The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 261: [ Volume 1] Chaper - Going to propose.

The scent, the clothes—it was all too much, a painful reminder of the tangled emotions he had tried to bury. He felt suffocated, like the very air around him had turned thick and heavy.

He wasn’t sure how he made it out of the office building. The world around him felt distant, as though he was moving in a haze. His steps were automatic as he walked through the corridors, eventually finding himself in the parking lot. But all he could think of was the taste of bile rising in his throat and the sharp sting of Noah’s words. It wasn’t just the clothes or the perfume anymore—it was something deeper. Something was shifting in him, and Ray didn’t know how to stop it.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, the dam broke. Hot tears flooded down his face, uncontrolled, fierce. He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white, his body trembling with the ache of betrayal. "Ah!" His voice broke, a raw, agonized cry that echoed through the empty car. Memories surged, images of her laughter, the warmth in her eyes when she looked at him—he had thought it was his love she saw.

"Wah!" His cry tore from him again, shaking him to his core. He covered his face, the anguish overwhelming, tearing through him as he sobbed. Memories, once precious, now felt like cruel reminders, and the weight of it all sank into him, filling him with a despair that felt endless.

Esme remained slumped on the cold floor of her office, her senses dulled, trapped in a haze from the drugged lavender scent that hung thickly in the air. She blinked, trying to clear the fog in her mind, but her vision only twisted, distorting until it brought forth a nightmare—Cain. Or rather, many Cains. They appeared all around her, filling the room, each figure as hauntingly real as the next. Dozens of his faces, pale and unrelenting, crowded her line of sight, and each one wore a look of unbearable pain.

The voices started then, low whispers at first, until they grew louder, each Cain speaking over the other, their words overlapping, pressing down on her like an avalanche of guilt. "How could you forget me?" one said, his voice trembling. "How can you live in happiness while I’m gone?" The next one’s voice was thick with anguish. "You killer! You murderer!" they chanted, the words clawing into her heart, tearing it apart.

"How could you forget our love?" one of them whispered, his tone softer, and somehow, that gentle ache in his voice hurt even more.

Esme’s heart splintered as she took in their faces—so familiar, so hurt. Yet, as if to punish her more, their faces began to morph. Blood began to drip from deep gashes that appeared on each forehead, as if some cruel blade had slashed right through them. Bruises bloomed across their faces, livid and dark, transforming their expressions of sorrow into grotesque masks of suffering. Blood trickled down, mingling with their silent tears, their eyes still locked on her with an intensity that made her insides twist.

One of them took a step closer, his face pale and bruised, the blood pooling beneath his eyes like uncried tears. "What right do you have to smile? How dare you forget?" he whispered, his voice trembling with fury and despair.

The room began to close in around her as the other Cains moved closer, their broken voices building into a frantic, heart-wrenching chorus. "How could you? After all we shared...how could you leave me to die?"

Esme’s breath came in shallow gasps, her throat dry, her pulse hammering painfully in her chest. She wanted to reach out, to say something, anything to make them stop, to make them believe she hadn’t forgotten—but her body wouldn’t move. She was bound, frozen, only able to watch as they pressed closer and closer, their bloodstained hands reaching out, their accusing voices growing louder, echoing through her mind in an endless, crushing loop.

They circled her now, their eyes boring into her, their pain consuming her, and she could feel herself breaking apart under the weight of their sorrow. Her own tears spilled over, her silent, desperate apologies drowned out by their voices that would never forgive, never forget. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Esme still remembered that day with a painful clarity, each moment as vivid as if it had happened just yesterday. Aron’s voice rang out, loud and clear in her memory, pulling her back to that hopeful, fleeting time.

"Where are you going?" he had demanded, hands firmly on his hips, a slight frown creasing his young face. He was just eighteen then, full of youthful authority, and the protective intensity in his eyes gave away his worry.

Esme had spun around, her face lighting up as she met his gaze. She was dressed in a white athletic outfit with blue stripes running along the sides, looking both eager and slightly nervous. Her hair was tied up in a casual ponytail, the loose strands framing her face with an almost childlike joy. She couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face as she said, "Aron, I’m going to propose to him!" The words burst from her lips, her excitement too bright to hide.

Aron’s expression shifted to one of pure shock, his eyes widening, his mouth parting slightly in disbelief. Then, he shook his head, muttering, "You fool... who proposes like that?" He put a hand to his forehead, a mix of frustration and protectiveness evident in his voice. "Esme, what did you even prepare?" His tone softened, almost pleading.

But Esme simply grinned, her eyes shining with mischief as she shook her head. "Hmm, I’m not telling you," she teased, playfully refusing to share her carefully planned secret. She turned to leave, the anticipation in her heart propelling her forward.

As she began to rush off, Aron called after her, his voice laced with concern. "Esme, stop right there, you fool!"

But Esme was already halfway out of the school garden, her feet carrying her with a sense of purpose and joy she hadn’t felt in ages. Her heart pounded as she went, each beat a reminder of the months of preparation leading up to this day.