Chapter 78: I destroyed you once.

Charlotte’s thoughts drifted back to the past.

Seven years earlier, the city was rocked by a scandal when the Vale heir was found in a hotel room with a woman. The story had spread quickly, becoming the subject of gossip among the city’s wealthiest families.

To save the family’s reputation, the Vales had announced Soren’s marriage to the woman involved.

It had been a major scandal at the time, but seven years had passed, and Charlotte didn’t know that woman was actually the one who had saved Theron.

Besides, she had almost forgotten about the incident, let alone remembering the details. Now that Theron had mentioned it, memories returned.

"But Soren," Theron continued gravely. "Instead of feeling guilty for what he did to Elowen, he blamed her. He treated her as an obstacle standing between him and Tahlia. And his mother never truly accepted her. To her, Tahlia is the only one who deserves to be her son’s wife."

Charlotte couldn’t speak.

Theron spoke with such certainty that her doubts began to melt away. Yet a part of her still resisted believing that everything she had witnessed at the dinner was an act.

Soren’s tenderness seemed too natural, his concern too immediate. There had been moments when he looked at Elowen as though she were the most precious person in his world.

Those emotions had felt genuine. And that left Charlotte deeply conflicted.

"I know I sound like a lunatic," Theron went on, his voice softening slightly. "I know what it looks like. I am chasing someone else’s wife. But I know the truth about her marriage. I’m trying to take her out of the relationship that means nothing to her. Elowen is only suffering, Mom. I just want to rescue her."

Charlotte shook her head.

"I can’t agree with you. If she is genuinely unhappy in her marriage, she should make the decision to leave it herself. She should divorce Soren if that’s what she wants."

She held his gaze, making sure he understood her point.

"If you truly want to help her, support her finding a way out of that marriage. But if you find that she is happy with Soren, you should stop pursuing her. You can’t decide her future for her just because you love her."

"Mom..."

"I’m serious, Theron," she said, not allowing him to speak further. "I mean every word of what I’ve said. If I find you are deliberately destroying her happily married family, I’ll never forgive you."

Charlotte shot him a stern glare, leaving no doubt that she was serious about what she had said.

Theron stood there in a stunned silence.

He had never seen his mother talk to him with such severity. Charlotte had always been the source of comfort, the person who supported him.

Theron had thought she would stand by his side and encourage him in bringing Elowen home. Instead, she was warning him to stay away from her.

He couldn’t bear the fact that she was angry with him. It was crushing his heart.

"Mom, please don’t look at me like that," he pleaded, his confidence faltering. "I can face anything. But I can’t bear knowing that you are disappointed with me."

For a moment, Charlotte’s expression softened. Despite her anger, she could still see the little boy he had once been, the son whose happiness had always mattered to her. But she couldn’t let her affection blind her to what he was becoming.

"Then don’t disappoint me. Don’t do anything that could ruin this family." Dropping those words, she walked back into the house.

Theron remained where he was, watching her retreating form. His mother’s warning had shaken him. The thought of losing her trust filled him with a profound sense of helplessness.

But even that wasn’t enough to extinguish his determination to win Elowen.

He regained his composure, his expression turning stoic once more

"Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll protect this family. But I can’t give up on Elowen."

At Soren’s villa...

Soren stood on the bedroom balcony, staring into the darkness. The cigarette between his fingers had long been forgotten. Its glowing ember stood out against the dimly lit balcony. But his mind was elsewhere.

Theron had said many things that evening. He had challenged him, twisted the facts, and even tried to manipulate Elowen with his lies. But none of these had been enough to unsettle him.

Only one sentence kept replaying in his mind: ’I destroyed you once.’

The words seemed to trap his thoughts in an endless loop.

’What does he mean by that?’

The more he thought, the more confused he became.

’Was it just an angry man’s rambling? Or was there some hidden truth beneath the words?’

The burning cigarette touched his fingers. He flinched and instantly dropped it. His gaze dropped to the cigarette butt on the balcony floor. The tiny ember continued to glow.

Something clicked in his mind, as if the ember glow of the cigarette had ignited a spark within.

’Has he been reborn, too?’

The thought itself felt bizarre, almost impossible to believe. But Soren couldn’t dismiss the possibility.

After all, he himself had been given a second chance in life. If such a miracle had happened to him, why couldn’t it happen to Theron?

As far as Soren remembered, Theron had never returned from abroad in his previous life. He hadn’t even maintained contact with him. Instead, he had taken his parents overseas and settled there.

But in this life, he had returned, which was unexpected. He hadn’t returned simply to resume his business operations. He had come with a clear intention – to pursue Elowen and take her away from Soren.

’This can’t be coincident,’ he muttered to himself, his eyes darkening as the realization settled in him.

Theron had been reborn with a determination to change the course of their lives. His goal was to win Elowen.

Soren gripped the edge of the railing. "That bastard," he muttered, fury simmering beneath his skin.

But that fury soon transformed into a sickening sense of restlessness when the question flickered back in his head.

’How did he destroy me?’

As far as Soren could remember, he had barely crossed paths with Theron after their school days in his previous life.

They hadn’t been business rivals either. So what had Theron meant when he claimed to have destroyed him?

Before he could dwell on the question any further, he heard footsteps behind him.

He didn’t turn around. He already knew who it was. His grip on the railing loosened a bit.

Elowen came to stand beside him, gazing into the vast darkness. The chirping of the crickets and the gentle rustle of the night breeze were the only sounds breaking the quiet.

Elowen glanced at him.

Soren had been unusually quiet ever since they had left Theron’s place. He hadn’t said a word during the drive home either.

Elowen assumed he was angry because she had made him apologize to Theron. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she let out a small sigh.

"Are you still upset with me?"