Chapter 733:

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The man who used to wrap me in his arms through countless sleepless nights, whispering that he’d never let me go. The man who had sworn he’d return even if I rejected him a thousand times…

He had severed the last thread connecting us with his own hands.

My eyes stung with tears, yet a laugh escaped my lips.

I hadn’t imagined Ethan could be so merciless. Yet beneath the heartbreak came an odd, bittersweet sense of relief.

Maybe this was for the best. Thank goodness he’d been decisive enough to delete me.

𝘚𝘩𝘢𝗿𝗲 yo𝘶𝗋 𝘧𝖺𝘃𝗈𝗋𝘪t𝗲𝘴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘮 𝘨a𝘭𝗻𝗈𝘃e𝘭𝗌.с𝘰m

Otherwise, if he’d answered just now, I didn’t know whether I could have held on to my resolve, or whether I would have fallen back into longing for the comfort of his embrace.

As though the device had burned my skin, I hurled the phone across the room.

Ethan’s POV:

The meeting at Nshire headquarters dragged on for twelve exhausting hours.

By the time I finally walked out of the towering glass building, the city had long since disappeared beneath the night.

I drove alone through unfamiliar streets still glowing with traffic and neon lights.

Ruby and Silas were no longer living with me in hotels. I’d purchased a house in one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods.

Since I’d chosen to settle in for the long term, getting a decent place made sense. Even if that place was so bare that my own breathing was the only thing I could hear in it.

The Bluetooth earpiece broke the silence when Jeremy suddenly called.

“Say what you called for,” I answered, keeping my eyes fixed on the road. My voice remained calm, stripped of emotion.

“Damn, Ethan, you’ve been acting so cold lately you’re starting to worry me,” Jeremy grumbled before clearing his throat. “Someone wants the house you and Lianne lived in. They’re serious about buying it and asked if you’d consider selling.”

My fingers tensed around the wheel.

Not a single floorboard or light fitting in that house had escaped my personal touch. And within those walls lived the most precious fragments of my time with Lianne.

“Handle it,” I said quietly, my voice carrying an icy finality. “If the offer’s good enough, sign the papers. You don’t need my approval.”

Jeremy blurted out, “You’re actually selling it? Ethan, have you lost your mind? That’s your home with Lianne. Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.”

“I’m not going back anytime soon,” I replied without hesitation. “Keeping it accomplishes nothing. Living in Nshire is better for business, and I won’t waste time traveling back and forth for memories.”

“You’re running from Lianne,” Jeremy said bluntly.

“You’re reading too much into it,” I answered coolly.

But I knew he was right. Every time I closed my eyes, I could still smell Lianne’s familiar scent. I could still see the tears she’d shed because of me.

I wasn’t afraid of seeing her. I was afraid of what would happen to me if I did.

Once the details of the sale were settled, Jeremy hesitated before speaking again. “Tracy’s almost due. Are you coming back to the pack when the baby arrives?”

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