Chapter 365


    Brett, like a total outsider, stood alone, watching Izabe cradle the cat carefully.


    He felt like a wreck.


    Seeing Nikki, Izabe wanted to bolt with the cat. This ce had be unbearable for her.


    Brett tried to stop her. Though thinner, he towered over Izabe, standing like a solid wall, blocking


    her way.


    N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    "I''ve missed you like crazy these past three days," Brett said, looking like a lost puppy. Maybe it was


    hisck of sleep, but he looked as though he had been crying all night.


    And the way he croaked out those words, it was hard not to feel sorry for him.


    But unfortunately for him, Izabe wasn''t the average person.


    "I get it; now move," she said coldly.


    Brett felt like he''d been shot in the heart by her callous gaze. The pain was unbearable.


    He wiped his face. "Izabe, when I say I miss you, I mean I can''t live without you. Do you get


    that?"


    "I don''t care, and I don''t want to know. Besides," Izabe paused, giving a sarcastic smile, "you


    seem to be doing just fine right now, don''t you?"


    A painful look came over Brett''s face. His eyes were red from the pain. Other than his chest, his


    head and legs were aching too. He didn''t even know how he was standing and talking to Izabe.


    "I''m telling you, I''m dying, Izabe. I''ve never been in love before. I thought I liked Kaley Cot, so


    I treated you badly and messed up. I know I don''t deserve your forgiveness." Brett looked at her


    with tears streaming down his face. "I tried to let you go, to watch you from afar, but I just couldn''t


    do it. I really love you, Izabe. No one will ever love you more than I do."


    Izabe held Nikki tightly in her arms. Her eyes were still wet from the unsheathed tears, but now


    they gazed darkly at Brett.


    This guy loved her? What a joke.


    He imed to love her but pushed her into the abyss.


    "Do you know why I wanted to burn myself alive here with Nathaniel Krueger? It was because I


    hated you. I wanted to get back at you, to escape from you. Brett, I''ve died once before. I''m not the


    same Izabe you used to control. What right do you have to stand here and say you love me?"


    The Izabe, who loved Brett, had been burned to death in that fire.


    Brett''s chest pain intensified. He doubled over subconsciously, wanting to sit down, but he couldn''t.


    The moment he moved, Izabe would leave without hesitation.


    His breath shaky, Brett wiped away his tears.


    He gently raised his hand. It was just a small gesture, but it made Izabe step back. The wariness


    in her eyes cut through his heart like a sharp knife.


    Brett lowered his head, a bitter smile on his lips.


    "I know you hate me; me me; don''t trust me. But what I''m saying is the truth. Youring back is


    the biggest blessing I have. I don''t want to cling onto you forever; just two years, no, one year is


    enough." Brett held up his index finger.


    Late-stage lung cancer; he had about three years left. He heard that people with lung cancer get


    uglier as it progresses. He didn''t need Izabe for a lifetime or even two to three years to watch him


    die. He only needed one year—just a short year.


    Once he died, he wouldn''t bother her anymore.


    Such a small wish; maybe if he begged Izabe enough, she would grant it. He gained some


    confidence, his gaze hopeful as he looked at Izabe.


    "I used to let you take care of me at home, but from now on, I''ll take care of you for the next year."


    "I''ll make up for everything I owe you. When we were together, there were so many things we didn''t


    get to do." Brett''s eyes zed over, as if he were lost in the past.


    "In the three years after you left, I wished we could live like a normal couple. I would cook and you


    would eat; we would take walks after dinner. I would do all the chores; no more working overtime.


    All my spare time would be spent with you. We could go to theme parks and watch movies. Oh, and


    I still owe you a grand wedding and a suitable ring. We never had a honeymoon."


    Izabe was expressionless, stroking Nikki''s fur in her arms just like she used to.


    After hearing Brett''s "love confession", she finally responded. "Whatever you didn''t give before,


    there''s no need to give now. Besides, I don''t need any of those things."


    Brett shook his head. "I don''t believe you."


    Izabe furrowed her brow. She really wondered if Brett was deaf.


    "So just because you love me, I have to be with you? I don''t even want to be with you for a year, a


    month, a day, an hour, a minute, or even a second. Why should I be with someone who’d hurt me


    instead of someone who''s been good to me all along? Can''t we just live our separate lives? Why do


    you have to be in my life?"


    "But isn''t that what you did? Izabe, you made me fall for you, then you ran away from me?" Brett''s


    emotions got the best of him, and he grabbed Izabe''s frail shoulders.


    Izabe was startled, instinctively trying to resist. But Brett''s grip was like a vice. She didn''t want to


    hurt Nikki by struggling too hard, so she stood there, tense.


    They were so close, breathing in each other''s air.


    Izabe looked up at him, her voice cold. "So you''re the victim now? Let me ask you: how did you


    treat me when I loved you and you didn''t love me? And how did I treat you? I forced you to marry


    me, and for that, I donated blood to Kaley for four years. I don''t owe you anything."


    "Brett, look at this cat. It''s scared of fire, but it still tried to save me from it. Knowing I was gone, it


    waited for me for three years. I only took care of it for four months. But you? Four years, and I still


    couldn''t make you fall for me!"


    "You used my affection for you to hurt me over and over again! You trampled on my dignity! You


    kept me locked up like a dog, pressuring me to have your child. Have you forgotten all that? And


    don''t even try to say that trading me for Kaley was some roundabout way of protecting me. That''s


    just an excuse for your own weakness! You''re even worse than a cat!"


    "Now you im to love me and want my forgiveness. It''s a miracle that I haven''t strangled you with


    a dog leash. The things you''re saying just make me sick."


    "Enough!" Brett suddenly shouted. He pulled Izabe into his arms, a hug that was three yearste.


    The long-lost scent and warmth of her body clearly it was her, but why did it feel different?


    Brett tried to hug her as tightly as he could, his arms trembling. It was as if he wanted to pull her


    inside him.


    At that moment, Brett felt like he was drowning at sea, clutching onto a piece of driftwood. If he let


    go, he would be gone in an instant.


    Izabe struggled fiercely in his arms. She held the cat with one hand and punched and bit him with


    the other. Brett''s lower jaw was scratched, leaving several bloody marks, and his arm was bitten


    hard.


    It looked painful with blood flowing out, but he didn''t feel it at all. Because the pain inside him was


    far greater than any physical wound.