Chapter 12
Chesca didn’t want to face him and excused herself to the bathroom.
She leaned against the wall, staring blankly into space and waiting for Fabian to take the hint and leave.
About ten minutes later, the bathroom door creaked open. A sliver of white light sliced through the dimness, and then–fabian stepped inside.
In the dim space, just the two of them.
Chesca refused to look at him, rejecting any communication.
Fabian approached her, his tall figure looming over her. He reached out to gently touch her cheek with his voice husky yet tender. “Does it still hurt?”
Chesca turned her face away sharply.
Her disgust at his touch was unmistakable.
P
But Fabian had never been the type to walk away when shut out. He caged her in effortlessly, his palm sliding under her jaw, caressing her face with apparent tenderness–a gesture that seemed sincere to him but struck Chesca as deeply ironic.
When she tried to push his hand away, Fabian caught her wrist.
He held her slender wrist firmly without a word, his gaze penetrating as he studied her.
In all the years she had loved him, he had never looked at her like this. But what did it
matter now?
“Let go of me!” her voice cracked.
Fabian pulled a tube of ointment from his pocket, squeezed out a small amount and gently
applied it to Chesca’s face.
Chapter 12
Chesca had no choice but to accept, but her eyes held no warmth as she looked at him–only coldness. “Are you done? If so, let me go.”
Fabian’s dark eyes fixed on her. “You hate me touching you that much?”
Without hesitation, Chesca replied. “Yes.”
Hearing this, Fabian lowered his head as if he couldn’t stand it anymore, attempting to kiss her, hoping to awaken memories of the past.
But how could Chesca possibly want this? She dodged desperately, wanting no physical
contact with him.
Fabian was forceful by nature-
The more she refused, the more determined he became.
In the narrow bathroom, they struggled against each other, until finally Chesca couldn’t
match the Fabian’s strength and was forced to accept his caresses and kisses…
L
Dim light played across her fair skin, beaded with perspiration.
A vein pulsed on Fabian’s forehead, revealing his incredible restraint–this was neither the time nor place.
Then, he buried his face against Chesca’s neck, breathless whispering: “I’m sorry.”
Chesca’s clothes were disheveled.
Trembling, she raised her hand and slapped him.
The sharp sound echoed in the cramped space.
Fabian didn’t retaliate. Instead, he pulled Chesca tightly into his arms, his voice quavering against her ear. “You’re the most important thing in my life, Chesca.”
Chesça tilted her head back, tears sliding from the corner of her eye…
Chapter 12
After a while, she gently pushed Fabian away and walked out without a word.
Some words are just words, meant to be heard and forgotten.
Some people, you’ll finally break up.
She and Fabian could never return to what they were before. They couldn’t even claim to
have had a real relationship, since from the beginning it had been Chesca’s one–sided feelings and efforts.
Now she no longer wanted Fabian. Whoever mattered most to him was no longer her
concern.
During her grandmother’s hospital stay, Fabian visited frequently.
Sometimes he would miss Chesca, so he’d sit and chat with the elderly woman instead.
After four years of marriage, it wa
After four years of marriage, it was as if Fabian finally had time–finally could spare moments to keep company with Chesca’s only family member.
But Chesca wasn’t touched at all.
She continued searching for a lawyer to handle her divorce from Fabian.
Perhaps due to Veronica had caused such a commotion, word reached Elkedonia Manor. Jubal had called twice inviting her to dinner, but Chesca refused both times.
Now that she’d seen through Fabian, she couldn’t even be bothered to put on an act for his
family.
One week later
on a rainy autumn night.
The quiet evening, gray pavement glistening with water, fallen plane tree leaves dampened by rain, pathetically blending with the ground.
Chapter 12
Chesca returned home from the hospital with Fabian following closely behind.
After parking her car, she found Fabian waiting outside–his car already parked beneath a plane tree.
The second Chesca got out, Fabian blocked her path. “We need to talk.”
Chesca walked around him toward the elevator entrance. “No, we don’t. I’ll see you in
court.”
She went upstairs and he followed…
Chesca didn’t let him inside.
Once indoors, Chesca leaned against the door: Fabian had been her entire youth. Breaking free of him was truly painful…
Chesca took some time to compose herself, then grabbed her bathrobe to shower and rest.
As for whether Fabian had left or not, she no longer cared.
Night deepened gradually.
The lights in windows switched off one by one.
In a black SUV parked on the ground floor, a faint glow illuminated a man dressed in black sitting upright inside. Even expressionless, his aristocratic bearing was unmistakable.
Fabian was looking at his phone, scrolling through photos of Chesca.
In the pictures, Chesca smiled with gentle warmth.
It had been a long time since he’d seen her smile. Ironically, they were physically so close–her upstairs, him down below–yet she wouldn’t speak even a single word to him
anymore.
Fabian didn’t know why he wanted to save this marriage–was it guilt and atonement, or was it because of Chesca’s value as the wife of Leshine’s CEO?
Chapter 12
The night rain fell steadily, pattering against the bare branches of the plane tree, painting a scene of desolate ruin.
The man’s silhouette inside the car appeared blurry and indistinct.
Water droplets collected on branches, falling one by one, striking the car roof.
Thump. Thump.
Early morning, Chesca took her puppy Snow for a walk.
The air was cold enough that each breath created a white cloud.
Chesca wore a thin wool dress with a dark brown trench coat belted tightly at her slender waist. Her golden hair fell in gentle waves around her shoulders, giving her the look of an
English rose.
From inside the black SUV, Fabian watched her silently.
In the past, Chesca never dressed this
style.
- ay. But now, she seemed to really enjoy this kind of
Was it because of Zeno?
Fabian opened the car door and approached Chesca. When she became aware of him, she found a bag of milk and breakfast in her hands, along with the man’s gentle voice. “Eat something before you go running.”
“Woof! Woof!”
Snow barked furiously at the man.
Chesca looked down at the thoughtful breakfast, feeling only irony.
During her time as Mrs, Elkedonia, Fabian had never shown such care–he’d treated her like
a work machine. Now that he had a mistress, he was suddenly playing the devoted
Chapter 12
husband. No wonder who was this performance for?
Chesca handed the breakfast back, her attitude cold. “Don’t do this anymore. This isn’t right for us.”
Fabian’s gaze deepened. “Then what is right for us? Tell me, Chesca, and I’ll do whatever you want! From now on, we can-”
Chesca’s expression grew colder. “There is no ‘we.‘ Just you, and just me.”
Fabian refused to take the food back.
Chesca simply walked to a nearby trash can and threw away both bags. Afterward, she
turned to face Fabian.
“Fabian, can we just act normal? Please?”
“You’re not the same Fabian you used to be.”
“And I’m not that same old Chesca either. I don’t want you anymore.”
Fabian stood beneath the plane tree.
Elegant and noble. He silently watched Chesca’s retreating figure.
Just then, a drop of water slid down from the tree trunk. It landed right on the corner of his eye before gently rolling down…
(2)
