Chapter 118

[ 1,045 words ]

Emilia’s POV

By that point, after being disappointed over and over again, I had stopped hoping Sebastian would ask me to stay. His heart was just as cold and hard as he looked. He wasn’t the kind of person who fell in love easily, and he wasn’t the kind who forgot someone easily either.

I had never been so jealous of a woman I’d never met. Abigail Tanner.

I waited for what felt like forever before Sebastian finally answered.

“Fine. I agree.”

I smiled bitterly. Even at the last moment, he still wouldn’t take me. The sad truth was, if he had asked me to stay, I would have. Even if he didn’t love me. But he didn’t ask.

“What are you going to do after the divorce?” His voice was a little shaky.

“I’m leaving. I’m going to Paris for further study.”

“Will you come back?”

“If I don’t come back in two years, then I’m never coming back.”

Finally, Sebastian said quietly, “Can you do me a favor?”

“If I can, I won’t say no.”

“Don’t tell my parents about the divorce yet. I don’t want them to be upset for me again.”

“But how long can you keep it a secret? If you don’t tell them, you can never get married again.”

“Do you think I’ll get married again after this divorce?”

“Why not? Getting married and divorced all the time is your thing, isn’t it?”

“It was my thing,” he corrected, still with his back to me, his voice trembling. “But I’m tired of it now. I promised a woman at the beach that I would try to be a normal person. Aside from not being able to forget the person in my heart, in every other way, I’ll keep my promise. No more losing my temper, no more running away from reality, no more messing around with my life.”

My tears rolled down silently.

“Okay,” I said, my voice hollow. “I’ll do you that favor.”

I got out of his bed and glanced at him. “Contact me when it’s time to go through the paperwork. But don’t drag it out too long, because I’ve already planned everything for Paris.”

The next step was dealing with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Mindy. If I left without handling this, Richie Lind would destroy them. They’d disappointed me countless times, but I couldn’t abandon them completely.

On Sunday morning, I showed up at their house. Chuck was in the kitchen making tea when I walked in.

“Bring Aunt Mindy and leave Silverlake City,” I said without preamble. “It doesn’t matter where you go.”

Chuck froze, the teapot trembling in his hands.

“Why should we leave?” he asked nervously.

“Because I won’t marry into the Lind family. When Uncle Richie doesn’t get what you, you and Aunt Mindy will become his targets for revenge.”

Chuck’s face went pale. Looking at my haggard expression, remorse flooded his features. “Emilia, I’m sorry. After your mother died, not only did I fail to take care of you, but I made you take care of me all the time. It’s not what an elder should do.”

“Just leave tomorrow,” I said tiredly. “We won’t come back. I won’t be your burden anymore.”

“Are you leaving too?”

“Yes.”

“Then what about your mother? Aren’t you going to avenge her death?”

My chest tightened. “We’ll talk about that later.”

I couldn’t even take care of myself now. How the hell was I supposed to avenge my mother?

After leaving Chuck’s house, I called Linda.

We met at the same cafe as before. Linda sat across from me, looking smug and victorious.

“Tomorrow is the deadline,” she said, stirring her coffee with exaggerated elegance. “Tell me, what’s your choice?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I pulled out my Paris study documents and slid them across the table.

Linda picked them up, her eyes scanning the pages. Then she laughed—that nauseating, self-satisfied laugh I’d come to hate.

“That’s right. You should make such a wise choice so you can keep your poor and low self-esteem.”

I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed. “The reason I’m leaving isn’t because of your threat. It’s because I want to leave. So don’t feel victorious, Linda. To put it bluntly, you’ve never been my opponent. It’s not that you won. I gave up.”

[She’s trying to act tough… but she’s running away like the coward she is…]

Linda shrugged. “If you lose, you lose. Why act high and mighty just to bring others down? But whatever. Since you’re leaving, I won’t argue with you. When you come back one day, if you have to call Sebastian your brother-in-law, you should learn from me—don’t be so narrow-minded.”

She stood up, still laughing, and walked away.

Sebastian had been leaving early and coming home late ever since I proposed the divorce. It was almost impossible to see him. My departure date was approaching, and every time I tried to bring up finalizing the divorce, he’d dodge me with excuses—meetings, clients, urgent business.

I’d never seen him this busy before. Why now, when I needed him to sign the damn papers?

Finally, I decided to go straight to Simons Corporation. I wanted to see if he was really so busy that he couldn’t spare five minutes to meet me.

The receptionist greeted me warmly when I arrived. “Luna Emilia! How can I help you?”

“I’m here to see my husband.”

“Of course. Ninth floor.”

I stepped into the elevator, my heart pounding. The ninth floor. I couldn’t forget that if it wasn’t for Sebastian, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome my claustrophobia. At the time, I was so grateful to him. Now? Now I regretted it. If I’d refused his help, I wouldn’t have fallen for him. And if I hadn’t fallen for him, leaving wouldn’t hurt this much.

When the elevator doors opened, I headed straight for the Alpha’s office. Inside was an independent secretary room, and beyond that, Sebastian’s office.

Beta Fynn looked up from his desk, clearly surprised. “Luna Emilia? Why are you here?”

“Where’s Sebastian? I need to see him.”

“Oh, Alpha Sebastian is in a meeting.”

[Damn it, she’s going to find out he’s been avoiding her…]

Sure enough, Sebastian had been dodging me.

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