Chapter 4.

As I stepped out of the Civil Registry building, the crushing tightness in my chest returned with relentless force. The air in New York felt unbearably dull and suffocating. With what little strength I had left and trembling hands gripping the steering wheel, I drove toward the city's main hospital. I needed to see the doctor who had been treating my heart condition for the past three years.

Every step along the hospital corridor felt unbearably heavy. The moment I entered the examination room, the physician who had overseen my serious medical condition all these years looked at me with a deep furrow between his brows.

"You seem extremely distressed, Mrs. Gostav. What's weighing on your mind?" the elderly man asked, studying my deathly pale face.

I clasped my trembling fingers tightly in my lap. Hearing the title Mrs. Gostav tore open my wounds even wider. Those words were a cruel reminder of just how foolish I had been for the past five years, believing in a marriage that had turned out to be nothing more than a lie written on a worthless piece of paper.

Dr. Dion checked my erratic pulse before letting out a long sigh.

"You should be admitted. I don't want anything bad to happen to you," he said firmly as he prepared an IV line and carefully inserted it into the back of my hand.

I could only surrender.

Every ounce of my strength had been drained by the bitter truth that had struck me relentlessly since last night. My eyes, red from holding back tears for so long, slowly drifted toward the pristine white ceiling of the hospital room.

"Dr. Dion, please don't call Kael. Don't tell him I'm here," I pleaded in a hoarse, fragile voice.

Dr. Dion fell silent for a moment. His eyes searched mine, as though trying to guess what terrible secret or devastating conflict had just shattered my life. Yet, as a professional, he chose not to pry into my personal affairs.

A moment later, he spoke softly.

"Don't worry. I won't tell him. Just get some rest."

Hearing that promise lifted a heavy burden from my chest. I gave a faint nod before closing my eyes once more.

The sedative Dr. Dion injected into my IV gradually took effect. An overwhelming wave of drowsiness pulled me into darkness.

...

My eyelids fluttered.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and scanned the silent hospital room. My head still throbbed slightly, but the suffocating pain in my chest had eased considerably. I looked at the wall clock. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

I didn't have any more time to waste lying here.

Without hesitation, I pulled the IV needle out of my own hand, leaving behind a tiny drop of blood that I wiped away with a tissue. Without asking for Dr. Dion's permission or completing the discharge paperwork, I walked out of the room and headed straight toward the parking area.

I got back into my car.

My destination was clear now—the airport.

I would book the first flight to Paris. I had to get as far away from New York as possible, leaving behind every shadow of betrayal and every two-faced person who had destroyed my life.

However, while driving along the highway, my eyes caught sight of a car I knew all too well.

Kael's luxury sedan sped past in the opposite lane, heading straight toward the Civil Registry building.

Curiosity immediately took hold of me.

I wanted to witness with my own eyes how he would react when every carefully crafted lie he had built finally collapsed without leaving a single piece behind.

I made a U-turn at the intersection before following Kael's car from a safe distance of about ten meters, making sure he wouldn't notice I was there.

As expected, his car came to an abrupt stop in front of the Civil Registry building.

My heart tightened when the passenger door opened.

My mother-in-law stepped out with a tense expression. The two of them hurried into the building together.

I turned off my engine across the street and waited in the cold silence.

Ten minutes later, they came back out.

Kael's face was pale and filled with despair. He walked weakly before stopping beside the driver's door of his car. In one hand, I saw the fake wedding ring I had left behind. In the other was the letter I had written with every ounce of my anger.

"Enough, Kael! Aluna made the right decision," my mother-in-law snapped angrily beside him. "What's the point of staying together? She's nothing but a sick woman who'll only keep burdening your life!"

Kael completely ignored his mother's harsh words.

Instead, he repeatedly pressed his phone against his ear, his every movement filled with panic.

I knew exactly what he was doing.

He was desperately trying to call my number—the number whose SIM card I had already thrown onto the ground.

"What you should be thinking about now is getting back all the assets she took without your knowledge!" Ana said furiously. "If necessary, take her to court and report her officially!"

"Mom, I love Aluna!" Kael suddenly shouted, his emotions exploding. "I could never forget her! I'd die, Mom. I can't live without Aluna! So please stop interfering in my life! I'll find her and explain everything!"

"What for, Kael?" his mother shot back just as fiercely. "I didn't send you to college just to become a fool who cries over a woman like her!"

Kael said nothing more.

He yanked the car door open, climbed into the driver's seat, and slammed it shut. His mother hurried into the passenger seat before the vehicle sped away from the building.

From behind my windshield, I watched them disappear with a cold smile.

Kael's desperate confession of love no longer touched my heart.

It was nothing more than the wounded ego of a pathetic man whose filthy game had finally been exposed.

Once his car disappeared from sight, I started my engine again and continued toward my original destination—John F. Kennedy International Airport.

An hour later, I was sitting quietly in a business-class seat inside the aircraft cabin.

The plane was scheduled to depart for Paris in another fifteen minutes.

As for the car I had driven there, I left it behind in the airport's long-term parking lot without a second thought.

I no longer cared what would happen to it.

The thought that Kael might have driven Merry—or that child—in the same car was enough to make my stomach churn. I couldn't bear the idea of keeping it any longer.

I leaned my head against the seat and slowly closed my eyes.

The deep roar of the aircraft engines echoed through the cabin, preparing to carry me across the Atlantic Ocean.

Let Kael search every corner of New York until he loses his mind.

Let him drown in guilt, panic, and confusion.

My journey of revenge had only just begun from afar.

And when I returned...

I would no longer be the Aluna he could ever toy with again.