21 Chapter 21
Therefore, in their eyes, the blame for the canceled wedding rested squarely on our family’s shoulders.
However, the moment they heard I was back, they also learned I had a fiancé and was planning a wedding.
He never came up, but my parents could tell he was waiting for me. In the last six months, he had been coming by every few days.
My parents were sitting next to him, equally troubled.
They had even privately discussed whether they should try to talk some sense into me the next time I came back. After all, we had been together for five years and were just one step away from marriage.
Albert saw me, his eyes lit up, and he immediately stood. I, on the other hand, felt a headache coming on. I never expected him to follow me to my parents’ house. Hadn’t he always said he disliked dealing with elders? What was he doing here?
My parents pulled me aside and quickly filled me in on the past two years. If they hadn’t told me, I would never have believed Albert could be so persistent.
Over the past two years, although I hadn’t been home, Albert would occasionally show up downstairs from their apartment.
“Did we break up because of Krista?” he asked.
They felt terrible, like they had done Albert wrong.
But with my wedding just around the corner, I knew I had to put this to rest before the ceremony. The last thing I wanted was drama on my wedding day.
In my eyes, he had never even liked me. Why would he search for me so obsessively after I left? His behavior was incomprehensible.
Albert’s hopeful expression froze, a flicker of hurt in his eyes. “Sherry, do we have to be so distant?”
When I canceled the wedding two years ago, I hadn’t told them the real reason, only that I wanted to focus on my research.
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21 Chapter 21
Even though they’d always felt Albert’s feelings for me weren’t that deep, they still felt guilty towards him.
And since I was at the research center and not coming back, his vigil was pointless. But they had also witnessed his persistence over these two years, and their previously negative impression of him had softened.
Albert and I sat across from each other, having our first calm conversation in two years. My expression was flat. “If you have something to say, get on with it. I don’t have all night.”
When Albert showed up at their door that afternoon, they knew he had heard I was back. They decided to let us talk it out, to give Albert a sense of finality.
My parents had tried to tell him to stop coming. After all, my decision to cancel the wedding had been firm.
I tapped my fingers rhythmically on the table, repeating my earlier sentiment. Albert’s heart involuntarily trembled.
