The Seventh Miserable Bride

"Since you already knew that, why did you look for me again? If I marry Gabriel, I would be able to live a happy life too.

"I'll give you the happiness you want in the future."

Sebastian Simons raised his left hand. Yasmine noticed that he was wearing the couple's bracelet that they bought on Mount Emperor for $8.50 on his wrist.

He had been wearing it all this while.

"Some feelings will never disappear no matter how much time has passed or how many people had appeared in your life. Does love have an expiration date? My answer would be yes. Will love fade away eventually? I would say yes to that too. Will love drift apart? The same. However, will love come back after it leaves? I don't believe so." Sebastian paused. "The only reason I'm so confident in our love was that I knew our love has always been there and never left..."

The sun rose and the rain stopped. The two of them, who hadn't closed their eyes for the entire night, looked at each other. He said, "Come home with me. The promise I made last night would not be just a flash in the pan."

She smiled bitterly, "The promise you made last night was touching, but I can't go back with you."

"Why?" "Because of the man whom I had hurt. I can't leave him alone like this."

Sebastian left alone. Before he left, he said to Yasmine, "I'll come back over and over again, and I will never stop until you're willing to go back with

me.

Yasmine Taylor went to Goldeap Corporation that day. However, Gabriel Smith was not at the company. She waited for the whole day but to no avail. Even so, she did not give up. In the evening, she went to the Smith family villa. The servants there informed her that the person she was looking for was not home.

Yasmine felt the need to meet Gabriel and explain everything to him. She must obtain his forgiveness.

She waited in front of the Smith family villa until 11 p.m before she saw a familiar car pulling over slowly. She rushed to the middle of the road and Gabriel's car stopped in front of her.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Yasmine stepped forward and tapped on the window. "Gabriel, could you come out for a while? Let's talk."

Gabriel came out of the car and asked with a haggard look, "What else is there to say?"

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it."

Yasmine lowered her eyes, trying to conceal the sadness within.

"Did you do it on purpose then?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't mean it and I didn't do it on purpose." "Then what is it?"

"I never thought about playing with your feelings. I might've been a little impulsive when I accepted your confession in B City, but at that time, my acceptance was real and sincere. I meant it when I said that I hoped you could find happiness, and I also meant it when I said that I felt comfortable and at ease whenever I'm with you..."

"But the truth is that you don't love me."

Gabriel ended her sentence with a mocking tone.

Yasmine could not deny it. She raised her eyes. They were already red and brimming with tears. "I've thought of coming clean to you for the past few days, but for the collaboration to continue smoothly, I've silenced my conscience again and again. I know it's wrong, but for Sebastian, I must do this. The partnership with Goldeap Corporation is really important to him."

"Is he that good? After all that you had been through, are you still willing to help him without hesitation? Did you forget the grievances and hurt that he had inflicted upon you?

"My aunt was upset about my situation at that time, so she had exaggerated a little when she was telling you about it. In fact, the relationship between Sebastian and I is not as shallow as you think it is."

"In that case, why don't you tell me just how deep is the relationship between you two then? Was it so deep that the feelings I had toward you for the past two years just weren't enough to move you and make you fall in love with me?"

"Sebastian may seem cold on the outside, but he has a fragile heart. His relationships have always been bumpy. He's very persistent in his feelings, and because of this, he went through failed relationships repeatedly. You can't imagine the pain and suffering that he had gone through, and likewise for me. I may look simple and carefree on the outside, but I have a dark childhood. Before I met him, my life had always been in a dark place. I thought about revenge every day until our fates were accidentally intertwined. We peered into each other's dark side and tried to walk into each other's lives. We experienced long, sad days of torment with each other. After a long while, we finally had the chance to be together. But then, difficulties came one after another, yet we clenched our teeth and held on. We vowed not to leave each other and to live through each day in tears until we couldn't endure it anymore. We tried to let go of each other's hands and go on our separate ways. We thought we'd never be together again. But fate was ever a mystery. Even though we were living our own unparalleled lives, we still met again. After that, I realized that his life had not become any better after I left, in fact, it became even more miserable than before. He lost the very essence that makes him a man. He took over his father's troubled company and poured all his hard work for two years into saving it. He was never one to make me worried, so he never mentioned anything about this in front of me. When I accidentally learned of this secret, I swore that I must help him, whether for his business or for his life. To me, Sebastian's not just my ex-husband. He was the one who told me I have a home with him when I was at my most helpless. He was the only person apart from my mother who had protected me and made me feel warm in the short 20 years that I had lived for. He's my guardian angel who would never leave me. He could give up everything for me while I'm facing the cruel fact that I'm unable to conceive..."

Yasmine blurted everything out and burst into tears. She continued, "So Gabriel, Sebastian is really important to me. He is someone I could never forget even if he and I weren't together. I don't expect you to give us your blessings, but I only hope that you could forgive me. If you don't, then I will not be with him. Knowing that I had caused such great harm to you today, I would not be able to ignore someone else's pain and only care about my happiness..."

Gabriel was silent for a long time. All of a sudden, he laughed at himself mockingly. "Actually, I don't blame you. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken you to B City when you were reluctant to. At the end of the day, I was the one who ruined my own happiness."

He sighed softly and said gloomily, "Could you give me a hug? We've known each other for so long, but you've never bothered to hug me at least once. If you do it, I'll forgive you."

It was not an excessive demand at all. Yasmine approached Gabriel slowly, stretched her arms out, and gave him a hug filled with apology.

"Madeline, you must live a happy life from now on,"

He hugged her tightly and gave his blessings from the bottom of his heart, even though it hurt him so much to do so...

Yasmine's tears flowed endlessly. She choked amidst her sobs and nodded. "Thanks. Gabriel, I really have to thank you. You must also find your happiness."

The moment they let go of the knot in their hearts and decided to put this behind them, a fierce figure appeared out of nowhere from a dark corner. The person raised the dagger in his hand, aimed it at Yasmine, and rushed at her wildly...