Chapter 10
Elise’s POVE
Louis pressed a knife against my throat from behind, his voice unnervingly calm.”
“Elise, don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to talk to you. I know I’ve made mistakes and promised to make it right. So, why won’t you forgive me?”
His words came out in a rush, like he was trying to convince both me and b
“I really love you. Even if you did steal Nicole’s credit for saving me, I can’t bear to divorce you. You have no idea what these past six months have been like for me…“}
Louis stared at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes searching, almost pleading, for some sign of weakness from me.
I didn’t react immediately. Instead, my hand slowly moved toward the car’s emergency button.”
With a careful press, I pulled the car over to the side of the road.}
Louis, completely misunderstanding my action, brightened, hope flashing in his eyes.
“Elise, I knew you still had feelings for me. When I said I didn’t want kids, it was because I didn’t want you to suffer the pain of childbirth. I had planned to adopt the child under your name after Nicole had the baby. But then, she got pregnant with another man’s child and still wanted me to take responsibility for it.”
He paused, putting the knife down and pulling out his phone.
Then, Louis opened an app, turned the screen toward me, and said, “Look. I’ve locked Nicole up. I’ve been torturing her day and night, avenging you.”
I stared at the video in disbelief.§
In the footage, Nicole was bound, her body bruised, her limbs tied with thick ropes. Every few minutes, someone approached her and subjected her to more abuse.
She looked at the camera, tears running down her face, her voice raw as she screamed.
“I’m sorry. I know I was wrong, Louis. Elise… I’m not asking for forgiveness. Just send me to prison. I don’t want to suffer anymore. I know you’re watching… please… let me go, Elise… Ah!”
The scream made my heart lurch, and I flinched.
However, Louis quickly pressed the mute button and patted my head reassuringly.
“Elise, don’t be afraid. I won’t do this to you. Nicole deserves it. She ruined everything between us and caused all these misunderstandings. She almost made me lose you, but now I’m glad I’ve found you again.”
Suddenly, Louis leaned in, his face dangerously close to mine, and I tensed, bracing myself for a kiss I didn’t want.
But before he could touch me, the car door was flung open from the outside.}
Steven burst in. Without hesitation, he grabbed Louis, dragged him out of the car, and slammed a punch straight into his face.
“Louis,” he snapped, “you seriously think you can lay a hand on my woman? The police are on their way. If you have anything to say, say it to them.”
Louis, stunned, turned to look at me, his voice full of disbelief. “Elise, did you call him? You called the cops on me? Why? Didn’t you promise to forgive me?”
I exited the car and looked down at him, firmly stating, “Louis, I told you I’d never forgive you. If you hadn’t threatened me with a knife, I would have kicked you out of this car long ago.”
He tried to speak up, but the wailing of sirens cut him off as the police arrived and quickly took him away.
With my report, the police uncovered Nicole, tortured and barely alive, in the Anderson family’s confinement room.
Louis was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison for his crimes.
It didn’t take long for him to lose his sanity.
In prison, he was transferred to a mental hospital, where he endured even more suffering.&
..0
A month later, Jefferson Group successfully went public.
As we celebrated together, Steven raised his glass with playful smirk.”
“Elise, how about we turn our fake relationship into a real one?“”
I lifted my glass to meet his, a soft smile tugging at my lips. “Steven, allies last longer. And that’s something I know I can count on.“}
As much as he might have wished for more, I knew Steven was precisely where he belonged–by my side, not as a lover, but as a partner in this fight.D
My world had changed.}
I no longer saw life through the narrow lens of love and betrayal.§
There was more, so much more, beyond Louis and his lies.”
Romantic illusions didn’t blind me anymore.}
The sky was vast, and it was mine to claim.
The End.
