Too Late 20

Chapter 20 

River dropped to his knees. 

In the middle of the crowded café, with people staring, phones subtly lifted, and murmurs buzzing through the air-he knelt before Allison like a broken man stripped of pride. His hands. trembled as they reached for hers, eyes glassy with tears, voice cracking under the weight of desperation. 

“Allison,” he choked out. “Please… I was wrong. I’ve been wrong all along. I love you. Come back to me. Marry me again… let’s start over. Let’s build a family together.” 

Allison froze. 

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. 

This-this scene-she had imagined it before. Back then, she used to picture River crawling back to her, begging for her love, realizing he had lost the best thing in his life. She’d imagined hersel standing tall, proud, victorious… finally winning. 

But the reality? It felt like acid pouring over an old wound that never truly healed. 

She stared down at River, eyes hard. “Get up,” she said flatly, tugging her hand away from hi grip. “Just get up and leave.” 

‘Allison-” he reached for her again, but she stepped back. 

‘There’s no way I’ll ever forgive you,” she snapped. Her voice shook, not with fear-but with estrained pain. “Go back to Candice. She’s the one you wanted, right? She told me to leave. I did Now get lost.” 

River shook his head violently. “No! I’m done with Candice. I swear! She meant nothing—nothing compared to you. You were the one I loved. You are the one I love. Please, I’ll do anything. Just.. ›lease.” 

I said no,” Allison said firmly. “I’m not doing this again.” 

River’s voice cracked as he stood up, desperation tightening every muscle in his face. “Why are ‘ou being like this? After everything? You’re going to let him take my place?” 

At that, Joseph stepped forward, placing himself between them. 

She already did,” Joseph said coolly. “And if you’re too blind to see that, then you better wake ip.” 

River’s fists clenched. “You think I’ll just let her go like that? You think I’ll lose her to someone ike you?” 

‘Looks like you already did,” Joseph replied, tone sharp and unapologetic. 

Then it happened. 

River lunged. Joseph’s reflexes were quick, and he threw the first punch, landing it clean on River’s jaw. The sound of fists meeting flesh rang through the café as customers shrieked and scrambled out of the way. The two men tumbled into a nearby table, shattering cups and knocking over chairs. 

“Stop it!” Allison shouted, her voice piercing through the chaos. “Both of you, stop!” 

RASH 

But they didn’t. 

River swung again, blinded by fury, pain, and loss. Joseph retaliated with another hit, this one sending River crashing to the floor. 

Blood dripped from River’s lip as he groaned, clutching his side. The sight was pitiful-bruised, broken, pathetic. Yet Allison didn’t move toward him. 

Instead, she ran to Joseph, who was holding his shoulder, checking for injuries. 

“Are you okay?” she asked him gently, her hand resting on his chest. 

River, still on the ground, looked up. The realization hit him like a knife to the gut. 

She had chosen. 

And it wasn’t him. 

He watched her fuss over Joseph, eyes filled with concern and affection. She didn’t spare River a single glance. In that moment, the truth became undeniable-Allison had moved on. She didn’t ust stop loving him. She had forgotten him. 

But even as he lay there, wounded and humiliated, River couldn’t let go. 

The days that followed were a blur of obsession. He started courting her again. He sent flowers -dozens of them-to her apartment and her university. Letters filled with memories, apologies, and promises. Gifts. Songs. 

Reminders of the past. All of it was ignored. Most of it thrown away. 

Still, he persisted. 

He followed her on her dates with Joseph. He watched them from afar-hand in hand, laughing, issing. He saw them at the park, in restaurants, even during a late-night walk by the lake where hey shared intimate moments. 

The worst was the night he heard them. 

River had followed them home once. Just once. And through the thin walls of her apartment complex, he heard it-muffled moans, whispered names, skin against skin. The sound shattered 

lim. 

He sat outside in his car, hands clenched on the steering wheel, jaw locked, tears streaming down his face. That night, he cried himself to sleep in the backseat, like a man who had lost everything. 

Maybe that was it. 

Maybe it was time to let go. 

But fate had other plans. 

One evening, as he absentmindedly trailed Joseph again-more out of habit than intent-River noticed something strange. Joseph wasn’t with Allison. Instead, he met with a woman outside a cozy little book café. She was pretty-soft-spoken, smiling sweetly as she handed Joseph a wrapped gift. 

They looked close. Too close. 

River narrowed his eyes, his instincts flaring. He reached for his phone and snapped a photo of the two. Joseph’s hand lingered on the woman’s back as they entered the café together, laughing 

like old lovers reunited. 

A flicker of curiosity-and maybe a flicker of hope-lit inside River’s chest. 

If Joseph wasn’t the man Allison thought he was… then maybe there was still a chance. 

Maybe he could still win her back. 

Chanter 20