Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 1074

She even flew to the Capital to find Michael. It had been thirty years since Alyssa last saw Michael. In fact, Michael had become nothing more than a blurry shadow in Alyssa's memory. But his name was etched in her heart, unforgettably so.

All these years, she never stopped keeping tabs on him. She knew that after Michael left, he broke up with Julia and disappeared for a while, like he had vanished off the face of the earth. It was many years later that Alyssa found out Michael had changed his name to Reggie and started a place called Albert’s Arms.

Reggie, oh Reggie. What was he regretting? Whenever Alyssa thought of this name, she felt the world was filled with irony. When Michael left, he swore they'd never cross paths again. But Michael, with his influence, could have easily kept tabs on her if he wanted to.

When she had Jared, she even tried to get the message to Michael, hoping he might come to see her for the sake of their child. She had insisted on having the child, always believing that maybe this child could be her way to mend things between them. After all, Julia was already married by then. His relationship with Julia was history.

But it didn't change anything. Even knowing he had a son, Michael never showed up. Gradually, Alyssa fell into despair. During her lowest days, she met Cilian. Cilian called her "darling," just like Michael used to. That sent Alyssa into a daze. Maybe she was substituting Cilian for Michael all along.

Alyssa soon married him, despite her father's disapproval. Life with Cilian was happy, despite the challenges posed by his two sons from a previous marriage. But she didn't mind. Back then, she was just too tired and desperately yearned for a family, so she gave Cilian a son. During that time, she tried her hardest to forget Michael, to live her own life. She thought she could be just like anyone else, happy, erasing that man from her memory.

But the past has a way of demanding payment. By chance, Cilian found out Jared was actually her son. He couldn't handle it and asked for a divorce. That was when Alyssa felt her heart turn cold once more. Without a word, she signed the divorce papers. The warmth Cilian provided was fleeting. But what Michael left her with was seared into her soul.

For a while, she blamed all her misfortunes on Julia. That's why, after returning to her homeland with her son, she made life difficult for Julia. That led to a series of events thereafter. Alyssa believed that the world operates on a cycle of cause and effect. Thirty years, several cycles, it felt like she was standing at critical junctures in history once again.

She had two sons. Ryder always complained about her being biased. And she was, because Jared represented the love she yearned for but could never have. In Alyssa's heart, Jared was like a piece of Michael. Sometimes, looking at Jared brought her a heart-wrenching pain, a remorse so deep it tore at her, but it also reminded her of the first time she saw Michael, that cheeky, mischievous smile that had dominated her youth, filled with ups and downs.