Chapter 13
Listening to Evangeline’s hysterical laughter, Murphy should have been furious, but he was not. It was because Evangeline was right. He truly was the biggest fool in the world.
When he first learned that Gemma had feelings for him, his initial reaction was not anger–it was joy.
Only because deep down, he had already fallen for her too.
Yet it was impossible for them!
He was her father’s closest friend, her guardian, and her foster father. How could he possibly be with her?
Her attachment to him was understandable. After all, she was still young, but he was not. He was an adult, and someone much older than her too.
It was his responsibility to be rational and not let his emotions cloud his judgment. He had to suppress his feelings and do what was right–crush this budding love before it could grow.
So, after that fleeting moment of joy, he steeled himself and reprimanded her harshly. Then, he sought out Evangeline, asking her to pose as his girlfriend to sever Gemma’s feelings for him completely.
He thought he was doing the right thing.
As the older one, he had to remain calm and restrained no matter how deep his feelings ran. And as her foster father, it was his duty to guide her down the correct path.
Even so, why was it that even after doing the “right” thing, things had come to this?
On the day of his wedding, the little rose he loved most… was gone. Her body had sunk to the depths of the sea.
A tidal wave of pain overwhelmed him, and it was suffocating and unrelenting. Clutching his chest, Murphy felt as if he could not breathe.
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Chapter 13
+25 Bonus
What kind of despair must his Gemma have felt when she lay down in that cryo- casket?
She had always been afraid of the dark and even more afraid of the cold.
When she first came to the Townsend residence, she would crawl into his bed every night while clutching her bunny plushie. In her sweet, childish voice, she would tell him that his body was like a big furnace and that he was so warm. She would say as long as Uncle Murphy was there, she would never feel cold.
Florence is a passionate reader who finds joy in long drives on rainy days. She’s also a fan of Italian makeup tutorials, blending beauty and elegance into her everyday life.
