All Chapters of All Roads Lead Back to You: Chapter 21 - Chapter 29

Julia died that fall, and Noelle's life seemed to stop with her.Most days, she drew the curtains and shut herself in her dark room, staying there from morning until night.Memories of their life together kept playing through her mind. They'd had their arguments, but they'd always relied on each other. Noelle had thought they still had years ahead of them, plenty of time to spend together.She'd been wrong.There was so much she'd wanted to do for her mother, and now she'd never get the chance.Guilt took hold of her and wouldn't let go. Gradually, she lost interest in everything. Stephen would bring her meals, only to carry them back out untouched.He was beside himself with worry. He remembered how he'd once knocked her food onto the floor and watched her painstakingly clean up the cold scraps. Now it broke his heart to see her like this.He'd spent years making her suffer. He was the one who needed to make amends.Noelle grew more withdrawn with each passing day. She spent e

Jacob and Julia had first met at the Sedgwicks' house. They were close to Oscar and Miranda, and Julia and Miranda had even gotten pregnant around the same time.Back then, Oscar had been determined to have a son to carry on the family line. He'd been seeing several women on the side and had promised that the first to give him a son would have a place in the family.If Miranda wanted to keep her place, she had to have a son before any of them did.But Miranda gave birth to a girl, while Julia had a boy.The pressure was unbearable. That very night, Miranda got down on her knees and begged Jacob and Julia to switch the babies.After finally revealing the secret she'd kept for more than 20 years, Miranda let out a long sigh."I thought I could take this secret to my grave. But somehow the Thayers found out. Now they're blackmailing me, demanding that I make you marry Rachel."You know everything now, Stephen. You know what you have to do. Just accept that you and Noelle aren't mea

Noelle stared at the ivory wedding invitation, trying to steady her trembling fingers.Rachel saw how shaken Noelle was and gave a soft, mocking laugh."I warned you, but you wouldn't listen. Did you really think families like ours would ever accept someone like you? All these years, and you're still as dumb as a rock!"Noelle took the invitation. There it was in black print. Stephen was the groom, and Rachel was the bride.Tears blurred her vision as she checked the groom's name again and again. Flecks of gold foil clung to her fingers, but the black letters still spelled Stephen.Rachel watched with undisguised satisfaction, enjoying every moment of Noelle's misery. She gave a scornful laugh."If Stephen hadn't insisted you come to our wedding, I'd have missed seeing you like this. I have to admit, it feels pretty good."Rachel hurried into a black sedan. Moments later, the car disappeared down the alley.It felt as though something had been ripped out of Noelle, leaving her

Stephen's first words after waking left Noelle baffled. She gave his chest a light thump."You scared me to death! What happened? You have to tell me everything!""Alright. Let me explain."Stephen had suspected something wasn't right about Julia's death.He'd gone to the hospital to check the security footage, only to learn that someone had overwritten the data on the hard drive. Recovering the footage would take time.He'd also noticed a man in a cap and face mask who kept appearing near Noelle. When he dug deeper, he discovered the man had ties to Rachel.Before going home, Stephen had arranged for someone to protect Noelle. But he hadn't expected Miranda to keep him confined to his room, leaving him no choice but to send Rachel to see Noelle.When he'd finished explaining, Stephen looked at Noelle with pride. "Remember our first fight, Noelle? I kept my promise."Sunlight streamed through the window, highlighting Stephen's strong features and catching in his hair. He looked

While Stephen lay unconscious, his company was actually doing better than before, thanks to Daniel's help.After the crash, Noelle sought out the officer handling the case. The information she provided gave the police a new lead.As the police dug deeper into the crash, they uncovered several old cases. Eventually, they traced the crash back to Rachel's parents, Roger Thayer and Linda Carter.Even as they were arrested, Roger and Linda glared at Noelle and shouted, "We should've made sure Stephen died in that crash! He betrayed Rachel! He deserved to die!"At their trial, Roger and Linda were in tears as they blamed Stephen for everything."If he hadn't toyed with Rachel's feelings and driven her to hire a killer, why would people our age go after a young man like him?""We're parents, Your Honor. We only did it because we love our daughter. Please have mercy on us!"But their tears weren't enough to sway the court. Both Roger and Linda were soon sentenced to prison.The office