Gregory thought nothing outside mattered, as long as he could be by Anathea’s side. But just as Anathea had said, that wasn’t love. It was possessiveness.
Only when she carved a shocking wound on her wrist just so she wouldn’t be trapped by him did he realize how utterly wrong he had been all along
“Love isn’t about possession. It’s about letting her do what she wants.” Gregory gazed out the window. His hoarse voice had a hint of acceptance.
So, he chose to let go and gave Anathea her freedom back.
At Castenea International Airport, Anathea said, “You should go now.”
“Alright.” Louie nodded, then handed her a document. It was the divorce agreement, already signed by Gregory.
Anathea paused for a moment before smiling faintly. “He finally agreed?”
Louie nodded. “You can take it with you and sign it after you’ve thought it-”
“Do you have a pen?” Anathea asked.
Louie hadn’t expected her to be so decisive. He pulled out a pen to hand over.
Still, he felt the need to speak for Gregory. “I know you might not want to hear this right now, but Greg’s feelings for you are genuine. Adrian should have told you about his flaws. That’s why his love comes out as an obsession, but he never means to hurt you.”
“He should be grateful to have a friend like you to explain things for him.” Anathea chuckled.
Louie was so afraid Gregory wouldn’t say a word that he ended up spilling everything just to make sure Anathea had no misunderstandings about Gregory when she left.
“In fact, I should thank him for being my friend,” Louie said.
Anathea could tell from his eyes that it must have been a pretty good memory.
But she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it. She took the pen and signed without hesitation.
Six years of marriage and imprisonment finally ended in that moment. She thought she would feel relief, but deep down, there was little emotion at all.
Louie knew it was futile to persuade her further, so he said, “Greg said the property settlement agreement will be sent to you later.”
“No need. I don’t want anything,” Anathea said flatly.
“He insisted.”
Anathea thought of Gregory’s cold face. “Fine.”
“And Xander’s custody-”
She cut Louie off, saying, “Xander is a Sinclair. He should stay with the Sinclair family.”
She handed back the pen. With her boarding time approaching, she said goodbye to Louie.
“Until we meet again.” Louie gave her a small wave.
Anathea went through security and boarded the plane. Once seated her phone buzzed with two voice messages from Hannah.
1/2
TRUE 407
+25 BONUS
“Thea, call me when you get there,” came Hannah’s familiar voice
“Thea, good luck with the competition! You’re the best!” chirped Chloe.
Her adorable encouragement melted Anathea.
At that moment, she received another message. It was from Gregory. “Safe travels.”
Anathea hesitated but didn’t reply. Instead, she turned off her phone.
The plane began to taxi, then lifted off into the sky. The cityscape outside slowly shrank until only the endless blue sky and white clouds remained.
Gregory stared at the chat window with no reply, feeling a bit down
The car finally arrived at Castenea Central Hospital. Louie was already waiting at the entrance.
“How did it go? Did Anathea leave?” Theo asked.
“Yeah.” Louie nodded. “Don’t worry. I saw her leave. She’ll be fine.”
Only then did Theo breathe a sigh of relief.
But Louie’s expression grew serious as he looked at Gregory, whose face was turning pale. “How much longer are you planning to tough it out?”
Theo and Adrian paused at those words, then turned to look at Gregory. His tall, slender figure now looked on the verge of
collapse.
“Do you have to say this now?” Gregory’s tone was weary, and his voice clearly betrayed his weakness.
“What’s going on?” Adrian suddenly felt a bad premonition.
“When saving Anathea, he suffered a severe internal injury but refused surgery and made me keep it from you all.”
No sooner had Louie finished speaking than Gregory could no longer hold on and collapsed.
“Greg!” Theo shouted in alarm.
“Quick! Get him to the ER!” Louie urged.
The plane flew toward Southern Endovia.
Meanwhile, Gregory lay on a bed in the emergency room. His fever was relentless, and his breath grew shallow. Eventually, he slipped into unconsciousness.
