Chapter 4: The Goodbye

Emily POV 

I was discharged at 6 AM. Jason and Vanessa had left an hour earlier—he had taken her home personally, leaving me to find my own way back with two children and a concussion.

The taxi ride was torture. Lily complained the entire time.

"Why didn't Daddy wait for us?"

"He had important things to do," I said, the lie bitter on my tongue.

Ethan pressed against my side, his small hand finding mine. "Mama? Does your head hurt?"

"Yes, baby. Very much."

At the mansion, Margaret was watching the morning news. She glanced at my bandaged forehead.

"You look terrible. Try some concealer."

No concern or sympathy. Just criticism.

I climbed the stairs and began packing properly this time. Clothes for Ethan and me. The documents I had quietly collected—birth certificates, passports, marriage license. I found my racing jacket shoved in the back of the closet, my name embroidered in gold: "Emily Lothan - World Champion."

I was somebody once, I would be somebody again.

At 9 AM, a motorcycle roared up the driveway. Sonia Martinez dismounted and rang the doorbell.

Margaret answered. "We're not accepting solicitors—"

"I'm here for Emily."

I appeared at the stairs, Ethan's hand in mine, a suitcase trailing behind us.

"Emily?" Margaret's eyes narrowed. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Away."

"You can't just leave! Jason will never—"

"Jason doesn't care. He made that clear last night."

Lily appeared above us. "Mom? Where are you going?"

"Mama and I are taking a trip," Ethan said.

Lily's face crumpled. "Without me? That's not fair!"

I extended my hand. "You can come, sweetheart."

But Lily backed away. "Not if Vanessa can't come. She's more fun than you anyway."

I had expected that.

"Okay, sweetheart. You can stay with Daddy."

"Emily, this is ridiculous!" Margaret blocked the door. "You're throwing a tantrum over an accident! Jason loves you—"

"No, he doesn't. He never did. And neither did you." I met her eyes. "I was just convenient—a womb for his heirs and free domestic labor. But I'm done being convenient."

Sonia picked up my suitcase. "We're leaving. You can move, or I can move you."

Margaret stepped aside, trembling with fury.

I knelt before Lily. "I love you, baby girl. When you're ready, I'll be waiting."

Lily turned away. "Whatever."

My heart shattered, but I stood anyway.

As we reached the motorcycle, a black Bentley pulled up. A man stepped out.

Nathan Zhou.

My breath stopped. Seven years had refined him, but those dark, patient eyes hadn't changed.

"Em," he said softly.

"Nathan."

He crossed to me and gently cupped my face, examining the bandage. His jaw clenched.

"He let this happen to you."

"It was an accident—"

"Was it an accident that he pulled his secretary from the wreckage before his wife?" Nathan's voice was steel. "Richard told me everything."

"You've been talking to Richard?"

"I never left. I've been protecting your family's interests. Waiting for you."

Sonia coughed. "We should leave before the asshole comes back."

Jason's car screeched into the driveway.

He came out looking rumpled, Vanessa climbing out beside him, both in yesterday's clothes.

Jason froze when he saw Nathan.

"Zhou? What the hell are you doing here?"

Nathan's arm slid around my shoulders. "Taking Em home. Where she belongs."

"The hell you are." Jason strode forward. "Emily, get in the house. Now."

"No."

Jason stopped dead. "What?"

"I said no. I'm leaving. I'm taking Ethan, and I'm going home."

"You can't take my son—"

"Our son. And yes, I can. He wants to come with me. Lily wants to stay with you." I pulled out my phone, playing a recording. Lily's voice: "I want to stay with Daddy and Vanessa. Mom's boring."

"I have her consent on record. You can have your daughter and your secretary. I'm done."

Jason's face flushed. "You're just upset about last night! Emily, be reasonable—"

"I've been reasonable for seven years! I gave up everything for you. My career—I was a world champion. My family. Myself. And what did you give me? Neglect. Humiliation. A husband who would rather save his secretary than his wife."

"So you're running to him?" Jason jabbed a finger at Nathan. "Running back to your family's lapdog?"

"I'm not running to anyone. I'm running to myself." I looked at Jason and felt nothing. "You killed what I felt for you. One neglect at a time."

"Emily, don't do this. Think about the children—"

"I am thinking about them. Ethan deserves a mother who isn't broken. And Lily deserves to see what happens when you choose people who don't value you."

"You'll come back," Jason said, uncertainty creeping in. "You always come back."

"No. I won't. I'm Emily Lothan. I had a whole world before you, and I'll have one after."

Nathan opened the Bentley door. Ethan climbed in excitedly.

Sonia mounted her motorcycle. "I'll follow."

I looked back at the mansion one final time. Seven years of slowly disappearing.

Never again.

As we pulled away, I saw them all—Jason defeated, Vanessa confused, Lily at the window, and Margaret furious.

Let them watch.

"Where to?" Nathan asked.

"The Lothan estate."

"Richard never changed your room." Nathan's hand found mine. "He missed you. We all did."

I leaned against the window, watching the city transform. My old life was dying. My reclaimed life was beginning.

In the rearview mirror, I caught Nathan's eyes. 

But that was a complication for another day.

My phone exploded with messages:

Jason: "You're making a huge mistake."

Jason: "Think about our family."

Jason: "Don't embarrass me like this."

Always about him. Never about me.

I turned off my phone.

Ethan slept in the backseat, peaceful.

Nathan glanced back. "He's a good kid."

"He is."

"You did that. Not Jason."

My eyes burned. "Thank you for waiting."

Nathan's smile was sad. "I'd wait forever for you, Em."

The Lothan estate gates loomed ahead.

I was coming home.

But as we pulled through, I saw figures on the steps.

Richard.

And beside him, another man—tall, sharp-suited, watching our car with seriousness.

Nathan's hand tightened on mine. "That's Marcus Blake. Your brother's new business partner. He's been very interested in meeting you."

Something in his tone made my stomach flip.

"Why?"

Nathan's smile turned mysterious. "You'll see."