Chapter 19
Time passed day by day. On the day of the first snowfall, Heyar was sentenced to six years in prison for multiple charges including theft and attempted murder.
When the news reached Ronan, he was blackout drunk and barely registered it.
For the past six months, he’d been living in a drunken stupor, rarely sober anymore.
No one could talk sense into him. Every time he got wasted, he’d mumble Isabella’s name over and
over.
His friends exchanged worried glances but none dared contact her.
More accurately, none dared provoke Lucius.
The media had captured several photos of the couple honeymooning abroad, looking perfectly happy and deeply in love.
Just before New Year’s, Lucius and Isabella returned from their extended honeymoon.
On New Year’s Eve, at the family dinner, Lucius beamed as he announced wonderful news to
everyone.
‘Isabella’s pregnant. The doctor says it’s twins.”
Amid the chorus of congratulations, Ronan lost it and smashed his wine glass.
Everyone turned to stare at him. His face drained of color as he forced out a strained ‘congratulations” through gritted teeth.
Every second felt like torture.
After just ten minutes, Ronan mumbled some excuse and bolted from the dinner.
That night, he couldn’t sleep. For once, he didn’t drink either. He just sat in the corner, lost in
memories.
Under the harsh fluorescent light, he stared at all the things Isabella had given him over the years,
stored away in his closet.
17:25
Ex–Wife Reborn: You Killed My Child for a Maid? I slept Your Tycoon Uncle for Revenge
Chapter 19
Nine hundred and ninety–nine origami stars she’d folded for his tenth birthday. A model she’d spent over two weeks assembling when he turned sixteen. Cufflinks and a tie pin she’d designed herself for his twentieth…
The more he looked, the more his eyes burned with tears.
Pain spread through his entire body. His heart felt like someone was squeezing it in a vice grip, making it impossible to breathe.
He covered his face as tears slipped through his fingers, soaking his sleeves.
In that moment, he finally understood.
You don’t know what you’ve lost until it’s gone.
Even though Isabella was only three months along, Lucius had already started brainstorming names.
He’d come up with about a dozen options for both boys and girls, complete with nicknames, and showed them to Isabella.
She
put down her pregnancy book and glanced at the list. One name immediately caught her eye.
She picked up that slip of paper, staring at the characters for “Celeste,” her eyes welling up.
“How did you come up with this name?”
Not sure why she seemed upset, Lucius immediately pulled her into his arms, speaking softly.
“Don’t you like it? We can pick something else.”
He reached to take the paper and throw it away.
Isabella stopped him, pressing the slip to her chest with tears and a smile.
“No, let’s use this one. I’m sure one of them will be a girl. We’ll call her Celeste.”
She sounded so certain that Lucius wiped the tears from her eyes and handed her another slip.
“Okay, then the other baby can be Selene?”
Hearing that made Isabella realize something was off.
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Ex–Wife Reborn: You Killed My Child for a Maid? I Slept Your Tycoon Uncle for Revenge
Chapter 19
Celeste had been her daughter’s name in her past life–chosen by Grandfather Moretti.
But hearing this pair of names, she suddenly wondered: had Lucius actually been the one to suggest
“Celeste” back then?
She remembered visiting the family estate after her postpartum recovery in her previous life, bringing the baby to see Grandfather. Lucius, who’d been overseas, had just returned to Chicago.
They’d run into each other at the entrance. After greeting him politely, she’d been about to leave when he’d uncharacteristically stopped her.
“Coming back alone with the baby? Where is he?”
Back then, Ronan had been drowning his sorrows over Heyar’s marriage, drinking himself senseless night after night. She barely saw him for weeks at a time.
Her heart had ached, but she’d still covered for him.
“He’s been really busy. I didn’t want to disturb his work, so I came alone.”
Even after all these years, Isabella still remembered the look in Lucius’s eyes that day.
Dark, troubled, unreadable, with a hint of hidden pain.
She hadn’t understood it then.
Now, thinking back, her emotions were all over the place.
In her past life, she’d been stubbornly determined to love someone who couldn’t love her back, while
he’d kept his feelings buried so deep that no one could see them.‘
They’d both missed out on so much, for so many years.
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