My Love for You Broke Me

Chapter 23

The wedding was brought forward to Christmas Eve under Maria's request. It was filled with the festive spirit of the season, and the Forger Family was tastefully decorated as well. Maria sat in the bedroom, dressed in a white bridal gown while waiting for the groom.

The groom, on the other hand, was mindlessly sitting in the study room.

Today was his big day, but he couldn't lift his spirits at all as if the person getting married today wasn't him. His heart was numb to any feelings now, and it seemed like he was only performing his obligations.

As he played with the wedding ring on his finger, it dawned upon him that Renee had put on this ring for him when they got married. He finally felt a warm feeling in his heart when he thought about her.

Renee was the only woman who could stir his heart.

He sat on the sofa silently. Suddenly, he had the urge to call the woman.

Just as he raised his phone, someone called him—it was Renee.

The appearance of this name stunned him.

Why did she call him out of the blue?

With his trembling fingers, he answered the call and placed his phone near his ears. He was about to

address her when he heard a heart-wrenching cry resonating from the other end of the phone. "Nicholas, Renee is gone—in her own house, at that!"

He was dumbstruck. "What do you mean?"

How could she be gone in her own house?

The voice from the phone sounded familiar, and there was inexplicable sorrow in the person's tone.

His heart dropped in his chest, for he sensed that something major had happened.

"Renee has passed away."

Nicholas' phone dropped on the ground right away, and he immediately dashed to Felix's Villa. When he arrived, he only saw a woman in the house who he happened to know.

She was May, Renee's best friend.

But where was Renee?

She was on the bed motionless, her face pale and her eyes tightly shut. He even saw the light scar on her face.

He'd never seen her without makeup, and she looked much younger than he expected as a carefree little girl.

Well, she was a little girl to start with.

He approached her as his body trembled, only to kneel down and wrap her tightly in his arms.

His posture was full of fear as if he was afraid of losing something.

When Maria arrived, she found Nicholas trembling and motionless while holding Renee in his arms. He didn't move an inch, and he was just like a statue.

She realized at that moment that her wedding could never happen.

She then turned around and wanted to walk out, where she coincidentally saw the man beside her.

He had the same face as the man she was in love with.

However, he was Christopher, Nicholas' elder brother.

Meanwhile, his gaze was shocked as well.

When he walked nearer, he picked up the card beside Renee.

There were only two sentences on it.

'Little girl, why are you following me?'

'That's because… I like you.'

It's because she liked me…

Christopher had been aware of her feelings for a long time, but he treated her like a child and did not take her feelings seriously.

Many years had passed since then. He did not expect her to be looking for him after the concert that night.

Looking at her helpless demeanor, his heart softened, and despite her mistaking him for his brother, Nicholas, he couldn't help but send her back to the Felix Family.

In fact, he had seen her once more in one of the school's buildings.

It was a rainy day; he was upstairs, whereas she was on the floor below him.

At that time, he could sense her sorrow. He knew that she was crying, but she refused to admit it.

The rain dampened her makeup and he saw her youthful face. She looked pure and young, exactly like how she was in the past. Nonetheless, she appeared alluring with her makeup.

What was more, she was his brother's ex-wife.

Suddenly, he realized that this little girl had been loving the wrong person all along.

She had mistaken Nicholas for him, so that was why she had married Nicholas with no second thoughts.

As he thought about this, he put the card back onto the bed before turning around and leaving. For some reason, he remembered when she had asked him to play her the song Street Where Wind Resides, to which he promised he'd play it the following day.

Though she did not appear the next day, he was convinced that she had heard it.

As a result, he had always included this song in all of his concerts even though he didn't quite understand why. Perhaps he was responding to her feelings for him.

His calm heart began to stir at this point, and he closed his eyes to feel it.

Why was his face wet? Why was he crying? Was it for the little girl who had loved the wrong person?

...

Renee's funeral took place on Christmas Eve. Nicholas stood before her tomb while dressed in a black suit, and his spirits were dampened. Everyone in the room mourned for this young, powerful, but short- lived woman.

Nicholas was feeling sorrowful as well, for he couldn't accept the fact that Renee no longer existed in this world.

He was on the brink of collapsing, so he kneeled in front of the tomb and looked at the photo of Renee smiling gently on it, feeling regretful.

He started to blame her for not telling him anything, for shouldering everything on her own, and for not blaming him at all even when she was about to die.

She even smilingly wished him a blissful marriage!

"Mr. Forger." Suddenly, someone called out to him.

He dazedly raised his head and looked at the middle-aged man in front of him.

Then, he heard the man say calmly, "I am Ms. Felix's lawyer. She drew up a will at my firm two months back, leaving all of her shares in the Felix Family to you. She also left you a letter."

Nicholas quickly grabbed the letter and opened it. It was only a single sentence long. 'I wish you everything you desire in life, Nicholas.'

This was the only sentence in the entire letter.

That made Nicholas burst out crying. How could she be so cruel?

He had hurt her, but she did everything she could to wish him well.

He'd rather she hate him than forgive him so easily!

Mr. Wright then continued, "Ms. Felix had a final wish."

Mr. Wright exhaled a sigh and continued, "She wished that you could personally send her off and play her favorite song during the funeral for her—Street Where Wind Resides."

Just as he finished his words, Nicholas raised his head and looked at Mr. Wright with a shocked

expression. "What did you say?"

"Ms. Felix wished for you to play her this specific song."

But he had never learned to play the piano...

Suddenly, he looked at Christopher, who was standing beside him, with fear in his eyes.

Christopher had a black coat on him, and there was an indifferent expression on his face. Beside him was an expensive grand piano.

When Nicholas saw that, he asked in a trembling voice, "You knew about it long ago?"

"Yes. I was the one whom the little girl liked," Christopher answered.

His gaze was fixed on the half-closed coffin, which revealed only the lower half of Renee. Her body was frail, and she had a mole on her ankle. The person in it did not resemble her at all. He'd seen her before, and she wasn't like this. Her skin seemed to be rough as well.

She was always beautiful and exquisite. When did she become like this…

He had his doubts, but he quickly suppressed them as he couldn't see her face. Then, he noticed that she was dressed in a plain white dress.

He remembered that this was her attire when he first noticed her.

She remembered it all this while…

She kept everything in her heart, remembering even the minute details.

When she passed away, she was dressed in such attire yet again, making it seem as if she had returned to the past.

She was such a tenacious lady who was secretly in love with someone whose name she didn't even know.

At this instant, he felt sympathy for her. He should have told her his name in the past.

If he had told her, she would not have mistaken him for someone else.

Though he did not love her, he wouldn't want to hurt her either.

In that way, she would be safe; she could smile brightly and be carefree for her entire life.

Little girl…

Nicholas suddenly thought of the card left beside her when she passed away.

'Little girl, why are you following me?'

'That's because… I like you.'

It's no surprise that his mother had previously called and inquired, "Where did Renee find your brother's scarf to wrap it around the snowman?"

He wasn't bothered by it at that time, but who knew that he'd missed out on such vital information.

Previously, he had also asked his assistant for her whereabouts and got to know that she was in school.

The assistant informed him that she was a temporary piano teacher at one of Bryxton's universities.

He had no idea she could play the piano until he heard about it.

When he rushed there, she happened to be performing a song.

That song happened to be 'Street Where Wind Resides'.

As he stood by the door enjoying her performance, he overheard a student asking her why she cried.

To that, she merely replied softly, "That's my secret."

Now, he finally understood that her secret was Christopher.

However, she mistook Nicholas for him and had loved Nicholas for all these years because of that.

Even until the day of their divorce, she remained yearning for him.

She asked him if she could date him, intending to exchange the Felix Family and the divorce to fulfill her own wishes.

He rejected her then. However, she still chose to set him free.

What did the song 'Street Where Wind Resides' mean to her?

Furthermore, the passcode to her house was always 1227.

It dawned upon him now that 1227 was Christopher's birthday.

Though they were twins, he was born a few minutes later on December 28.

Meanwhile, his elder brother was born on December 27.

Did this imply that all her passwords, including her house lock, bank accounts, and even her laptop used the same set of numbers?

Nicholas almost went insane thinking about this.

In fact, he was wrong. December 27 was the date Renee first got to know him.

It just happened to be Christopher's 22nd birthday.

Now that he understood everything, the entire situation seemed ironic and ridiculous to him.

He had never expected that the love he enjoyed all along never belonged to him!

Renee, on the other hand, had no idea that she had loved the wrong person even until her death!

Suddenly, a soft and sorrowful piano melody resonated.

This song was familiar to him; he had just heard her playing it not long ago.

It was 'Street Where Wind Resides'.

Christopher was sending Renee off in the manner she had requested.

At this precise moment, Nicholas felt nothing but irony.

A photo of a young lad playing the piano was suddenly placed in front of the tomb.

Shocked, Nicholas looked at the woman beside him.

May softly said, "I found this in Renee's room."

Indeed, the person in the photo was Christopher.

Nicholas felt his grief spread throughout his body. It filled his entire heart, and his body went numb.

Her persistence and her love all belonged to Christopher.

Even the Felix Family shouldn't be left to him too.

All the warmth that she felt when she was alive was also showered by Christopher.

What about him? Nicholas suddenly thought of himself.

He was merely a mistake that caused her death.

Ovarian cancer…

It was him who caused her this illness.

"You're so cruel, Renee."

May, who was standing next to Nicholas, was unsure whether to tell him the truth after seeing him in this state. The lady in the coffin...

However, she had promised Clair to keep Renee's whereabouts from everyone.

In fact, May had always hated Nicholas for landing her in jail. But seeing him in such anguish, she couldn't help but sympathize with him. After all, who could be perfect in a relationship?

Nicholas made a mistake when he had never understood his real feelings.

Renee, too, was wrong in loving the wrong person.

However, after all these years, how could anyone be certain that the man Renee loved wasn't the man in front of her?

May had no idea about a lot of things, but she did believe that Renee loved Nicholas.

Thinking about this, May slowly opened her mouth. "Nicholas."

However, he ignored her. Thus, she squatted down and whispered to him.

At that instant, his gaze was filled with ecstasy as if he found something that he lost, but he felt insecure at the same time.

His heart was racing so fast that it almost exploded, and he felt a stew of mixed emotions that no words could express. He fidgeted at May, reaching for the last straw, and asked, "You're not lying to me, are you?"

To that, May smiled and reminded him, "She won't forgive you easily."