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Lahat ng Kabanata ng The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

9 Kabanata

Chapter 1

When they saw the hideous scar on my face, the private room momentarily fell silent.Then, they started to murmur among themselves.“Holy moly! No wonder she didn’t want to take her makeup off earlier.”“I actually thought she was pretty. It all turned out just to be makeup. She’s not even in the same league as Eira.”They did not even try to hide their disgust, and it hurt me.Just then, Elliot Murphy, who was livestreaming, shoved his phone camera right in my face.“Clara, that scar is actually pretty cool!“From now on, no one will ever mess with him whenever he takes you out. You could scare people just by pulling your mask down. Behold, the horror of Clara Whittle!”Everyone in the room started laughing. I stood there frozen, clutching the crumpled makeup wipe in my hand.I tried to hold back my tears.Jordan Ford did nothing but watch as the others pointed and whispered about me.Eira Sharwood smiled and nudged Elliot aside. She pulled a tissue from her bag and han

Chapter 2

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt choked up.It was pointless. No matter how many times I had tried to explain myself over the past three years, he would never believe me.The scar pulsed with a dull heat beneath the light.I said nothing else and turned to leave the room.Behind me, I heard Eira ask, “Clara isn’t going to do anything stupid, is she?”“Don’t worry about her. Let her go.”The hallway was long, and the wall sconces on both sides gave off a dim yellow glow.I walked on autopilot until I reached the restroom door and pushed it open.I only let myself collapse after the cubicle door clicked shut behind me. I crouched down and sobbed until my whole body shook.I lost track of time. Then, my phone screen suddenly lit up.It was a low battery warning.I wiped the tears from my face and rinsed my face again at the sink.When I pushed open the restroom door, the hallway was completely quiet.When I made it back to the private room, the door was half open.B

Chapter 3

He stopped and pressed the cotton swab down with gradually increasing pressure. The pain made me wince.“You still won’t admit it,” he said in a low voice. I could not tell whether he was furious or disappointed.I looked off to the side and responded calmly, “Ask me a thousand times. You’ll get the same answer.”He tossed the cotton swab to the trash can and stood up.“Fine.”The concerned look in his eyes turned cold.He turned, took his coat from the hook by the door, and left.I did not remember falling asleep. I must have been more exhausted than I thought.When I finally woke, I found myself still on the couch.The wound on my foot felt much better.I was just about to get up and fix myself some breakfast when I heard the front door open.Eira came in first. Jordan followed behind her, dragging her suitcase.“Clara, you’re home!”She came over affectionately and wrapped her arm around mine.Jordan set the suitcase aside, and his gaze swept over my bare feet.“Eira

Chapter 4

I clutched my phone so tightly that my nails dug into my palm.“Mom, stay calm. I’m on my way right now.”I hung up, ignored Eira behind me, and turned to rush out.I stood at the roadside and hailed a cab.When I arrived at the hospital, I saw my mother sitting on a chair outside the operating room. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.I walked over and hugged her. I could feel her entire body trembling.“Mom, what happened to Dad?”She was crying too much to talk and could only shake her head helplessly in my direction.The doctor, Dr. Roy Marshall, came out of the operating room and removed his mask with a grave expression.“Mr. Whittle is in critical condition. He needs surgery, but we don’t have the right specialist for him in this hospital.“If we can get a top expert to lead the surgery, we might have a chance.”My mother’s grip on my hand tightened.“Mom, don’t panic. I’m calling Jordan right now. I’ll get the best doctor there is.”I walked to a corner and h

Chapter 5

Jordan froze.He frowned and glanced at Eira lying in the hospital bed before him. In the end, he still grabbed his coat and left.When he finally arrived at the police station, he could not find me anywhere.“Where is Clara Whittle?”The officer on duty, Kyle Constable, looked at him and let out a sigh.“Are you a family member of hers? We haven’t located her yet.“We only found her bag. We’ve confirmed it’s hers.”Jordan suddenly laughed.“She didn’t fool you guys, did she? She’s just doing this to get my attention.“Tell her to stop playing these little games.”Kyle tapped the table and looked at him with a stern expression.“Sir, take this seriously. A life is at stake here.“We have a witness who saw Clara fall into the river. But we haven’t finished investigating. There are still a lot of unanswered questions.“Most importantly, her body has not been found yet.”Kyle handed Jordan the bag that I had left behind.“Here. This is hers, right? There’s a phone in the

Chapter 6

(3rd POV)Jordan stared at the message on his screen; his fingers hovered over it for a long time.He had truly believed that Clara was lying to him.So, when she called him crying, he had not hesitated to block her number.He really had not expected things to turn out like this.He did not believe it. It had to be another one of her pity ploys.How many people would she need to hire to play along before she finally gave up?He put down his phone and splashed cold water on his face.His eyes were red and swollen in the mirror from tears. Stubble was starting to show on his chin.He let out a cold laugh at his own reflection.Clara, what a master manipulator.She even got the police to play along.He would go to the funeral himself the following day and call her out in person.Early the next morning, Jordan drove to the neighboring city.They had grown up together since childhood, and no one knew the address of their hometown better than he did.All the way there, he kept

Chapter 7

Eira took a long while to reply.[Jordan, why would you suddenly ask about that?][It’s been three years. You and Clara were both unconscious after the crash, so I had to go to the station myself and bring back whatever was left of the dashcam footage.]He was a bit puzzled.[Which officer was it? What was their name?]To ensure safety, Jordan had purchased a dual-lens dashcam back then.But because of the accident, the audio had been lost.Only the video remained, showing Clara grabbing the steering wheel from Janice’s hands.[Jordan, are you doubting me?][I’m the one who found you the proof that Clara killed Janice. Why would you turn around and suspect me?]He did not reply. All he did was run through the past events in his mind once more.He always felt that something about the entire matter seemed off.Why, after three years, had Clara still refused to admit it?He quickly went home and dug out the USB drive that Eira had given him three years ago.When he examined

Chapter 8

(1st POV)When I saw Jordan again, my mother was busy throwing salt over my shoulder to ward off bad luck.That day, someone had pushed me off the bridge, but a passing old fisherman, Alfred Richie, saved me.When he pulled me ashore, I was choking on water.Fortunately, I was still alive.I sat on the bank, struggling to catch my breath.The feeling of surviving a near-death experience made me extremely uneasy.I could no longer hold back and broke down crying.Alfred had watched me with concern, but his tone carried a sense of frustration mixed with disappointment.“Miss, you’re still so young. Whatever it is, it can’t be worth this.“Think about your parents. They’d be devastated if they knew.”I did not say anything, nor did I explain that someone had pushed me.But he was right.My father was gone, but my mother was still in the hospital waiting for me.Alfred handed me sixty dollars, enough for a cheap motel and to get my clothes washed. After that, I borrowed the

Chapter 9

I did not even realize when Jordan left. But every few days, more of my favorite foods would appear outside the courtyard gate.Occasionally, there would also be a bouquet of flowers.I knew who had sent them, so I threw them all into the trash.But when it continued for two weeks, my mother’s heart ached for me every time she saw the discarded items.We both had had enough.Early one morning, Jordan came to deliver things again, but I caught him in the act.He froze completely when he saw me. He looked thinner than before.Then, he stammered out my name.I sighed and said, “Come inside. Let’s talk.”Sitting in the living room, he hung his head in silence.“Stop coming here.”“I just want to make things right. I want to make up for all the mistakes I made,” he said earnestly.“But I don’t love you anymore. You’ve drained every bit of love I had for you over the past three years.“You cannot make this right with me, and I do not need you to try.“This is where we end thi

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