Chapter 3
648words
She looked me up and down with pure disdain.
"You're Leo's famous eight-year girlfriend, right?"
"Don't worry, all I wanted was a wedding ceremony. The Mrs. Sinclair title is still yours."
She said it like she was doing me the biggest favor.
I suddenly laughed out loud, my gaze turning icy.
"Am I supposed to thank you for that?"
"Enough! Watch your tone with her!"
Before she could respond, Leo immediately jumped in to defend her.
His frown deepened, voice thick with impatience.
"Sylvia, there are important people here. I'm trying to spare you the embarrassment."
"Lina and I didn't file any marriage license. You're still going to be Mrs. Sinclair."
"Now, can you please leave?"
His words twisted like knives in my chest.
Both of them kept saying, "The title is still yours."
Did they think after eight years with Leo, I was just clinging to an empty title?
I thought I had so much to say.
Like, "Leo, I'm dying."
Or "Could you not be so cruel to me?"
But when I opened my mouth, nothing came out.
I took a deep breath, pulled the ring box from my purse, and hurled it straight at Leo's face.
He jerked his head aside. Lina stared at him, shocked.
The box struck his forehead, clattered to the floor, and skidded a few feet.
The rings inside spilled out, rolling into a gap between the floor.
Nobody even glanced at them.
Just like my dying life and my shattered heart.
I didn't say another word and walked away.
The moment I turned my back on them, the tears fell like a downpour.
Under everyone's stunned stares, I fled to my car, collapsed over the steering wheel, and sobbed until I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't accept that Leo didn't love me anymore.
I couldn't accept that he married someone else behind my back on our anniversary.
And I really couldn't accept… that I was dying.
I don't know how long I cried before my phone buzzed twice.
I looked over with red, swollen eyes.
Another text from that unknown number.
"That took guts. But I hope you can be brave enough to break free completely."
"Sylvia, live the rest of your life for yourself."
Trembling, my fingers shook as I typed back. "Who is this?"
A few minutes later, the reply came.
"Someone you hate."
I saw Leo again two days later. I'd texted him about handling the assets he'd put in my name.
"Sylvia, are you really going this over something so petty?"
The moment he walked through the door, he started in on me, clearly annoyed.
I slid the lawyer-prepared documents on the table.
"All the assets you transferred to me—I never touched any of them. They're all yours again."
"But since you cheated first, I'm keeping the apartment we live in now. I don't want anything else."
"Sign here, and you can send someone come get your things."
Leo frowned, eyes full of disbelief.
"You're actually going through with this?"
"Sylvia, you have no one else in this world but me!"
Old memories flashed through my mind.
I could still see him standing beside me at my parents' funeral, supporting me through the entire nightmare.
Afterwards, he held me, his voice full of pain, "Sylvia, from today on, I'm your only family."
"I will always protect you."
That was the first time I'd ever seen Leo's eyes rimmed with red.
But now, he was ruthlessly tearing open my deepest wound.
My heart ached violently, but my voice stayed firm.
I took a deep breath, fighting back tears.
"Maybe I never needed to depend on anyone else."
"Leo, even after all these years, I'll always be grateful you handled my parents' funeral. But that doesn't give you the right to use it against me."
"Sign the papers."
