Chapter 95

+15 BONOS “Violet, the choice is yours–to stay or to leave. Should you stay, you’ll be mine. If you leave, I’ll ensure you’re compensated.”

Violet, caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, gazed back at him.

Deep down, the idea of being his wasn’t entirely unappealing; she had grown used to his presence, his assertiveness, temper, sporadic tenderness, his entirety…

Yet he had vowed never to emotionally commit to a woman again, a declaration he repeated this morning for the third time.

Thus, she saw herself as no different from the other women in his past.

“I’ll leave.”

The response elicited a sharp, agonizing sensation in Lucius’s chest. An unfamiliar bitterness filled his mouth. Not even Agatha’s departure had struck him this hard.

“Violet Wickham…” he began. “If this is your decision, I respect it.”

His lack of insistence signaled to her that she was truly dispensable in his eyes.

A sudden, uncontrollable laughter erupted from Violet, contorting her face with its intensity.

Her response alarmed Lucius, who hastily left the room without realizing that her initial laughter had quickly turned into sobs and that she was continuously crying.

The following day, Violet departed, carrying only her bag and a sizable check.

She left without a backward glance, mechanically pushing herself forward, step by step.

Behind her. Lucius watched from the balcony, his gaze lingering on her diminishing figure until she was long out of sight.

As the helicopter lifted off, Violet silently bid her farewell.

Goodbye, Imperial Palace.

Goodbye, Lucius.

Goodbye!

She resolved to regard her experiences there as nothing more than a dream.

+15 BONOS With the dream’s end, she returned to the start, where Agatha and Lucius were mere figments of a fleeting dream.

Upon her return to the city, Violet didn’t head straight to her family home. Instead, she made a detour to the Blue Cross organization to donate the check she had received.

Of course, she had no place to go back to.

She had no desire to enter Wickham’s residence as she stood at the door. Her father had declared her dead and expelled her from this house.

Opting against entering, she headed to her previously rented apartment.

“V…Violet?” Tess Powers, her surprised roommate and friend, greeted her. “Why have you come back? I thought you wouldn’t.”

Violet, who had abruptly left her job to travel, hadn’t informed Tess of her plans.

“Tess, it’s like this…”

“Who’s here?

Before Violet could elaborate on her situation, a male voice interrupted. A young man in beach shorts appeared, casually draping his arm around Tess’s shoulders, eyeing Violet curiously.

Tess, looking uncomfortable, explained, “I assumed you’d gone home after quitting, so…”

Evidently. Tess’s boyfriend had taken over her room.

“It’s fine,” Violet replied, masking her feelings with feigned nonchalance. “Congratulations.

Tess.”

Tess blushed, a mix of embarrassment and happiness visible on her face.

Violet left, feeling adrift and alone in the expansive world with no place to call her own.

“I didn’t plan on confronting you, but it’s because of you that my voice is damaged,” Emily accused..

“You’re really here!” Violet was surprised when she heard a gruff voice.

Emily emerged from the shadows as Violet gazed up, her gaze icy and piercing.

It wasn’t Violet’s fault that it happened. Violet had previously said that, and didn’t wish to elaborate. “If you don’t want to find me, then don’t.”

+15 BONOS Emily announced, “I’m getting engaged to Oliver.”

Violet staggered backward, her body weakly leaning against the wall as the words resonated in her ears. Emily’s eyes gleamed with a sense of victory.

Violet had caused her grief, and she now desired that Violet suffer even more.

“Of course, as the elder sister, you must attend our engagement ceremony. It’s Dad’s wish, and Oliver’s as well.”

The cruelty of Oliver’s actions was a heavy blow to Violet.

Feeling her heart constrict with pain, she clung to the wall to keep it from collapsing.

“Alright…”

She forced a smile, though it felt rigid and difficult to maintain.

A whole year of waiting, only to be greeted with news of Oliver’s engagement to another.

Tears threatened to spill from Violet’s eyes, but she resisted, determined not to show vulnerability.

“I know you like Oliver,” Emily said, pressing the knife deeper into Violet’s heart, “but he doesn’t like you. Did you sabotage my voice because of this? I swear to you, I’ll curse you for the rest of your life. I curse you to never find happiness!”