บททั้งหมดของ He Divorced Me… But I Was Never His To Lose(regret & desire): บทที่ 221 - บทที่ 230

The KnockNo one moved.The three quiet knocks lingered through the mountain house long after the sound itself had faded, each measured tap carrying decades of memory because everyone gathered inside now understood that it wasn't merely a way of announcing someone's arrival. It was recognition. It was trust. It was a promise that whoever stood beyond the door knew the language five young friends had invented before history had scattered them across different futures.Thomas remained staring at the entrance.His breathing had steadied.The surprise that had unsettled him throughout the day had slowly given way to something else.Acceptance.He smiled almost imperceptibly."He finally ran out of messages."Michael looked at him."What do you mean?"Thomas's eyes never left the door."For fifty years..."He laughed quietly."...N

The River at DawnThomas woke before the sun.Not because age had stolen the luxury of sleeping late, though it often had, nor because the journey waiting beyond the mountain filled him with restless anticipation. He had awakened at this same hour for more than twenty-three years, greeting each morning in silence before the rest of the house stirred, allowing himself a few precious moments to stand alone beneath the eastern sky while Eleanor's favorite kettle slowly warmed upon the stove, because routine had become the quiet language through which he continued speaking to the woman whose absence had never truly left the house.This morning felt different.Not because he expected answers.Because, for the first time in half a century, he no longer feared the questions.The mountain remained wrapped in the pale blue stillness that exists only in the hour before sunrise. Mist drifted lazily through the valley below,

Helena AshcroftFor a long time, no one spoke.The small piece of paper rested quietly in Thomas's hand while the forgotten river whispered beneath the tall grass surrounding the clearing, its ancient course hidden beneath decades of earth yet still carrying water deep below their feet, and somehow that quiet persistence reminded him painfully of the woman whose name had just reappeared after more than fifty years.Professor Helena Ashcroft.He had spent most of his life remembering Noah.Arguing with Noah.Mourning Noah.Not once...Not once...Had he wondered about the woman who had raised him.Thomas slowly lowered himself onto the smooth granite stone Samuel had once insisted was the most comfortable seat beside the river."It was always Helena."His voice barely disturbed the morning air.Michael exchanged a confuse

The Fifth ChairNobody breathed.The man sitting beneath the earth remained perfectly still, his back turned toward the opening above while one hand rested lightly upon the weathered wooden table exactly as though he had arrived only moments earlier. The underground room glowed softly beneath narrow shafts of sunlight filtering through hidden vents cut into the surrounding stone, illuminating shelves lined with carefully preserved books, folded maps, loose pages weighted by smooth river stones, and a black iron kettle sitting peacefully at the center of the table as though someone had simply stepped away to fetch fresh water.Thomas did not move.His heartbeat had become strangely calm.Not because he was certain of what he was seeing.Because somewhere deep inside him, certainty no longer mattered.He smiled."You always hated dramatic entrances."The figure below slowly tilted h

Samuel's Last LetterNo one reached for the envelope.It remained suspended beneath Samuel's chair exactly where Noah had tied it years before, the old string faded almost white with age while the paper itself had yellowed into the soft color of autumn leaves, and somehow its quiet presence seemed to complete the little room beneath the forgotten river more perfectly than any treasure ever could because Samuel, unlike the rest of them, had never believed answers became more valuable simply because they were hidden.Thomas looked at it for a long time.Then he laughed softly."He knew."Noah smiled."He usually did.""He knew we'd argue.""He counted on it.""He knew we'd waste decades."Noah nodded."He hoped you wouldn't waste another one."Thomas carefully untied the string.His hands, steady only moments before, had begun t