Chapter 5
Selene’s POV
“How is that possible? She’s always been eager as hell to renew every year. Why wouldn’t she now? Is the money not good enough?” Lucien asked in disbelief.
Harold had to explain: “Mr. Castellan, you and Miss Arceline are getting married soon. Selene
probably feels it wouldn’t be right for her to stay.”
Lucien was silent for a moment, then got defensive: “That’s bullshit. As long as she listens to Lorelei and doesn’t stir up trouble, no one would mess with her!”
Harold thought bitterly to himself: “That poor girl was so obedient, yet she still got tortured like this by Miss Arceline and Mr. Castellan. If she stayed any longer, she’d be dead.”
But outwardly, he said gently: “Mr. Castellan, when I saw Selene return today, she was covered in injuries, barely clinging to life. In her condition, I’m afraid she doesn’t have the strength to take care of you and Miss Arceline anymore.”
Covered in injuries? Lucien’s whole body went rigid as his mind immediately jumped to the worst
conclusions.
He had no idea Mr. Franklin was that kind of sick fuck.
Thinking of this, he demanded Mr. Franklin’s location and sped straight there.
At that moment, Mr. Franklin was feeling fantastic, lounging in a private club with his whiskey and cigars, completely satisfied.
When he saw Lucien, he immediately grinned lewdly: “Lucien, my man! That little slut of yours was fucking incredible. Tight as hell and screamed so pretty when I made her bleed. Next time I hook up another role for your fiancée, you gotta let me have another go at that sweet ass.”
The more Lucien heard, the sicker he felt. He’d thought it would just be typical entertainment–he never imagined he’d delivered me to a complete psychopath.
Pure rage exploded through him as he lunged forward, grabbed Mr. Franklin by the throat, and smashed his fist into his face.
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Chapter 5
Mr. Franklin was stunned, then roared: “Lucien, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you hitting me? Don’t you want your bitch’s role anymore?”
Lucien’s vision went red: “You sick piece of shit! Who told you to torture her like that?”
Mr. Franklin spat blood and laughed: “You handed her over like a fucking gift–what I do with my new toy is my business. She’s just some whore you got tired of. Why are you getting all emotional
about damaged goods now?”
His crude words hit Lucien like a sledgehammer to the chest. The brutal truth crashed down on
him–he was the one who’d voluntarily given me to this monster. He was the biggest piece of shit in this whole mess.
But the rage still consumed him. After beating Mr. Franklin bloody, he raced back home, his heart
pounding with something that felt dangerously close to panic.
He needed to know everything–every detail of what had happened to me.
When he pulled up to the house, the first thing he saw was the destroyed garden.
Recently, he’d been so obsessed with Lorelei that he hadn’t noticed the garden I used to tend so
lovingly had been dead for weeks.
Once upon a time, he’d held me in that garden, kissed me among the flowers, told me how I’d
brought life to his cold, empty world.
He remembered me saying the garden was everything to me, and he’d made love to me there
countless times under the stars.
My face used to glow brighter than any flower, but now all he could think about was how hollow and broken I’d looked these past few days.
When had he stopped caring? When had his love turned to indifference, then cruelty?
The realization hit him like a freight train–no wonder I wanted to run.
Lucien stumbled into the house, his chest tight with something he couldn’t name. Harold was waiting by the door, his usually composed face etched with grief, though he still tried to maintain his professional demeanor.
“Did Selene tell you where she was going?” Lucien’s voice came out rougher than he intended.
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Chapter 5
Harold shook his head sadly: “She didn’t say a word, sir. Just packed her things and left. That poor girl…” His voice trailed off, heavy with sorrow.
“No, I have to find her! I had it all planned out–I was going to set her up somewhere nice, give her enough money to live comfortably. Why didn’t she wait? Why didn’t she let me fix this?” Lucien’s voice cracked as he pulled out his phone, desperate to send his people after me.
Harold immediately handed Lucien a folded piece of paper, his eyes filled with compassion: “Mr. Castellan, if you truly care about that girl’s wellbeing, please don’t look for her. She’s been through
enough. This is what she left for you.”
Lucien’s hands shook as he took the note. The sight of my familiar handwriting made his throat close
up:
[Mr. Castellan, you promised to let me keep the bluebells, but you broke that promise. So I’ll ask for
something else instead–please never come looking for me. After four years, surely you can grant me
this one simple wish? I hope you and Lorelei have a beautiful life together. And I hope I can finally find some peace.]
The words hit him like bullets to the chest. This was really it–I was really gone.
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