A Journey from Bitterness to Truth (Matilda and Yvan) novel Chapter 288

Matilda's laughter was bitter, her face wet with tears. "Yvan, you come to me now saying you want a do-over? Don't you find that hilarious?"

She couldn't feel pain, could she? Every brush with death she'd had, Yvan had orchestrated it!

Her expression made Yvan feel like he'd hit rock bottom.

His fingers trembled as he reached out, "Matilda, I really can't bear it..."

"When you pushed me over the edge time and time again, did you ever care how I felt?" Matilda's smile was dripping with sarcasm. "Sending me to prison, cutting me off, making me lose a finger! You let me drown in public scorn without a word, forced me to strip down in front of everyone!"

"Yvan, every single one of those things was a gift from you. Did your heart not ache when you did them to me?"

She couldn't keep her composure, her hands shaking as she grasped the front of Yvan's shirt. "My life! My entire life is ruined because of you! And now you tell me to start over? Yvan, there's no going back, no fixing a shattered life. How can you ever make it up to me? How?"

By the end, she was shouting until her voice was hoarse, her whole body trembling, tears streaming down uncontrollably. Her emotions had reached a breaking point, her resentment towards Yvan cresting like a massive wave threatening to engulf him.

Yvan was speechless.

"Matilda..."

"Don't say my name!"

With a forceful shove, Matilda pushed him away. His warmth lingered on her, but it only added to her shame. This man had once left her for dead, yet here she was, still hung up on him!

She slapped herself hard, the sound echoing, her ear buzzing. Yvan was frozen, his eyes narrowing in pain.

Matilda hadn't slapped him; she'd slapped herself...

But that slap had hit him harder than any physical blow. Yvan felt as though he'd been carved open, his heart bleeding out.

Unconsciously muttering, "Don't come back, don't come back..." Matilda's tears and whispers made her seem almost mad. How could she be sane when self-harm seemed her only refuge?

Her face, now swollen from the slap, burned red. Yvan wanted to reach out, to touch her, but he couldn't even muster the strength to lift his hand.

She was self-destructing because of him.

Yvan's lips quivered. "Matilda, let's stop this, okay? I'll help you reinvestigate what happened five years ago. Please stop pushing me away, okay?"

But had he ever considered how she'd survived those days without him? Was a simple "I've never loved anyone before" supposed to cover it all? Yvan, she too had never been so deeply wounded before!

"Yvan, you're truly cruel..."

He had said that to her countless times.

"It was you who didn't want me at first, and now you're the one who can't let go." Matilda kept walking without a pause. "But Yvan, I don't have the strength to bear everything you've given me anymore."

Then she was gone.

As she left, she said, "Happy New Year 2018, Yvan."

Happy New Year, Yvan.

Yvan staggered backward, his face ashen, his expression lost, leaning against the wall as if his blood was running in reverse.

A 2018 without Matilda had finally arrived.