Then one day, it all just broke her. She couldn’t keep it together anymore. I’ve known her since we were kids, and I’ve never seen her like that before. Congratulations, Luke. You destroyed her. You emptied her heart. And now, she finally realizes that you don’t love her anymore.

Do you even remember how you chased after her? You were the one who fell for her at first sight. You insisted she was the one for you.

She wanted to study medicine, but she switched to finance just so she could attend the same university as you! For you, she defied her parents for the first time. For you, she worked relentlessly for four years—just to prove to your family she didn’t need a powerful background to be your equal. She was so blind, so unbelievably blind. She gave you everything, poured every ounce of her soul into loving you, and in return, you crushed her. The damage you’ve done to her can never be undone.

Do you think Vera is divorcing you because she’s weak? No. She’s simply had enough. She doesn’t care anymore. She refuses to stoop to your level, to fight with you over something as pathetic as a mistress. She just wants you gone.

She’s resolute. Unyielding. She erased everything that connected her to you. The wedding ring? Sold. The wedding photos? Reduced to ashes. She did it right in front of you, to make sure she’d never look back.

Rebecca turned away for a moment, wiping a tear from her eye. “I’m not telling you this to pass judgment, Luke. I need you to understand—she’s never coming back. If you feel even the slightest bit of guilt, then do the one thing left you can do: Sign the damn divorce papers, give her what she’s owed, and at least let your eight years together end with some shred of dignity.”

Luke bent forward, a sharp, suffocating pain tearing through him, as if it might break him in half. With shaking hands, he ripped the divorce papers to shreds and shouted, “I’m not divorcing her! Who the hell said I don’t love her? I love her! I love her! I love her!”

Chapter [Number Missing]

[Fragmented Sentences/Thoughts]: Hunt, kill, [unintelligible] Vera, then why the hell did you sleep… shortage physically, she would wri… “ she shouted, slamming her hands on the desk. “Why don’t you just go to hell?” …of the ashtray and i…

Luke stood abruptly, the shredded remnants of the divorce papers slipping from his fingers, fluttering to the floor. “Everything she sold, everything she owned—I want it all back, including her heartbeat,” he declared. “We will be together again. In this life and beyond, she’s mine and mine alone!”

[Fragmented Sentences/Thoughts]: Waheed, the anesthesiologist, stood and stole out… bebovca sat there, momentarily dazed, before abruptly snapping back to reality. She shot up… “That was pot, Adam! Copying your rally thick tearing it up changes nothing…lng you—it won’t work!” Bastard! How dare you put on the act of a devoted lover! “Whine was that so-called love when Vesperta penned it in…” Rebecca pressed her fingers against her temples, feeling the onset of a migraine. This audience was shaping up to be an absolute nightmare. …can this rainy spring night, the chill in the air felt like the heart ofantium. …Likexation the steps outside the villa, staring at the sexually explicit footage from the night Vespera burned their wedding photos… She stood in the front yard, her stillness as striking as she glared at him. Without hesitation, she threw the lighter into the barrel…

Luke saw himself in the background, sitting inside, speaking on the phone with a shrill voice. It felt as though he were looking at a ghost, a stranger he could no longer remember. He couldn’t bring himself to think…

He wished he could turn back time, to that very moment. If he could, he would never have been so reckless. He would have begged for her forgiveness and told her that she was the only one he had ever truly loved.

Rain drops slid down his face, but the warmth on his cheeks had nothing to do with the storm. Esbert stood behind him, holding an umbrella, though the relentless downpour soaked them both.

“Are you going to stay in…?”

As his assistant, Esbert knew better than to interfere with his employer’s personal life. But even he had seen this coming. A woman as sharp as Vespera was never going to forgive a broken man.

“Find and buy back everything she sold. Return it all to its place,” Luke instructed. “Reframe the wedding photos exactly as they were. Hang them back where they belong.”

“Understood.”

Esbert followed every instruction without question. But even if everything Vespera had sold was bought back, it would never be the same. The wedding photos could be reprinted, but they would only be replicas. The emotions once attached to them were long gone.

Would Vespera even be moved by these efforts?

Just then, Luke’s phone buzzed in his hand. He answered sluggishly.

“Mr. Munoz, we’ve located your wife. Yesterday afternoon, she used her card at a shopping mall in Seloria…”

“Seloria.” Luke’s brow furrowed. “That’s impossible. There’s no record of her boarding any flights.”

“We’ve found her departure records—she left on a private Gulfstream G650. However, the aircraft’s owner refused to disclose any further details.”

Luke’s expression darkened immediately. He hung up the phone and stepped into the storm without a second thought.

“Prepare the jet. I’m going to Seloria right now. And one more thing: find out if Dominic is there.”

There was only one person in Halewick with the resources to take Vespera away so discreetly. Luke should have realized it earlier.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Vespera changed into a professional yet relaxed business outfit. She slipped on flat leather shoes, tucked a recorder into her bag, and left the hotel…

Meanwhile, Dominic was preparing for his departure to the summit when he noticed Vespera was missing.

“Where is she?”