Loved You Once But He's My Forever (Chloe)

Bang!

In the distance, fireworks suddenly lit up the dark sky above the cemetery, their bright flashes cutting through the heavy, oppressive night. The contrast was almost surreal, as though the scene itself were an unsettling twist of fate.

Tears streamed down my face. As I looked down, I saw the raindrops pouring onto the bloodstained earth where Luke lay.

Luke had died in the relentless downpour.

By the time Carter arrived, I was still holding Luke's lifeless body, unable to stop

my sobs, gasping for breath through the overwhelming sorrow.

Wisteria's body lay farther away. Her eyes remained wide open, staring unblinkingly, as if her last moments had been spent fixated on my face, determined to remember me until the very end.

The maid, perhaps realizing her own fate was sealed, had fled after abandoning Wisteria. She ran down the mountain but was quickly caught by Carter as he made his way up.

Carter saw me from a distance, rushing toward me with urgency. "Chloe ... "

His tall, commanding frame, once impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, was now drenched by the rain, his hair tousled. He couldn't possibly know whether I was injured or just covered in Luke's blood, but he only saw me, trembling and soaked, in the middle of the devastation.

"Chloe, are you hurt?" His voice trembled as he kneeled before me, his hands reaching out to gently touch my face.

In that moment, I realized just what I was clinging to. My voice was thick with tears. "He took the death curse for me... but I'm fine."

Luke's blood had seeped into my wedding dress, but this time, the only difference was that I was still alive.

I held Luke's body close to me, his eyes shut tight, his lips curving into the faintest of smiles, as if he had found peace at last.

"Don't cry," Carter whispered softly. "It was his choice. He was in so much pain in life. Death was his release."

Carter swiftly removed his jacket and draped it over my shoulders, trying to shield me from the cold.

"Carter, our babies ... " I barely managed to whisper; my voice breaking.

"Amber brought the children to the event earlier. I had Damian watching over them. Then I received the call from Luke. I'm sorry, I came too late."

"This was all Amber ... No, your mother's plan. If the children are safe, where is she?"

Carter's expression darkened with understanding. "Oh, no."

He signaled to his bodyguards, who carefully moved Luke's body, before swiftly scooping me up and rushing downhill.

This was supposed to be our wedding day, but instead of heading toward a celebration, Carter was driving me away, toward the coast.noveldrama

Eleanor hadn't harmed the children. Her aim was never to hurt me-she only wanted to protect her son.

With Wisteria dead and my death curse lifted, Carter had no reason to fear anymore. But what would Eleanor do now?

"Do you know where she is?"

"Where she first met my father ... the Tidal Coast. If she plans to leave, that's where she'll go."

Carter's voice trembled with emotion. As we sped down the road, I could feel his pain, just as deep as mine.

He had finally found his mother, but he had never reconnected with her because of what she had done to me. Now, the possibility of losing her again loomed large.

Carter pressed the gas pedal, the car roaring as it sped through the storm, raindrops battering against the windows, the wipers working desperately to clear the view.

I had just witnessed Luke's death. My body felt utterly drained, and my throat burned with the effort of holding back my pain.

I wanted to offer him comfort, but I didn't even know where to begin. What could I possibly say?

The car was filled with an eerie silence, our breaths rising and falling as quickly as the car's speed.

We reached the beach, and sure

enough, standing on the sand was a woman in a white dress. Her long hair framed her face, untouched by makeup, revealing a look of innocence in her eyes. She gazed at ustike a lost child, adrift in a world she didn't understand.

"You've come."

Carter spotted her standing there and cautiously approached after noticing that there were no blood stains on her. "What are you doing out here alone in this storm? Come with me."

Eleanor's gaze shifted to the blood on my wedding dress. "It seems your death curse has passed, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," I responded coldly. While I understood she had done all this for Carter, I couldn't forget the pain she had caused me.

Her face softened, a touch of regret crossing her features. "I'm glad." She then turned her attention to Carter. "You knew all along, didn't you?" "Yes," Carter replied, his voice steady. "I knew you were doing all this for me." "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Carter. Come to me; come to your mother." Carter moved toward her, and I almost began to believe we had misunderstood her intentions. After all, Carter had so few family connections left-how could she possibly leave him now?

But just as the thought crossed my mind, a trickle of black blood slipped from the corner of Eleanor's mouth.

Carter's pace quickened, his concern intensifying as he rushed to her.

Eleanor could no longer stay upright. She collapsed to her knees on the sand, but Carter was there in an instant, catching her before she could hit the ground. "I'll take you to the hospital," he said urgently.

"No, please," she whispered, clutching his shirt collar. "I'm sorry. I've failed you as a mother.

"For most of my life, hatred blinded me. I didn't understand how you felt. I wasn't there for you. I failed to raise you properly."

Carter's eyes were bloodshot, his face strained with grief. "No, that's not true. You've done so much for me. I know you've been protecting me all these years, even if I couldn't see it."

"Yes, to protect you, I hurt the woman you loved. You must be ashamed to have a mother like me."

She smiled softly, her expression tender in a way I'd never seen before. "Even though your father betrayed me, I've never regretted having you. My only regret is that I left you. I should have taken you away and given you a better childhood."

She turned her gaze to me. "Chloe, I owe you so much. I hope you won't let my past mistakes come between you and Carter."

I stepped closer, seeing the frailty in her now. In that moment, I began to understand the torment she had lived through. She, too, had been powerless in many ways.

With a bittersweet smile, I softly spoke, "I'll never take my anger out on him. Don't worry."

"That's good to hear. Although I wasn't the one who killed you before, I played a part in it. I don't want to be a barrier between you two. Chloe I'm giving you back the life I owe you. From now on, I hope you and Carter find peace and happiness."

Carter was frantically wiping the black blood from her lips, but no matter how hard

he tried, more kept pouring out, relentless and unyielding.

His hands trembled, and his voice cracked. "Why did you have to leave me? There were so many other ways to atone. Why this? Dad's already gone ... Are you leaving me too?"

The strong, composed man I had always known now appeared as fragile as a child, and it broke my heart to see him like this.

Eleanor gently caressed his face, her fingers trembling. "Because I could never get over it. Even now, I can't let him go. But I know he doesn't love me. I won't cling to him any longer. Carter remember when you were just over a year old. You were so small, so soft, calling to me. Carter... could you say 'mom' one more

time?"

Tears, long hidden, finally fell from Carter's eyes as he choked out the words,

"Mom..."

"Good boy... such a good boy," she murmured softly. "I can finally rest."

With that, her eyes closed slowly, and she peacefully passed on.

Carter didn't cry out. He only whispered, "You were the best mother in the world."