Chapter 6
“Jeremy, don’t forget the promise you made to me.”
It seemed Jeremy remembered something, and the grip on my wrist loosened slightly. I seized the moment to pull my hand away. But the next second, Jeremy tried to grab my arm again. Thankfully, Gavin pulled me into his embrace, keeping me away from him.
The situation spiraled out of control.
“Amanda, come with me. I swear I didn’t betray you,” Jeremy pleaded, still trying to reach for me, but he was soon escorted out by the security guards.
Being the wedding of the Campbell family’s youngest son, many prominent figures and media reporters were present. To protect me, Gavin had to tell everyone that Jeremy was mentally ill and had mistaken me for someone else. The guests seemed to half–believe it, but given the Campbell family’s influence, no one dared to spread rumors. The Campbell family also used all their connections to suppress any reports of the incident.
That night, I decided to tell Gavin everything about my history with Jeremy.
I had been sent to an orphanage at age seven; I vaguely remembered it was because my parents died in a car accident. Jeremy, on the other hand, had been in the orphanage since birth. The director said he was abandoned.
When I first arrived, I was timid and afraid, too scared to speak to anyone. The other kids. didn’t like me–they would catch bugs to scare me, steal the dolls my parents had bought for me, and even burned them. They warned me not to tell the staff, saying that if I did, I’d get beaten up. But when I mustered the courage to complain to one of the caregivers, she would just brush it off, saying they were just playing around. Gradually, I spoke even less, and they all started calling me an idiot. Bullying me became routine. I endured it in silence, thinking that if they ever beat me to death, I could finally reunite with my parents, and no one would ever bully me again.
But my wish didn’t come true, because that was when Jeremy appeared. He was thin and small, yet he fearlessly tackled kids who were a whole head taller than him. Yes, he stood up for me. Just as I was getting bullied again, he rushed over and kicked the ones tormenting me. Though outnumbered, he fought with all his might, refusing to let them go
10:12
Too Late to Say Sorry
easily.
The outcome was him being pinned down and heaten, all while still keeping one of them firmly under him. No one could pull him away, which only made the others hit him harder. I ran to the director, crying, and dragged him over to save Jeremy. To defend Jeremy, I said so many words that day–more than I’d said in the entire year I’d been at the orphanage. The adults praised me, saying I wasn’t actually slow and that I was articulate and sharp. This was the real me. I had come from a relatively well–off family, and my parents had devoted a lot to raising me. I never expected that a life once like a princess’s could one day fall to that of a beggar.
My grandparents had also passed away in grief soon after my parents‘ accident. All the family’s wealth was divided among relatives, and I was left to the orphanage..
After that incident, no one dared to bully me anymore, and I became Jeremy’s little shadow.
I heard that before I arrived, he had been a solitary figure with a cruel streak in fights, so no one dared to provoke him. I once asked why he helped me, and he said I reminded him of a younger sister he used to know–a sister who was later adopted by a wealthy family. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned the girl he’d referred to was actually Georgia.
Fate works in strange ways. No matter how much time passes, those destined to reunite will eventually find each other again.
Tan Toda in Sau Sorry
