Chapter 18

Preston saw Cedric's post too. He was filled with a profound sense of emptiness as he stared at one corner of the photo, where a hand wearing a ring could be seen. That ring was supposed to be Preston's, and the soup was supposed to be made for him too. Yet, what he used to have was no more. Preston was left with nothing but him and his loneliness. Preston wondered what part exactly went wrong, yet he could not find the answer. The only thing he could do was to drink himself to a stupor to vent his frustrations. As Preston started feeling tipsy, those forbidden thoughts that he had tried to push to the back of his head came back to him again. Eventually, he began making phone calls to Jolene. The line finally went through on his fourth attempt. Preston could only hear a faint breathing sound next to his ear. His mind was hazy as he listened to the sound. Preston's voice was low and strained. "Jo, I was wrong. I shouldn't have neglected you time and time again. I'm sorry. I know