing to be swayed by his desperate pleas, she reclaimed her agency. The moment felt like a cathartic release, a breaking of chains that had long bound her to a painful history. She realized that her journey was not just about surviving but about embracing the life she had ahead of her, filled with love and hope, particularly with Ethan by her side.

Ethan’s reckless act had been a shocking twist, yet it underscored the depth of his feelings for Isabella. His willingness to confront Joseph, even in such a dramatic fashion, revealed a fierce protectiveness that dispelled her lingering doubts about their bond. As she stood there, witnessing the aftermath of the collision, Isabella understood that their love was not merely a refuge but a powerful force capable of overcoming the shadows of the past. With the weight of her past finally lifted, she felt a renewed sense of purpose. The path ahead was uncertain, but armed with the promise of love and the strength of her own convictions, Isabella was ready to embrace whatever came next, confident that she would never again allow the echoes of her past to define her future.

What to Expect in Next Chapter?

In the upcoming chapter of “Echo of Pieces,” readers can expect the tension to escalate dramatically as the consequences of the shocking events unfold. With Joseph’s life hanging in the balance after the brutal encounter with Ethan’s car, the stakes have never been higher. Isabella, torn between her lingering feelings for Joseph and her deepening bond with Ethan, faces a tumultuous emotional storm. How will she navigate the aftermath of this violent confrontation? Will she be able to reconcile her past with her present, or will the weight of her choices pull her under?

Moreover, Ethan’s seemingly reckless act raises questions about his character and his true intentions. Beneath the surface of his carefree demeanor lies a complex individual grappling with his own fears and insecurities regarding Isabella’s health and their future together. As the dust settles, will Ethan’s impulsive decision bring them closer or drive a wedge between them? Expect revelations, heart-wrenching choices, and a deeper exploration of love’s fragility in the next chapter, as Isabella must confront not only the physical consequences of the accident but also the emotional turmoil that threatens to unravel everything she holds dear. The echoes of their intertwined fates are about to resonate louder than ever before.

Before Falling Stars Touch Earth We Remember Our Promises by Theo Jaxon Reid

Before Falling Stars Touch Earth We Remember Our Promises by Theo Jaxon Reid

Score 9.9
Status: Ongoing Type:
Before Falling Stars Touch Earth We Remember Our Promises by Theo Jaxon Reid

Betrayal, Manipulation, and the Breaking of a Devoted Heart

The story opens with Isabella standing on the precipice of a devastating truth—one so shattering that it flips her world upside down in a single moment. She overhears Joseph’s friends mocking her, teasing Joseph for his elaborate deceit: faking an illness, inventing a ritual marriage, and creating a dramatic lie all so he could bring another woman—Sophia—into their home without suspicion. They laugh, crediting him as a “mastermind,” marveling that only someone as innocent as Isabella could have believed his story.

That single moment becomes the spark that ignites Isabella’s unraveling. The protective charm she carries, the same charm she had prayed over for Joseph’s recovery, suddenly burns hot in her hand as if reacting to the betrayal itself. Her body feels cold, her heart colder still, as she realizes the entire façade of Joseph’s illness was a trap—a well-calculated play to hide infidelity under the guise of tradition.


Chapter 1 — The Cruel Unveiling

Outside the living room door, Isabella overhears Joseph’s friends discussing his “ritual marriage,” a fabricated ceremony that supposedly required intercourse exactly ninety-nine times to save Joseph’s life. Joseph had told Isabella that if he stopped the ritual before completing the ninety-nine sessions, he would die.

Now, his friends joke about the absurdity of it. Joseph himself lounges casually, relaxed, entirely unconcerned—his demeanor the complete opposite of the pale, dying patient he pretended to be in front of Isabella.

His friends tease him about having already been with Sophia ninety times. “Just nine left,” one laughs. They ask what he plans to do afterward. Joseph responds with a light smirk and a sip of his drink: once the ritual is “complete,” he simply plans to keep Sophia as his secret lover.

Isabella freezes. Everything inside her goes numb. She cannot believe that the man she prayed for every night was capable of such coldness.


Joseph’s Contradictions: Love and Possession

The mockery continues until one friend finally asks what Isabella herself wonders:
If Joseph supposedly loves Isabella, why hurt her so deeply? Why fake an illness? Why create a fake spiritual ritual? Why allow his family to punish her?

Joseph’s answer reveals the truth.

He explains that the Ashford family, a century-old legacy obsessed with rigid tests and loyalty trials, never approved of Isabella. She came from humble origins, and Joseph had bent the family rules to marry her without subjecting her to their traditional trials. The family resented this and blamed her for everything—even Joseph’s so-called “curse.”

Joseph claims he created the ritual marriage as a tool to shut down the family’s complaints, to retroactively justify Isabella’s position as his wife. He paints it as a way to protect her, insisting she “doesn’t complain even when he is with someone else” and “prays sincerely for him.”

His friends applaud him. They praise Isabella’s obedience and submissiveness, calling her a perfect Ashford wife. Joseph drinks in their admiration, convinced he has found the ideal balance—his wife at home suffering silently, and Sophia fulfilling his desires elsewhere.

But when a friend asks whether Joseph worries Isabella might leave him if she discovers the truth, Joseph laughs it off. His confidence borders on arrogance.

“Isabella loves me too much. She would never leave. And even if she tried, no one in Coastal Harbor would dare help her file for divorce without my permission.”
He even adds that if she ran away, he would drag her back.
“She is mine—in life and in death.”

Those words hit Isabella like poison. A relationship she believed was built on sacrifice, loyalty, and devotion was, in Joseph’s eyes, nothing more than ownership.


Isabella’s Pain: A Love Built on Sacrifice

As Isabella stands outside the door, tears blur her vision. Memories flood back—memories of the Joseph she once loved:

  • She had quit school to pay for her mother’s treatment.

  • She worked tirelessly diving for pearls.

  • She rescued him from the ocean when he was wounded and dying.

  • She nursed him for an entire month.

  • He had pursued her with relentless sincerity, breaking through her defenses.

  • He once took a burn for her, protecting her during a violent conflict.

  • At their wedding, he knelt and vowed eternal devotion, promising she would never suffer again.

But those vows now feel hollow—lies spoken with passion but never rooted in truth.

The image of him lying with Sophia while Isabella prayed for him all night at a cross—bleeding from rosary beads digging into her hands—becomes unbearable. Her pain is not just emotional; it is spiritual, physical, all-consuming.

And now she knows: the illness, the ritual, the prayers, the scolding from the Ashford family…
Everything was a cruel fabrication.


The Rise of Strength: Isabella Decides to Leave

Her tears dry. Her love for Joseph evaporates like mist in the sun.

Isabella does not confront Joseph. She does not scream. She does not expose her hurt.

She simply turns and walks away.

Her first destination is her mother. She confesses everything—Joseph’s infidelity, his cruelty, his manipulation. Her mother is devastated but resolute. She recalls how Joseph had once knelt for ten days outside her home to beg for permission to marry Isabella. She thought he was a good man. She believed he was worthy of her daughter.

But now she stands firmly with Isabella.
“Let’s leave together.”

For the first time, Isabella feels a glimmer of freedom.


Erasing Her Identity — Breaking the Ashford Chains

Joseph had claimed Isabella’s name would stay in the Ashford family tree until death—that no one could remove her.

So she decides to erase the name herself.

Isabella begins the legal process to dissolve her identity and change her name entirely. It is a long process, taking half a month, but she is determined. She advises her mother to remain quiet and hidden. Isabella must return to the Ashford household and maintain the illusion of loyalty, or else Joseph will sense something is wrong.

His influence is far-reaching. If he suspects anything, escape will become impossible.


The Return to the Ashford Villa — A Final Betrayal

When Isabella returns home, still emotionally fragile but outwardly calm, she expects Joseph to continue his facade of sickness.

Instead, she opens the door and is met with the most soul-crushing sight yet.

Joseph is on the sofa—entwined with Sophia, kissing her passionately, completely immersed in her.

And Sophia is wearing Isabella’s wedding dress.

The dress Joseph once said made her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
The dress she wore as she vowed to love him forever.
The dress symbolizing everything she fought for, everything she sacrificed for.

Now it is draped on another woman—Sophia, the center of Joseph's lies—while Isabella stands frozen, her heart shattering one final time.


THEMES OF THE STORY

1. Deception Wrapped in Love

Joseph weaponized Isabella’s loyalty against her. His manipulations were not born from love but from control.

2. A Woman’s Awakening

Isabella transitions from a devoted wife blinded by love to a woman reclaiming her identity and agency.

3. Toxic Power Dynamics

Joseph’s belief that he “owns” Isabella reflects deep-rooted patriarchal control.

4. Betrayal by All

It was not only Joseph who betrayed her—his family, his friends, and even societal norms played a part.

5. Liberation Through Self-Erasure

Erasing her legal identity is symbolic—Isabella is killing the version of herself Joseph tried to imprison.


CONCLUSION

This portion of the story marks the beginning of Isabella’s transformation. Once defined by devotion, sacrifice, and unconditional love, she is now propelled by betrayal, clarity, and the determination to reclaim her freedom.

Joseph’s arrogance, entitlement, and manipulative cruelty have destroyed any remnants of affection, leaving Isabella with only one choice—rebirth. Her departure is not merely an act of rebellion but a declaration of self-worth.

The chapter ends as Isabella stands in the doorway, staring at Joseph and Sophia on the sofa, with her wedding dress draped over the woman he betrayed her with—symbolizing the death of her marriage and the birth of a new, stronger self.

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