The Unwanted Daughter: When Love Comes Too Late Chapter 234: He Really Did Regret It

Liam had no idea how long he'd been knocking, but the door never opened. Instead, the neighbor across the hall came out.

"Kid, you've been banging for ages. Don't you know? The two young folks who lived here have already moved out."

Liam froze. His whole body went stiff, panic rushing through him. "Where did they go?"

The old man shrugged. "No idea. They didn't say. But honestly, two young people like that? No way they'd stay in an old dump like this forever. That Ronald kid's got skills too, and the two of them ... "

The man kept rambling, but Liam didn't hear another word.

All he could think was, Tracy left me.

How could she just abandon me?

I finally figured out I was wrong, finally wanted to make things right, and she didn't even give me a chance.

His chest tightened with panic. He stumbled out of the building and immediately told people to go find her.

But Ronald had moved for one reason—to keep the Jackmans from clinging on like leeches—and he covered his tracks well. There was no way Liam was going to find them.

While Liam was running around looking for her, Tracy was at the cemetery.

It was way out in the middle of nowhere. She had bought over ten plots there in one go, so she was one of their biggest customers.

So when someone came to visit a grave, the staff called her first.

On the way there, she already had a good guess who it was.

Patricia and her grandmother didn't have any other relatives. Out of the two graves there, the only visitors could be Matthew or Chris.

Matthew wouldn't bother with David's grave. That left Chris.

Sure enough, as soon as she walked into the cemetery, she saw Chris crouched in front of Derek's headstone.

He looked terrible—he had a scruffy beard, his face drawn, as if he hadn't slept in days.

After Felicia pushed him to take the fall, he was about to lose everything he'd gained by killing his own brother. No way he was sleeping well after that.

But Tracy didn't feel even a little bad for him. Her face stayed blank as she walked over.

The closer she got, the more clearly she heard him talking. "Derek, if it were you, you'd already have a plan by now, right?

"Even though I hate to admit it, you've always been smarter than me."

He gave a short, bitter laugh. "I went against my conscience and went after you. Even after I found out I'd killed you by accident, I kept telling myself I didn't do anything wrong. I told myself I couldn't regret it. But in the end, I still lost everything.

"I regret it so much ... "

Tracy cut right through him. "If you hadn't lost everything, you wouldn't regret a thing.

"Stop acting like you're really sorry. Chris, this is just what you deserve."

Her words hit him like a knife, and he had nothing to say back.

She was right. If he wasn't desperate now, he wouldn't be here thinking that the smart Derek would figure something out for him if he were around. And he definitely wouldn't be here repenting.

But here he was.

And this time, he really did regret it.

Chris's head dropped lower and lower until he leaned against Derek's gravestone, one hand over his chest, quietly sobbing.

It was just like when they were kids, when they only had each other. Every time his health made him an easy target for bullies, he'd cry into Derek's arms, telling him everything.

Only now, there was no one left to pat his back and tell him it'd be okay.

All he could feel was a bone-deep chill.

He didn't know how long he had cried, but eventually he got up, face pale.

"Thanks ... " he said to Tracy, eyes wet but sharp in a calm, final sort of way.

"From now on, please ... visit my brother's grave for me."

Tracy's heart gave a quick, strange jolt.

Before she could figure out why, Chris turned and walked away.

His back looked like he had made a firm decision.

...

Leaving the cemetery, Chris didn't go back to the Woodwards. He went to a place of his own—the house he bought with the first money he earned after joining them.

It wasn't big, but it was his. No landlord could kick him out, and he didn't need to rely on anyone.

Inside were all the things that belonged to him and Derek—the last pieces of his brother in the world.

No one knew what Chris did in there. But by the time the sky turned dark, the door finally opened.

He didn't leave, though. Felicia was the one who had opened it and walked in.

She wasn't acting like the careful, nervous Felicia from before. She was back to her old self—superior and cold, the way she had treated him early on.

She walked right to the couch, waved her hand in front of her nose, and frowned. "What did you burn in here? It stinks!"