The Prophecy That Destroyed Us

The sound of the crashing waves couldn't drown out the hurried footsteps behind me.

Aileen Jordan grabbed my hand. "Hendrick, are you still blaming me? When I divorced you back then, it was for everyone's good. Since none of those things happened, you—"

Before she could finish her sentence, I abruptly snatched my hand back, cutting her off.

Catching the pained look on my face, Aileen froze. "What's wrong with you?"

I took a step back and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with a trembling hand.

Only then did I finally meet her gaze.

Her beauty remained unchanged, only richer now with a mature, timeless grace.

Even Mateo Bowers, standing right behind her, was clearly well taken care of. Gone was the timid, self-conscious salt worker I once knew.

Meanwhile, years of illness had already taken a severe toll on my body.

Back then, no matter how hard she pushed me into a corner, I refused to break.

Now, I was like rotting wood, fragile and aching at the lightest touch.

But none of this was worth explaining to her anymore.

With tremendous effort, I bent down, hoisted my fishing net onto my back, and turned to leave.

I didn't have time to waste. After all, if the catch wasn't fresh, it wouldn't fetch a reasonable price.

"Hendrick, wait!"

Mateo's anxious voice called out from behind. He reached out to pull me back, catching hold of the net.

The net ripped with a loud tear, spilling fresh seafood onto the ground, where it flailed and scattered in every direction.

A few even landed on Aileen's shoes.

Before she could react, a pale Mateo snatched her into his arms.

He moved so fast that he nearly knocked me over.

Once he caught his breath, Mateo asked awkwardly, "Hendrick, are you okay?"

He kept his arm around Aileen.

Underneath her silk dress, her belly showed a subtle bump.

"She almost died because of you back then. She's pregnant now, so I have to be careful."

At his words, suspicion and wariness flared in Aileen's eyes once again.

The trauma I had left her with ran too deep to fade, even after ten years.

She still remembered how I had dragged Mateo to the rooftop in a fit of madness, screaming that I wanted him dead. In the end, Aileen had me committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Back then, she had stared at me through the iron bars, her eyes filled with pure disgust.

"That prophetic phone call was right. You're just a lunatic who'll kill Mateo and ruin everyone's lives."

This time, though, I didn't break down or go crazy like I used to.

I just got on my knees. My hands moved frantically as I tried to gather the scattered fish and shrimp.

As Aileen watched me, her brows knitted together more and more tightly. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and grabbed me.

"Enough! Look at yourself! Have you forgotten who you used to be? Don't you feel like a joke doing this for a few worthless fish?"

Right. If she hadn't brought it up, I would've forgotten I was once a prominent marine biologist.

I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my throat and met her gaze with hollow, lifeless eyes.

"And who do you think turned me into a joke?" I signed.

Aileen froze.

Her eyes locked onto my hands as I fluently signed the words.

Her voice trembled. "What happened… to your voice?"