A Toast To A Love That Never Was Chapter 19
When Melanie still liked Dustin, she rushed to him as soon as she learned that he’d been left paralyzed and devastated due to the accident. Then, despite his temper, his unpredictable mood swings, and the way he treated her, she still chose to stay by his side.
In fact, Zachary did the same thing, too. Despite being rejected multiple times, he continued to pursue Melanie romantically until he finally won her over.
Melanie had never felt anything like that throughout the time she’d spent with Dustin.
During the later stages of his recovery, he did gradually start being less hostile toward her, but that was all there was to it. All he did was interact with her in a more relaxed and calmer manner.
She put on an emotionless expression and asked calmly, “What about Ms. Sawyer, then?”
Dustin didn’t get upset at the way she was interacting with him. When he heard her question, he looked visibly more excited.
“Don’t worry, Mel. I don’t like Jane–I swear,” he declared. “I discovered that she fell down the stairs on her own and even poisoned herself in order to frame you for it.
“Ever since I found out about all those things, I made her pay for what she’d done. No one in the Sawyer family will ever show their faces in Captorn again.”
He continued, “I know I let you down in the past, but I was incredibly hung up on the fact that she abandoned me during my darkest moments. She was my first love, after all.
“I’ve been an incredibly successful person for more than two decades of my life. Throughout my academic years and my business dealings, I seldom made any wrong decisions. But unfortunately, Jane Sawyer was a mistake.
“I constantly tried to convince her that she’d messed up back then. I also tried to ignore the fact that she’d abandoned me to prove that I didn’t choose the wrong person. It wasn’t after you left me that I realized that I was wrong.
“I’m willing to put everything aside and dedicate myself to you,
Mel. I know I broke your heart, but I now understand that I’d made a mistake. Will you please give me another chance?”
Dustin was staring at Melanie with a pleading expression. All he wanted was the smallest sign of agreement. At the very least, he hoped that she wouldn’t reject him.
To his disappointment, Melanie started shaking her head. “Let me tell you a story, Dustin.
“Once upon a time, there was a little boy with a nasty temper, and he would constantly lash out at his friends and family. So, his father gave him a wooden plank and some nails. He then told the boy to hammer a nail into the plank whenever he felt angry.
“The boy listened. Every time he was angry, he’d hammer a nail into the plank. After some time had passed, his father brought him to the plank and asked him to pull out all the nails he’d hammered into it. In the end, all of the nails were removed, but the wooden plank remained covered in marks.
“You and I are like the boy and the wooden plank. Some things just can’t be undone. You can’t just ask me to forget about it and expect me to move past it. Scars may heal, but they will never fade.”
After Melanie had told him the story, the pair fell silent once again.
Dustin was fully aware of everything that she’d just told him, but he didn’t want to give up on their relationship without even trying to win her back. Even if it was highly unlikely, he wished she’d be able to move on from the past and give him another chance.
Moments later, Melanie broke the silence once again. “Can I have my phone back?”
Her question immediately sent Dustin into a panic. He hastily got to his feet and started to clean up the table.
Then, he tried to change the topic by saying, “Now that you’re done with your meal, I’m going to take my leave. If you feel bored, you can head downstairs or take a stroll in the garden. No one will stop you from doing so.”
Once he was done speaking, he quickly picked up all the plates and utensils before scurrying out of the room. It almost seemed as though he was running away.
Melanie didn’t stay in her room. Just as Dustin had suggested, after finishing up her meal, she headed to the garden for a stroll. In the meantime, she also tried to figure out how far she was allowed to wander.
Afterward, she was able to guess why Dustin fled the room when she asked for her phone.
He didn’t have the guts to return her phone to her. In fact, he took it because he was afraid she’d contact someone and ask them to rescue her once she’d woken up. Thus, he gave her access to the entire villa but prevented her from contacting anyone outside of his home.
She sat by the greenhouse and stared at the evening sky. Every now and then, she’d even glance toward the study on the second floor. Dustin hadn’t stepped out of the study since she’d left her room.
