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I Chose Freedom
I Chose Freedom
Author: No Mood Nano

Chapter 1 The Divorce Agreement

Author: No Mood Nano
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, the warmth from the man's waist still lingering on her fingertips.

She did not push him away. Instead, she looked at me with the kind of indulgent exasperation someone might reserve for a spoiled child.

As if I were the one being unreasonable.

"So, you're making this big of a scene this time, Mr. Sinclair?" she asked leisurely as she pulled out a tissue and wiped her fingers. "You're even giving up the assets. What, are you trying to leave me with nothing?"

"I don't want your things," I repeated calmly. "The cars, the houses, the shares. Everything you transferred to me under your name, I've already signed away."

She stared at me for two seconds. Then, she laughed.

The laugh carried her usual flippancy, along with a trace of unease so faint it was almost impossible to detect.

"Don't want any of it?" she echoed. "Then what do you want? You want me to stay faithful to you? You want me to spend every second revolving around you like some obedient pet?"

At last, she pushed the man away.

He let out an unhappy sound, but one look from her was enough to make him retreat beneath the covers.

"Julian, I've told you before." She rose to her feet and walked toward me without a shred of embarrassment, her presence as overwhelming as ever.

"I love you more than anyone else. But loving only you would be boring. It's like steak. I love steak, but I can't eat steak every single day."

She reached for my face. I turned my head slightly and avoided her touch.

Her hand froze in midair before dropping. Then she lightly patted my cheek. "Be good and go home. Tonight I'll cook dinner myself. I'll make your favorite pan-seared sea bass."

"No need," I interrupted. "Just sign it."

I pressed the fountain pen into her hand.

For the first time, Evelyn's careless expression faded. She stared into my eyes, searching for even the slightest crack in my composure. But all she found was her own unfamiliar reflection.

"You're serious?" Her voice lowered, carrying a dangerous edge.

"When have I ever not been serious?" I asked.

Something seemed to occur to her, and her expression shifted. But the confidence quickly returned.

She spread the agreement open, skipped over the contents entirely, and signed the last page without reading a word.

"Julian, I don't believe you'll actually leave me. There. Signed." She pushed the papers back toward me. "Don't forget dinner at Mom's tomorrow. She's been asking about you for weeks."

With that, she turned back toward the bed and bent down to whisper to the man.

"Don't be scared. He'd never really divorce me. We've been together for seven years. He hasn't held a job in all that time. How would he survive without me? Let's continue."

I picked up the agreement and walked out.

The moment the door closed behind me, I heard the man complain softly, "Ms. Bennett, your husband is so scary."

Evelyn laughed. "He can't live without me. It's been seven years. He doesn't even have a job. How could he possibly survive on his own?"

I tightened my grip on the agreement until my knuckles turned white.

She had probably forgotten. Seven years ago, I had been Seaport's youngest licensed senior architect. I was the one who had given up my career for her.

I had barely walked out of the room when a sharp pain twisted through my stomach.

All these years, I had spent my life taking care of everyone else. Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten to take care of myself. My stomach had already been ruined by years of stress and neglect.

I turned around immediately and knocked on the door, hoping Evelyn would take me to the hospital.

Her cold laugh came from inside. "Weren't you acting so tough a minute ago? Now you're panicking? Wait. I'm not finished yet. Let me calm this one down first, then I'll deal with you."

No matter how many times I knocked after that, she never answered again.

Only her companion, Nathaniel Parker, came out.

The moment he saw the blood at the corner of my mouth, he smiled. "You're a grown man, and you don't even know how to wipe your mouth after eating. Even I feel embarrassed for Ms. Bennett."

"No, it's my stomach—"

Nathaniel kicked my hand aside and deliberately exposed the marks covering his body. "Ms. Bennett and I aren't done having fun yet. No matter how urgent you think this is, you'll have to wait your turn."

Then he slammed the door shut. The heavy wooden door scraped across my hand, leaving a deep bloody gash. I collapsed onto the floor and lost consciousness completely.

In the end, it was a hotel employee who called an ambulance and got me to the hospital.

Half of my stomach had to be removed. As I lay on the cold operating table, there was only one feeling left in my heart.

Relief.
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  • I Chose Freedom   Chapter 10 Moving Forward

    After that day, I did not see Evelyn again for an entire month.Anna told me she had gone back home to handle her mother's funeral arrangements.I heard that in Amelia's final days, she kept repeating my name, saying Julian was a good man, and that the Bennett family had wronged him.I heard that during the funeral, Evelyn never shed a single tear. Instead, she spent the entire time running her fingers over an old photograph.It was a picture of us taken ten years earlier in the library at Alderheim University.On the back, written in my younger handwriting, were the words: "May we grow old together and never drift apart."In the end, she had lost the boy who once wrote those words for her.Three years later, I became Aldoria's youngest foreign inductee into the Academy of Architecture.The awards ceremony was held in Bellemont.Dressed in a black formal suit, I stood beneath the spotlight and delivered my acceptance speech in fluent Valorian.I said that this award was dedic

  • I Chose Freedom   Chapter 9 Too Late to Change

    Evelyn did not leave. She rented a loft across from my studio, its windows facing my office directly.Every morning when I opened the curtains, I saw her sitting by the window with a laptop in her arms, working quietly.She stopped bothering me. She simply existed there.Every morning, an anonymous breakfast delivery would arrive. Fresh bread and milk. The flavors brought me right back to the little mom-and-pop restaurants in Seaport.I knew it was her. She was the only person who knew I took two packets of sugar in my milk.At noon, an insulated lunch box would appear outside the studio. I returned it untouched.The next day, a different meal would arrive. And the day after that, another.At night, she would wait by the river for me to get off work. Keeping about thirty feet between us, she silently followed behind me until I reached my apartment building.One night, I worked past midnight. When I came out, she was still there. Unable to hold back any longer, I asked, "Don't y

  • I Chose Freedom   Chapter 8 The Apology That Came Too Late

    Late autumn in Alderheim came with a damp, bone-deep chill.My studio had just secured the City Hall renovation project, and every day was spent arguing with Aldorian engineers over their stubborn regulations.I liked being busy. It left no room to think about the past.My mother's condition had improved almost miraculously.Sometimes she would suddenly become clear-headed, watching me work at my drafting table before saying softly, "Julian, there's light in your eyes again."That light was something Evelyn had spent seven years nearly extinguishing. So when she appeared outside my studio, I almost did not recognize her.She wore a thin trench coat and had lost so much weight she looked gaunt. Her cheekbones jutted out sharply, her eyes were sunken, and there was nothing left of the powerful businesswoman who once ruled Seaport.In her hand was an insulated soup container, beads of condensation clinging to its surface."Julian." The wind tore her voice apart as she spoke my nam

  • I Chose Freedom   Chapter 7 Too Late for Mercy

    Nathaniel was in the middle of a job interview at a new company when Evelyn called.He was the son of an executive at a publicly traded corporation. Thanks to that connection, he had spent years lingering on the edges of high society.But he had never been satisfied with being just another rich heir. What he wanted was to become Evelyn's husband. And Evelyn had once given him that illusion.Over the phone, her voice was as still as a dead sea. "Come to see me."Deliberately lowering his voice into the smooth, magnetic tone she liked, he replied, "Right now? I'm a little busy—""Now," she cut him off. "Otherwise, by tomorrow, your father's company will be in free fall."Nathaniel's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly relaxed.During the six months he had been with Evelyn, he had grown used to the way she summoned men when she wanted them and discarded them when she did not.He assumed this would be no different. He even changed into the shirt that showed off his body best and s

  • I Chose Freedom   Chapter 6 Seventeen Minutes Too Late

    When Evelyn returned to the house that had once been our marital home, it was already late at night.The place was completely dark. No light had been left on for her.She had long since grown used to coming home late and finding a warm floor lamp glowing in the living room, with me curled up beneath it on the couch, waiting for her.But tonight, there was nothing.She switched on the light and spotted a document envelope sitting on the coffee table. Inside was my medical report.Before I went to the hotel to find her that night, I had just returned from the hospital. I had been holding that thin sheet of paper, wanting to tell her that I was sick.Instead, what awaited me was the sight of her tangled up with Nathaniel.With trembling hands, Evelyn pulled out the report.Her eyes landed on a single cold line: "Severe gastric atrophy. Fifty percent of the stomach was removed."The date was the same day I had asked for a divorce.It felt as if someone had slapped her across the

  • I Chose Freedom   Chapter 5 The City I Chose

    The day my plane landed in Alderheim, a torrential storm swept through Seaport.It took Evelyn three full days to realize I was really gone.At two in the afternoon, inside the living room of Bennett Estate, Amelia gracefully set down her gilded cup and looked at her daughter, who had just woken from a hangover."The Sterling heir is a fine match. He studied abroad and knows how to conduct himself. The Whitmore boy is good, too. He's lively and entertaining."She slid a stack of photographs across the table. Every one of them fit Evelyn's usual type—young, muscular, and carrying the confidence of a grown man.Rubbing her temples, Evelyn waved a hand impatiently. "Mom, I'm not in the mood."Amelia's expression cooled. "Whether you're in the mood or not, you need to choose. Julian already signed the divorce papers. You can't stay single forever. Both Mr. Sterling and Mr. Whitmore are waiting for my answer."Evelyn suddenly looked up. A flash of confusion crossed her bloodshot eyes

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