Free Web NovelChapter 23: Chapter 23
By the fourth day, the company had largely returned to normal operations.
At ten o’clock that morning, Elise concluded the first executive meeting following the company-wide purge and restructuring.
The moment she stepped out of the conference room, she drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
For the first time in years, her body and mind both felt lighter. After five long years, she had finally found herself again.
The vibrant version of herself. The confident version.
Even the grief that had once consumed her life seemed to be fading little by little into the distance. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Lowering her gaze, she gently rested a hand over her abdomen.
Now all that remained was finalizing the divorce with Dylan.
Once the paperwork was complete, she could leave the country with the baby growing inside her.
...
Elise pushed open the office door.
Zoey followed behind her and quietly shut it. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"I just got word," she said grimly. "Quinn was released on bail."
Elise stopped midway toward her desk. Turning around, she looked at her friend calmly.
"Dylan did it, didn’t he?"
"How are you this calm?" Zoey frowned deeply. "Dylan insists on protecting her. I think prosecuting Quinn might become very difficult now."
"I expected this." Elise’s voice was cool and detached. "For the embezzlement charges, Dylan will use every method available to protect her. He’ll probably try negotiating with me using all the shares he holds."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"As for the bigamy charge... since Robin isn’t actually the child of Dylan and Quinn, all we have left are the recordings and surveillance footage as supporting evidence. Whether that’s enough to win will depend on what Attorney Hayes says."
Zoey clenched her jaw in anger.
"He’s gone too far! After everything you sacrificed for him, he’s willing to throw away your dignity and feelings completely just to protect that disgusting woman. Was he possessed or something? How can he do something this monstrous?!"
Elise gave a faint, bitter smile. "He’s still the same person," she said softly. "His heart just changed a long time ago."
She walked to her desk and sat down before looking up at Zoey with quiet exhaustion in her eyes.
"Zoey, never try to talk about old feelings with a man whose heart has already changed. And never try to reason with him using morality or conscience either."
Her lashes lowered slightly.
"If those things truly mattered to him... he never would have changed in the first place."
Even though she had completely given up on him now, a dull ache still spread through her chest whenever she spoke about it.
"If he wants to protect that woman," Elise said quietly, "then I’ll make him trade the divorce for it."
"That’s still letting her off too easily!"
"Right now, I only want the divorce finalized as quickly as possible." Elise’s hand drifted unconsciously to her stomach. "My baby can’t wait much longer."
Zoey sighed heavily. "That’s true. If this drags on any longer, your pregnancy will start showing."
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She raked a hand through her hair irritably.
"I seriously think that knife back then must’ve stabbed Dylan in the brain instead. His head has to be damaged for him to throw away someone as incredible as you and choose a woman like Bitch Foster—a selfish snake who only knows how to fake innocence and repay kindness with betrayal!"
A faintly pained smile tugged at Elise’s lips.
"When I first found out he cheated on me, I truly hated him," she admitted softly. "But then one night, I had a dream."
Her voice gradually quieted.
"In the dream, he stood in front of me. A knife pierced straight through his heart. There was so much blood... and he died right there in front of me."
Zoey stared at her silently.
"When I woke up," Elise continued, her eyes shimmering with tears, "my face was covered in tears. One of my hands was clutching my chest."
Her voice trembled faintly.
"And that was when I realized something I didn’t want to admit."
She lifted her head slowly.
"Even after hating him that much... I still couldn’t bear the thought of him dying."
Zoey’s expression softened with heartache.
"So, Zoey..." Elise’s voice grew hoarse with emotion. "I started trying to make peace with myself."
A tear slid down her cheek as she smiled faintly through the pain.
"I told myself... let it go. Just pretend that the Dylan I loved died in that dream."
The office fell quiet. Only her soft, unsteady breathing remained.
Then, in a voice so light it was almost a whisper, Elise said, "Maybe we really did love each other once. I truly believed we would grow old together. But hearts change too quickly."
"Ten years of loving him in secret. Five years of marriage. Even a pair of twins we lost before they ever had the chance to live... In the end, we still lost each other."
Her tears continued falling silently, but her smile held a strange sense of release.
"Maybe our fate together was simply too shallow. And a human life is far too long."
She closed her eyes briefly before whispering, "I’m tired. From now on... I want to see what life looks like without Dylan in it."
