Chapter 11
Desperation painted his face as he reached out, trying to grasp the hem of her coat. His voice trembled with a plea, “Kelly, we grew up together. We promised we‘ d never be apart, no matter what. How could you leave me?”
The driver started the engine and the vehicle was about to leave.
Kelly sighed softly. “George, you were the one who left me first. Let go. The car is about to move.”
George’s eyes turned red and for the first time, he confronted his true feelings. He had never just a little sister to him. He loved Kelly. The thought of a world without. her was unbearable.
“Kelly, come home with me….
He
pleaded. He looked deeply at her with determination. “If you return with me,
I’ll immediately file a report to cancel my
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engagement to Amanda.”
His eyes were full of deep love, certain that Kelly would stay for him. After all, she had clung to him for as long as he could
remember. She had never strayed from his side.
After he said that, he reached out a hand toward her. “Come on, get down. I’ll take you home.”
She looked at George in a daze. She was momentarily lost in thought. Those hands had pulled her out of countless predicaments. When she lost on the mountain road, in torrential rain, in the afternoon when she was hiding after being
bullied, he was always there, extending a hand toward her.
“Come on, I’ll take you home,” George repeated.
For a long time, Kelly believed that as long as George was there, she was home. Yet, this time, she shook her head.
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“Joining the satellite research project is not just a duty for the country,” she explained. “it’s my way of continuing my parents‘ unfinished work. Go back to Amanda and live a good life with her, Brother.”
George’s previously confident expression darkened. Before he could react, Kelly had stepped into the car and sat. The vehicle began to move forward.
“Kelly! Kelly! Don’t go!” George yelled, broke into a sprint and chased after her. Yet, after running a considerable distance, his strength depleted and he fell to the ground, utterly defeated.
George’s nose turned red and tears. streamed down his face. Slowly, he opened his palm to reveal a golden ring resting in his hand.
“This was my mother‘ s. It means. everything to me. You‘ re the most
important person in my life and I want you to have it.”
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He still remembered Kelly’s shy expression
when he had said those words. However,
he had lost her.
George clenched his fist, slammed it into the ground and released an anguished roar. Yet, Kelly would never come back.
By midday the next day, George finally arrived at the compound in his car.
With one swift glance at his son, General Palmer knew that he had known
everything.
Father and son locked eyes for a long time until General Palmer finally spoke, his tone steady, “The transfer is complete. Report to the division later to sign the necessary documents. Remember to follow all the protocols.”
After he said that, General Palmer turned to leave.
Suddenly, George called out to him, “Dad
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His voice cracked and as soon as he opened his mouth, his chest felt heavy. “You knew all along that Kelly was going to the satellite research base, didn’t you?”
General Palmer answered calmly and firmly, “Of course. She wanted to continue her parents‘ work. How could I not. support her?”
George’s heart shattered. “Why didn’t you tell me.”
General Palmer looked at him with
exasperation. “When did I hide it from you? Didn’t I give you all the lists of the people traveling to the base? You didn’t look at it yourself, who do you to blame?”
George staggered backward with unsteady. steps. The list had indeed been in his possession. However, he had never imagined Kelly would actually leave.
He rushed into the study, picked up the list and flipped it open. Her name was right. there on the first page. If only he had read.
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it that day, he would have known she was leaving.
With his hands behind his back, General Palmer sighed and said, “George, forget it. The two of you who are not destined for each other.”
In that moment, the overlooked details of the past surged through George‘ s mind. The satellite textbooks she bought, the unsent letters sold to the recycling station, her growing indifference to his affairs and the abrupt return of the ring..
However, George had been too confident in himself. He was so confident that their eight years of shared history would keep her by his side, no matter how deeply he hurt her.
The realization was like a knife twisting in his heart.
After General Palmer left, George
remained in the study. He was sitting in silence as the hours passed.
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At dusk, he heard movement from Kelly’s room. His heart leaped with hope as he hurried to the door. Could it be Kelly had returned?
With high expectations, George rushed to Kelly’s room. However, as he approached, he realized it was Amanda’s voice he heard and it crushed his expectations.
“Hurry up! Move all these things out of here! They‘ re such an eyesore!” Amanda said.
A hesitant voice, belonging to the housekeeper, Lisa, interjected. “These are Kelly’s belongings. It doesn’t seem right to throw them out…”
Amanda let out a scornful laugh. “So, what if they‘ re Kelly’s stuff? She‘ s never coming back. You’d better learn your place, old woman. I‘ m the mistress of this house now. Kelly is no one!”
This time, a frail, older voice joined in from inside the room, “Amanda, everyone.
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knows how much George dotes on his sister. Don’t go too far. It’ll be hard to smooth things over if this backfire.”
Amanda dismissed the warning with a wave of her hand. “Mom, what’s there to worry about? George’s heart belongs to me now.” She bragged, “Don’t you remember? When I wrongly accused Kelly of pushing me and ruining my dress, George believed everything I told him.”
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