Chapter 4: Severing the Chains of the Past

The elevator chimed softly as it reached the ground floor.

Hellena stepped out, the lingering tension still wrapped tightly around her chest. Instead of returning directly to her cramped apartment, she flagged down the first taxi that passed and gave a single destination:

Herry’s house.

Hellena refused to carry the title of Kael Willian’s wife tomorrow morning while still leaving loose ends tied to another man.

This toxic relationship had to end tonight.

The taxi stopped in front of a house she had visited with a heart full of longing for the past three years.

Tonight, however, every step she took toward the front door felt unfamiliar and hollow.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Hellena knocked steadily on the wooden door.

It did not take long before it opened, revealing Herry.

The man looked utterly stunned.

His hair was slightly disheveled, and the flannel shirt he wore was not even fully buttoned across his chest.

“H-Hellena?” he stammered, his eyes darting nervously. “What are you doing here so late at night, sweetheart?”

The endearment that had once sounded sweet now felt like the most disgusting word Hellena had ever heard.

From inside the house came the faint sound of hurried footsteps.

Hellena shifted her gaze past Herry’s shoulder toward the staircase leading upstairs.

There, a bedroom door stood slightly ajar.

Jessica was standing in the upstairs hallway, her damp hair hanging loose around her shoulders. She wore one of Herry’s oversized white shirts.

Her best friend froze when she realized Hellena’s eyes were fixed directly on her.

Herry quickly shifted his body, attempting to block Hellena’s view as his expression grew increasingly nervous.

“I want us to break up,” Hellena said without preamble, getting straight to the point.

Herry gaped.

“What?”

“We’re breaking up.”

Hellena’s voice was remarkably calm.

There was not a single tear left for the man standing before her.

The pain had gone numb two hours ago.

“Why, Hellena?” Herry demanded quickly, his voice rising in shock. “You show up in the middle of the night and suddenly want to break up? Are you crazy?”

Hellena looked directly into the eyes of the man she had once loved with all her heart.

Strangely, she no longer felt explosive anger.

The only thing left inside her was exhaustion.

A deep, overwhelming exhaustion.

“I don’t have feelings for you anymore. That’s all.”

Herry frowned deeply, his male pride clearly wounded.

“No feelings? Hellena, we’ve been together for three years! You're throwing away three years just like that?”

“And those three years were more than enough to make me realize the truth.”

“Realize what?” Herry snapped, taking a step forward. “Are you playing games with me?”

Hellena slowly shook her head.

“I just don’t want to continue a relationship that has become unhealthy.”

She deliberately chose not to expose the affair between Herry and Jessica that she had witnessed earlier.

To her, arguing and crying in front of two traitors was utterly meaningless.

A waste of time.

A waste of the dignity she had only just managed to reclaim.

Hellena also chose to keep tomorrow’s contract marriage a secret.

“Just because of some ridiculous excuse about losing feelings?” Herry laughed mockingly. “You think you can treat our relationship like a toy?”

Hellena curled her lips into a faint smile filled with quiet mockery.

“Isn’t that exactly what it has always been to you, Herry?”

Herry froze.

It felt as though an invisible blade had pierced straight through his chest.

Hellena stepped back and pulled her coat closer around herself.

“This relationship ends here. Good night.”

“Hellena!”

Without warning, Herry lunged forward and grabbed her wrist.

“I don’t agree! We can’t break up!”

Hellena lowered her gaze to the hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Take your hands off me, Herry,” she hissed.

Her voice suddenly turned cold and firm—a tone Herry had never heard from the usually patient and obedient Hellena.

Startled, Herry instinctively loosened his grip.

However, his jaw tightened with burning anger.

“You’ve gone too far!”

Hellena did not bother responding.

She simply turned around and walked into the night, ignoring Herry’s repeated calls from the front porch.

Behind her, Herry clenched both fists.

Whether she was boring or not, Hellena had been dependable for the past three years.

She had always been patient.

Always loyal.

Financially stable.

Never demanding.

How could that curvy woman discard him so easily?

Herry’s pride shattered instantly.

Hellena... you’ll never be able to walk away from me that easily, he growled inwardly.

The following morning, the capital city was wrapped in a biting chill.

The clock read exactly 8:55 a.m. when the taxi carrying Hellena stopped in front of the Civil Registry Office.

The moment she stepped out, she immediately spotted Kael Willian standing near one of the building’s pillars.

The man wore a dark-gray three-piece suit tailored in Savile Row fashion, making him appear formal, powerful, and intimidating all at once.

Kael glanced briefly at his platinum watch before looking at Hellena.

“You’re five minutes late.”

“I arrived before nine o’clock, Mr. Kael. Just as we agreed last night,” Hellena corrected politely.

“I don’t like being contradicted, Hellena.”

Hellena released a quiet sigh and chose to let it go rather than start an unnecessary argument first thing in the morning.

Kael stepped closer, erasing the distance between them.

The scent of his masculine woody cologne drifted toward her once again.

“And there’s one more thing I need to make clear before we go inside.”

“What is it, sir?”

“Don’t ever repeat that cheap little stunt you pulled last night.”