Chapter 9%
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“Child, I’m your aunt. Look at me closely.“}
In that instant, memories from long ago flooded my mind and I stared at her face in disbelief. Without thinking, ! backhanded her and pulled her into a tight embrace, tears threatening to spill from the corners of my eyes.”
“Auntie, you’re still alive… that’s great!”
I had thought I was the only one to survive the brutal pursuit of our enemies, never realizing that my aunt had been rescued during the escape. For all these years, she had been searching for me and I never expected our reunion to happen so suddenly–just after visiting my parents‘ grave.“}
With no place to go, I followed this last remaining relative back to her home.}
She had never had children of her own and in her quest to find me, she had built a vast family business. When she learned that I had no interest in practicing medicine, she decided to train me as her future heir.
Busy with my new responsibilities and studies, thoughts of Shena seemed to fade into the past. The eight years I had spent with her were nothing but distant memories now.
One day, my aunt arranged a grand banquet to announce my identity as the heir. As the guests departed, I was about to leave with her when a familiar voice halted me.
“Theo, is that really you?”
froze. I hadn’t expected to cross paths with Shena in such a situation. If it weren’t for her voice, I wouldn’t have even recognized the cold, beautiful woman who had once been the powerhouse of the Collins Family.
Despite the waves of emotion crashing within me, I kept my composure. Ignoring her, I turned to leave with my aunt, but Shena stepped forward, blocking my path.”
“Theo, I’ve finally found you.”
“Come back to the Collins Family with me, please.”}]
I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at her words. How could she have the nerve to ask me to return to the Collins Family, to resume my role in her life after everything that had happened?!
I took a slow step back, creating distance between us, before speaking coldly.
“Ms. Collins, if I remember correctly, we’re already divorced. You were the one who handed me that divorce agreement. So tell me–are you tired of playing with Billie so soon, or do you plan on making a game of two men serving one woman? It’s too late. The Collins Family’s favor to me has already been repaid. Please, seek out another way.”
Her eyes widened in shock at my words. She seemed unable to accept the cruelty of my response. But the man who had once loved her, who had kept her in his heart, vanished the moment Bastian died.
“Then what else?” I continued, my voice steady but laced with bitterness. “If it wasn’t a favor between us, what kind of wife would have no qualms about carrying another man’s child? What kind of mother would kill her own child over something so trivial?“}
“Theo, how can you be so cruel?” Shena’s face twisted in hurt, as if I were the one who had betrayed her. “Have you forgotten the vows you made when we married?”
The anger that had been simmering inside me boiled over. I sneered, my words sharp.
“You call them vows? That was when we were still married. Now we’re divorced.”}]
“Besides,” I added, my gaze softening slightly but resolute, “I have someone now–someone I want to protect more than anything else. I won’t betray her, not for you or anyone.“}
At my words, Shena stared at me in stunned silence, her eyes locked on the hand I was holding with my aunt’s. She looked as if she couldn’t quite comprehend the shift that had occurred in me.
Without saying another word, I turned away, pulling my aunt toward the car.
As the engine roared to life, the tension in my chest began to ease. The road ahead felt distant and for the first time in a long while, I allowed myself to relax.
The car ride back to my aunt’s house was silent, but the weight of the moment hung heavy in the air. I knew my aunt was waiting for me to open up, as she had never once pried into my past during the time we’d spent together.
I didn’t want to burden her with my pain any longer, so I decided to break the silence.
“Auntie,” I began, my voice steady but filled with quiet sorrow. “I was married once… and I had a handsome child. But he-”
I trailed off, the weight of my lost past settling in my chest once more.
3:30
