Chapter 79 – Beginning Again

After leaving Naosa’s house, Alex rented a modest studio apartment near Saint Clarion. He had lost everything that mattered, and his life was in complete disarray—but he forced himself to confront what still remained: the unresolved matter with Emily.

Alex reached out to her and insisted they proceed with DNA testing for the child. Emily refused at first, claiming it wasn’t necessary and avoiding the conversation entirely. But Alex didn’t back down. He believed that facing the issue which had ultimately led to losing the most important person in his life was a necessary atonement.

Eventually, Emily relented. She emailed Alex scans of the child’s identification and the DNA testing application.

Alex reviewed the documents carefully and immediately called her. “Emily,” he said, steady and firm, “help me understand this.”

There was a long silence. Then Emily replied awkwardly, “You noticed?”

“The math doesn’t add up,” Alex said, low and controlled. “From the boy’s age, I thought it might be possible. But he was born in December. Our relationship ended months before I left Africa. There’s no way he’s mine.”

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Emily sighed deeply, then spoke quietly, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I lied, completely. I never thought my father would go and meet you himself. I couldn’t tell him the truth—that I’d gone to Africa against his wishes, been abandoned by you, and had a child after a meaningless encounter with someone else. I thought… if I said the baby was yours, maybe he would forgive me.”

Alex closed his eyes, his voice steady but cold. “I won’t make excuses for what I did to you. I am truly sorry for how I treated you back then. But what you did is also cruel. You lied to your child. In the end, you used him—and that wound will be deeper than you realize.”

He almost added, You cost me the woman I love, but he stopped himself. There was no point in blaming anyone else. He blamed himself most of all.

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Meanwhile, Naosa could not stop thinking. She couldn’t forget the look on Alex’s face that night—his tears, the raw pain in his voice.

She sat at the piano and whispered desperately, “Hey… show me. Where is the person I love?”

Her fingers moved across the keys, coaxing the piano to reach into her buried memories. But no matter how far it searched, it found nothing concrete.

Then something flickered in her mind: she saw herself placing something on the corner of the piano every time she played.

A ring.

She jumped up and searched the closet frantically. There were necklaces, earrings… but no ring.

“Where is the ring?” she murmured, again and again, as she played with mounting desperation.

And then she saw something else: the beach. A rocky place, glinting in the brilliant sunlight. Something was shining there.

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Without hesitation, she ran down the stairs and across the sand, waves soaking her feet. “Where is it…?” she cried, searching the rocks with fierce determination.

Then the water receded, and there it was—something small and silver, gleaming in the light.

She picked it up with trembling hands.

The moment she touched it, tears fell like rain.

Naosa clutched the ring tightly, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t know why—but something deep inside her screamed that she needed to find him.

“I want to go to Saint Clarion,” she told Lu, her voice shaking with urgency.

Lu was startled. She had never seen her this desperate.

Without asking questions, she tried calling Alex—but there was no answer.

So she reached out to Miguel instead.

Miguel hesitated, then admitted the painful truth: Alex wasn’t doing well. He had withdrawn from everyone.

To learn more, Lu made a lunch appointment with Jill for the following day.

Meanwhile, Naosa couldn’t sit still. She paced the house restlessly, clinging to the ring like a lifeline.

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Alex, in truth, was falling apart. Neither Miguel’s well-meaning advice nor Jill’s or Sally’s encouragement could reach him. He drank every night to the point of oblivion. He let his beard grow wild and unkempt. The once-messy but brilliant doctor had become simply broken.

Emma, watching from afar, was heartsick at his deterioration.

That night, Alex wandered into a bar he used to frequent. Emma followed, keeping to the shadows.

At the far end of the bar, a man shuffled cards, muttering as Alex sat across from him. They spoke in low tones for a while. Then Alex stood abruptly, angry, and stalked to the counter. He downed one strong drink after another.

Even old acquaintances couldn’t approach him in his state.

Eventually, the bartender cut him off and kicked him out.

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Stumbling into the night, Alex was dangerously unsteady. Emma caught him before he fell.

“Dr. O’Neill… are you okay? I can’t watch this anymore. Please—just come to my place and rest.”

Alex, dulled by alcohol and hopelessness, didn’t resist.

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At Emma’s apartment, she handed him a glass of water. Even through his blurred vision, he could see it wasn’t exactly clean.

Still, he drank it in one gulp.

Emma sat beside him, eyes fixed on his hollow stare. “I’ve always liked you,” she said softly. “You don’t have to suffer alone. Even if you can’t forget Dr. Nao right away… I’ll be here. I don’t mind being a stand-in.”

She slipped off her sweater and leaned toward him, arms wrapping around his shoulders, trying to draw him into her embrace.

Alex didn’t move. His body tensed in resistance.

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Just as Emma leaned closer, the TV clicked on.

A melody filled the room.

That song.

Maggie’s favorite—the one she and Naosa always sang together.
The song her mother had loved.

Alex’s breath caught in recognition.

Then—Maggie’s voice echoed clearly in his head:

You promised not to make Nao cry!

Emma blinked, flustered. “Oh—sorry. I must’ve stepped on the remote,” she said, patting blindly around the cluttered floor.

Alex looked around with sudden clarity. The mess. The dust. The haze.

He laughed—and cried.

“I’m done for,” he said, with rueful self-awareness. “The King of Clutter… turned into a neat freak.”

He stood slowly and looked down at Emma with new resolve. “I’m sorry for worrying you. But… this isn’t right. No one can replace Nao.”

And he walked out without looking back.

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Outside, Alex breathed in the cool night air and whispered, grateful, “Thank you, Maggie. I was about to make another terrible mistake.”

He stopped on the street, head tilted to the star-filled sky.

I kissed her again, even when she didn’t want me to. And she pushed me away. But that wasn’t the end—it’s the beginning. We’re starting over from the very beginning. She’ll fall in love with me again. I’ll make her fall in love with me again.

The despair was gone from Alex’s eyes.

Only fierce determination remained.