Chapter 10
“Penny, please… I know I’m a jerk. I’ll end things with Becky. I’ll prove it to
you.”
Derick’s voice trembled with sincerity, a raw edge of regret that I hadn’t heard in years. He was standing there, his posture slumped as if the weight of his actions had finally caught up with him. “I’ve been so blind, Penny. You were right all along. I chased after the wrong thing and let the one person who truly loved me slip through my fingers. No one has ever taken care of me the way you did. You reminded me to eat, to sleep, to take care of myself- things I had forgotten how to do.”
His words sliced through me like a knife. I could feel my chest tighten, but still, I stood motionless, unable to look back. This
time, I couldn’t afford to.
He wiped his eyes, his hands trembling as he covered his face. Then, in a quiet,
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desperate voice, he added, “Penny, please… I know it’s too late, but can’t you find it in your heart to give me one more chance? Just one more chance to make things right?”
I didn’t respond. I simply turned and walked away, feeling the soft crunch of sand beneath my feet, the sound of the ocean crashing against the shore. I walked further, just as I had done that day when I left the house without a second glance, without turning back.
But this time, it wasn’t just my heart that was shutting him out–it was my resolve.
I thought that would be the last time I would ever see Derick like this. But as we
were preparing to leave, my father, always the pillar of strength, spoke with a calm that belied the storm that had been brewing. Derick, ever so stubborn, didn’t back down. He approached my father and knelt before him, his voice pleading. “Sir, I know I’ve messed up, but I swear, I’ll
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love Penny the right way, the way she deserves. I know you‘ re struggling with your illness, and I promise, I will be there for her, for as long as she needs me.”
His words were soaked with desperation, and for a moment, I felt a fleeting pity for him. But it was only for a moment.
My father didn’t move, his face set in a solemn expression. “Son, love isn’t about what you say it’s about what you do. If you loved Penny, you would know that she doesn’t want you in her life anymore. She’s made up her mind. And if you truly cared for her, you would respect that.”
Derick refused to move, his knees planted. in the sand like roots. The waves continued to crash against him, as though mocking his stubbornness.
“You don’t understand, do you?” My father sighed deeply, the weight of his words sinking in. “Love isn‘ t about forcing someone to stay. It’s about letting them go, even when it hurts. If you love
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her, you’ll step aside and let her live her life. She doesn’t need this… this turmoil
in her life.”
Derick hung his head, his body deflated, but the spark in his eyes remained. He looked up at me with a fiery determination. that I couldn’t ignore. “Penny, I won’t give up on you. If you don’t love me now, I’ll win you back. I’ll prove to you that I’m the man you deserve.”
I didn’t reply. His words were empty to me now. He had said the same things before–over and over again. Each time, I had waited for him to change, to prove that he would be there for me, but each time, he let me down. And now, with Becky in the picture, everything he had said seemed meaningless.
I couldn’t risk it. I wouldn’t risk it.
Over the next week, as we continued our trip, Derick seemed determined to prove himself. Everywhere we went, he’d show up just out of sight. He followed us to
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restaurants, quietly picking up the tab without a word. If we lingered over an item in a store window, it’d be waiting for us at the hotel by evening. When we joked about staying in the area longer, he bought a property nearby.
The more he tried, the more I felt the heavy weight of regret for the years I‘ d wasted on him. All those times he‘ d said
he was too busy, too tired, or too inconvenienced to make any effort–now, suddenly, he had the time, the energy, and nothing seemed too much trouble. If he was capable of putting in such effort, why hadn’t he done it in the first place, before everything took such a painful turn? Whatever he was trying to prove, it was far
too late now to matter.
Our trip was cut short when my father‘ s health took a drastic turn for the worse.
There was no time to enjoy ourselves. We
had to focus on him and make sure he was
comfortable in his final days.
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When he passed away, I felt an
overwhelming sense of both sorrow and peace. His passing was a relief in a way, as he had suffered for so long. I could still remember the look on his face when he closed his eyes for the last time–a peaceful smile on his face, while Mom and I could barely stand, overcome with grief.
The day of the funeral, Becky barged in with a gang of her friends, disrupting the service and driving away the mourners. She hurled insults, sneering, “Like father, like daughter–trash attracts trash. He doesn’t deserve to rest in peace.”
I was so furious that I called the police, but before I knew it, Becky pulled out a knife, lunging toward me.
Blood splattered across my black dress as Derick stepped in front of me, taking the knife meant for me. He staggered,
clutching his wound, but managed a weak smile. “Penny… I’m sorry,” he
murmured before collapsing.
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Becky was arrested soon after, and only later did I find out that Derick had exposed her, revealing her true character to the community. She’d gone from being
adored to a complete outcast, despised by
everyone.
For the first time, he had chosen me over her.
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