Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 316: Unworthy

Callan followed her, the unspoken words pressing against his throat. But he stayed silent because in that moment, he knew he’d lost the right to speak those words a long time ago.

Neither of them said a word until they got to the car. Emily’s heart raced as she sat in the car, and she struggled within her, debating whether to hear him out or not.

She knew she wanted to talk about it. She had wanted to do so all these years but hadn’t brought it up because Callan kept avoiding her and acting like nothing had happened.

Now that he suddenly brought it up, she was mad at him all over again, and her pride didn’t want her to let him have his way.

And then there was the fear that he’d finally say it was a mistake and crush whatever hope she had left. She knew she needed closure, but she was scared.

She’d never liked or wanted anyone in her life apart from Callan, and somehow the fact that he’d never been in a serious relationship all these years sort of still gave her hope, even though she knew she was being foolish.

Yes. She’d said she was moving on, but that sounded easier in theory than it was in practice.

Callan drove in silence for a while, wondering what he could say or do to change her mind and if he should just let her be for a while until she made up her mind to hear him out.

"I’m sorry if bringing it up upset you. I’ll wait until whenever you’re ready," he said after a while. "But I want you to know that I’m sorry I hurt you so deeply. After my parents, you’re the person I love the most in the world, and I just want you to stop hurting."

She turned her head away, blinking back the tears forming in her eyes. "You think it’s that easy?" she whispered. "You think hearing you say sorry will fix what you did? You left me with questions I couldn’t answer for years. You made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for you. Do you have any idea what you did to me?"

"No, I don’t. Maybe you can tell me," Callan said, figuring it was best to hear her out first than speak.

Emily said nothing. She was quiet for a long time, and just when Callan was beginning to think she didn’t want to talk, she spoke again. "Pull over."

"Let me take you home, Em. I won’t say another word if you don’t want me to. But I can’t let you get out of the car here," Callan said softly.

"I’m not getting out. Just pull over," she said, and Callan drove ahead of them to find a suitable spot to park the car before doing so.

Emily was silent for a long time after he pulled over, and Callan wondered if she wanted him to speak or just wanted the silence.

After a while, Callan reached for her hand again, even though she hesitated. His thumb brushed over her fingers in a way that made her feel flutters as she turned to look at him.

"I’m the one who did the harm, let me at least try to fix it," he whispered. "Let me say what I should’ve said years ago. You don’t have to forgive me, just listen."

Her lips parted slightly as she stared at him, caught between the part of her that still hurt and the part that had missed him every day since six years ago.

"Callan..." she started, her voice trembling. "How am I sure this won’t cause more harm than good?"

"It won’t," he promised, his tone almost breaking. "If you want to cut me off after now, I’ll let you. But just give me this one chance, Em. Let me tell you everything. Or you can tell me anything you want to say or ask me questions."

She looked into his eyes, the same blue eyes she’d avoided for years because they reminded her of everything she didn’t want to think about. There was no arrogance in them now, no charm, no defence. Just honesty and pain.

Her shoulders dropped slightly as she looked away, blinking hard. She let out a shaky breath. "You broke my heart, Cal," she said softly. "You shattered it, and then you moved on like what happened between us meant nothing to you."

"That’s what I wanted you to believe, but that’s not the truth. I’ve never moved on from you, Em. Not once. What happened between us meant everything to me. You’ve always had my heart, Em. I’ve loved you long before the day you kissed me in my room while I was sleeping."

Her heart skipped a beat at that, but she didn’t dare look at him. She didn’t dare ask if he meant what she thought he did.

She crossed her arms and leaned back, bracing herself, but her voice was quieter when she said, "Alright. I’m listening."

Callan’s heart thudded hard against his chest. He closed his eyes briefly, still holding her hand between his. "The first day I saw you at the orphanage, I thought you were the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. I thought you were a real princess. Seeing you shine so brightly made me feel even more worthless, and I didn’t want to see you or be around you. But then I was adopted, and I couldn’t escape you. The more I saw you, the more I saw what a wonderful and innocent person you were and, in contrast, how filthy I was. When I call you Princess, it’s not just to tease or taunt you, it’s because I really do see you that way. And I honestly do think you’re Miss Goody Two Shoes. What I’m trying to say is that I’m crazy about you, Emily. I’ve always been. I’ll probably always be. I’ve loved you all my life, but I’ve also felt unworthy of you all my life..."

Emily felt her throat close. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. "Callan..."

He shook his head softly and cut in with a small smile. "I didn’t want to do anything that would disappoint my parents considering our family connection. Earlier I told you how I’ve always been scared of doing anything that would make them cut me off. My feelings for you are one of those things I feared would upset them. When I woke up that morning after making love to you, I was out of my mind with fear when I realised the extent of my feelings for you. I know I should have talked to you, but I was a coward and didn’t know how to face you. I was afraid, so I went out and got the first girl I saw and brought her back to you," he said, and Emily’s eyes widened.

"She wasn’t your girlfriend?" Emily asked quietly, and he nodded.

"I met her that day. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I just wanted you not to read any meaning to what we did. I figured if I did that, you’d get mad at me and move on. I wanted you to be mad, not heartbroken. I thought and hoped we’d both move on from it. But I never did despite the distance between us. I thought if I stayed close, I’d ruin you. I was a mess and too scared to admit how much I loved you because I thought I didn’t deserve you. And even now I still know I don’t deserve you, but I’m not too scared to admit it now."

Emily’s breath trembled as she stared at him. The words he said, the ones she had dreamed of hearing for years, landed like pebbles on her heart. They cracked something open inside her that she had held shut for too long.

Her lips parted, but no words came out. She wanted to scream, to cry, to hit him, to hug him. She wanted to tell him how much she had hated him, and how much she had missed him even more.

Tears stung her eyes, and she shook her head, pressing a hand to her mouth. "You can’t say things like that to me now, Callan," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Not after everything. Not when I’m still trying so hard to forget everything."

Callan looked at her, his eyes soft and steady, filled with the same sadness that weighed her down. "I know," he said quietly. "I’m sorry I’m selfishly dumping all of this on you now."

Emily turned away, staring out the window. The world outside looked blurry through her tears.

Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might faint. It hurt to breathe, hurt to sit there beside him, it hurt more than anything to remember how he’d torn her heart apart.

Yet she still loved him as fiercely as she’d always done, and that was what hurt her most.

She didn’t know what to say or do, but she knew she needed time to process everything on her own.

Before she could say anything, her phone began to ring. The sudden sound startled both of them.

Emily wiped her eyes and took out her phone since it was Mari’s ringtone. She knew that Mari probably wanted to check in and make sure she was sticking to the plan and not falling for Callan again.

"It’s Mari," she told Callan before receiving the call. "Hey," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I’m on my way home now. Will call you soon."

"Em, have you guys seen Genevieve’s video?"

Emily frowned, confused. "What video?"

"Just go look," Mari said urgently. "She was live on Instagram a while ago, and the video is trending everywhere. Oh my God, you need to check Instagram right now."

The call ended before Emily could ask another question, and immediately she went online to search for trending topics and clicked on Genevieve’s video.

"What was that about?" Callan asked quietly.

Emily didn’t reply. She just turned the phone toward him. "It’s Genevieve. She went live on Instagram."