Chapter 269
[ 497 words ]
Chapter 269:
The radiance slowly died away. The Elder rolled up the contract scroll and placed one half of the shattered contract stone into each of our hands.
“The ceremony is complete.” The Elder’s voice sounded strangely far away in the immense hall. “From this day on, your mate bond is formally dissolved.”
Lianne’s POV
On the ride back, the snow came down even more fiercely, until the road ahead was almost swallowed from sight.
I rolled the window down and let the bitter wind lash across my face like a knife, hoping the brutal cold might numb the deep, pulsing ache in my soul.
I turned my head and looked at my reflection in the side mirror.
The woman staring back at me was ghostly pale, her eyes hollow, like a fragile doll whose inner workings had long since snapped.
I had thought breaking the bond would leave me with nothing but relief, yet my chest now felt as though a massive stone were pressing down on it, so heavy I could hardly draw breath.
A blunt, weary sorrow seeped through my blood, not sharp, but endless, clogging my chest until it ached.
I kept my eyes on the snow-covered scenery rushing backward outside the window, unwilling to let Ethan, who was at the wheel, notice how red my eyes had become.
After all, our lives had been knotted together for years.
𝘛h𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘵 rеа𝗱іոg e𝘅𝘱𝘦rie𝘯c𝘦 𝗼n 𝗴a𝗹𝗇о𝘃e𝘭𝗌.с𝘰𝘮
Even a dog kept for three years would be hard to part with, much less a man I had once loved with everything in me.
Ethan had been the only light in the darkness of my life, the reason I had fought so desperately.
He had become part of the very air I breathed, a habit so deeply carved into me that I could not undo it.
But no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to thaw that frozen heart of his.
I was truly tired, drained to the bone, with nothing left in me to love him anymore, or even to hate him.
I drew in a deep breath, forcing down the sharp pain, and made myself smile in quiet relief.
I was ready to say goodbye to the old, humble Lianne and step into a new life with only myself and my child.
“Ethan,” I called softly.
He looked over at me, his eyes carrying an emotion too tangled for me to read.
I smiled at him with calm, clear eyes. “I’m sorry… for holding you back these past three years. I hope you spend the rest of your life with the person you love, safe and happy.”
He had once said something much like that when he asked to break our mate bond for Ivy.
Back then, I had been shattered, desperate enough to want to drag him down into Hell with me.
But now, at last, I could return that blessing to him without bitterness.
From this moment on, whoever Ethan chose to love, whoever he chose to protect, had nothing more to do with me.
The instant the last word left my mouth, everything went wrong.
.
.
.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.