Free Web NovelChapter 10: Chapter 10
Elise threw back the covers and got out of bed, heading straight for the door.
Dylan reached out and caught her wrist. "What are you doing now?"
She jerked her arm free, disgust written all over her face. "Don’t touch me!" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
His brows furrowed. "Calm down."
"I am calm." Elise lifted her chin slightly, meeting his eyes without flinching. "This is the calmest, clearest I’ve been in five years. Dylan, listen carefully—I am divorcing you."
"I’ve already told you about the empty grave. I hid it for your own good."
"For my own good?" Elise let out a sharp, derisive laugh. "Then what—are you going to say that building another home outside, with another woman and child, was also for my sake?"
"They’re two different things." Dylan’s expression tightened. "Calm down. Acting like this won’t solve anything."
Elise stared at him, speechless.
Even now—after everything—the man she had once loved so deeply still looked so arrogant, so certain of himself.
To him, the death of their twins had been nothing more than an accident. The five years she had spent drowning in grief were nothing but her own emotional problem.
Perhaps he had felt guilty once. But compared to the happiness Quinn and that child brought him...
What did guilt even matter?
All at once, Elise felt... nothing.
No love. No hate.
None of it meant anything anymore.
She had been blind. She had chosen the wrong man from the start.
Closing her eyes, she took a slow, steady breath. When she opened them again, there was nothing left inside but a hollow stillness.
"Dylan... do you think that no matter what you do, I’ll always accept it without question?"
He was caught off guard.
Before he could answer, she continued, "Do you think I can’t live without you?"
Dylan frowned, but said nothing.
To Elise, his silence was answer enough.
"You’re right. Before I knew all this... I thought I couldn’t live without you either."
Her voice was cold, distant. "This marriage... I fought for it many times. I loved you. I was willing to give you everything without regret."
"In that first year, I thought I was the happiest woman in the world. My husband was the man I loved most, and I was about to give birth to our children. I truly believed we would spend our lives together."
Her voice trembled faintly.
"No matter how busy you were, you came home every day. You went with me to every prenatal checkup. You fulfilled your role as a husband, and you gave me all the respect and dignity I deserved as your wife..."
She pressed her lips together, her voice catching. "I thought... you loved me too."
A pause.
"But now I see... it was all just wishful thinking on my part."
She lowered her gaze, stepping past him toward the door.
Dylan stood there, stunned. The hand she had shaken off felt strangely empty.
In his line of sight, her slender figure moved farther and farther away.
Thud.
The glass hit the nightstand with a heavy sound. The milk inside sloshed, spilling over the rim.
The doorknob turned.
Elise pulled the door open. But the moment she stepped out, her arm was seized.
Before she could react, Dylan had lifted her into his arms.
Bang!
With a kick of his long leg, the door slammed shut again.
"Dylan! Let me go!" Elise struggled, but instinctively held back, mindful of the child in her womb.
Dylan’s face darkened. He carried her back to the bed and set her down, then leaned over her, his tall frame pressing close.
Her breath hitched.
Her hands came up instinctively, bracing against his chest as she glared at him. "Don’t touch me!"
"You wanted a child, didn’t you?" Dylan said, bracing himself on either side of her. His expression was unreadable, his dark eyes fixed on her.
"Fine! Then we’ll have another one."
His voice was calm, but his heavy breathing betrayed the storm inside his heart.
"Don’t worry. Robin’s existence will never threaten our child."
The words made her stomach turn.
Without hesitation, Elise raised her hand and slapped him again. This time, he could have stopped her.
But he didn’t. He took it head-on.
"Have you had enough?" Dylan’s expression darkened. "Can you listen to me now?"
Elise looked at him with nothing but revulsion, pushing against him one more time. "Get away from me!"
His eyes narrowed slightly. "If you still refuse to listen, I don’t mind using stronger methods."
Her breath caught. She knew exactly what he meant.
They had been together too long—she understood him all too well.
And now... With the child in her womb, she didn’t dare push him too far.
Taking a deep breath, forcing down the storm inside her, she spoke through clenched restraint, "Fine. Then let go of me first."
Seeing her yield, Dylan lifted a brow slightly.
He had always found her moments of surrender... agreeable.
His expression eased. He let go of her and moved to sit at the side.
Elise pushed herself upright, instinctively smoothing the hem of her clothes. Then she walked to the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window and sat down, her face cold and composed as she looked at him.
"Now," she said, "you can talk."
Dylan frowned faintly at her attitude, but he knew her temperament well.
If not for the loss of their twins, she would have been someone radiant—full of life, full of warmth.
The memory of who she once was stirred something complicated inside him.
There had been a time when he saw her as the light in his life—his little sun. He had even sworn, silently, to give her a lifetime of care and protection.
But fate... had other plans.
He pulled himself back, rubbing his brow.
"Five years ago," he began, "the funeral car transporting the twins... was involved in an accident on the way to the cemetery. It collided with a truck. The car caught fire immediately."
His voice lowered.
"The flames spread too quickly. By the time rescue teams arrived... the vehicle was completely destroyed. The driver and another staff member didn’t survive either."
Elise’s eyes reddened instantly.
Her hands clenched into fists as she shut her eyes. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
"At the time, you were still in the ICU, not out of danger," Dylan continued. "I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle the truth. So I went ahead with the funeral... and set up memorial graves for them."
Her chest rose and fell violently.
She bit down hard, trying to contain herself, but the pain was unbearable.
Her poor children... in the end, they hadn’t even been laid to rest.
And all of this... Was because of him.
"Dylan." She opened her eyes again, staring straight at him through tears.
He met her gaze, and something in it pierced him. A flicker of unease rose in his chest.
"I used to tell myself," she said slowly, "that even though the kidnapping happened because of you... you were still their father. You wouldn’t have wanted that outcome either."
Her voice trembled, but she forced it steady. "I kept telling myself—you must have been hurting too. That I should understand you."
A pause.
"Do you know what it feels like?"
His throat tightened as he looked at her.
Her voice dropped, almost hollow.
"Every time I close my eyes... I see it. The kidnappers raising that baseball bat and bringing it down on my stomach—again and again. And then... all that blood."
"Stop..." Dylan lowered his gaze, unable to meet her eyes. "What happened to the children... Yes. I owe you an apology. A billion apologies. So I’m sorry, Elise."
Elise stood up, wiping her tears away.
"Wanna know something? The way you comfort that child... you really can be gentle. I used to imagine... that you would have been like that with my children too."
Dylan’s head snapped up.
For the first time, unmistakable pain flickered in his eyes.
But Elise no longer cared.
"Once the divorce agreement is ready, my lawyer will send it to your company," she said calmly. "I don’t want this house. As I said before—everything we built together, I’m taking all of it."
Her gaze was cold, unwavering.
"You still have the Bennet Corporation. These shared assets mean nothing to you."
A faint pause.
"I won’t let Quinn and that child enjoy what I created."
She met his eyes one last time. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"If you truly feel any guilt toward our children... then sign the papers. That’s all I will ask of you."
