Chapter 22
Under the planetarium’s starry dome, Annabel looked up at the simulated Milky Way slowly rotating overhead.
Kenneth stood just behind her, one arm loosely shielding her shoulders from the crowd pressing in.
He lowered his head and explained in her ear, “That’s Altair in the Aquila constellation. In Cresland’s legend, it meets Vega only once a year.”
Annabel chuckled lightly. “That sounds more like a tragedy.”
“But at least they get to reunite every year. Isn’t that so?” Kenneth said gently.
She tilted her head to look at him. For a moment, she suddenly noticed how his lashes shimmered faintly in the blue light, as if dusted with stardust.
Unconsciously, the space between them narrowed.
“Annabel!” A hoarse roar came from behind them.
Annabel turned to see Tristan standing at the foot of the stairs. His face was deadly pale, his eyes bloodshot. His gaze locked on Kenneth’s arm around her
shoulders.
Tristan’s chest rose and fell violently as he asked, “Who is he?”
The hallway lights above them cast a cold, sterile glow.
Annabel leaned against the wall, adjusting her cuff nonchalantly.
“Mr. Morse, do you need me to remind you? What you’re doing now can be considered stalking and harassment.”
Tristan’s fists clenched tight, his knuckles cracking. “I’m asking you who he is!”
“Kenneth Holland,” she replied with a smile. “He’s my business partner, boyfriend, and maybe even future husband. You can define it however you want.”
“Husband?” The word drove into Tristan’s chest like a blade.
He suddenly grabbed her wrist. “We’re not divorced yet!”
Glancing down at his hand, Annabel suddenly laughed. “Divorced? Tristan, have you forgotten that our marriage certificate was fake?”
After slowly withdrawing her hand, she pulled up their Certificate of Invalid Marriage Registration on her phone and showed it to him.
“Do you need me to remind you again? Your legal wife is rotting in prison now.” She leaned closer to his ear, her voice as soft as a venomous snake’s hiss.
Tristan stumbled back, as if all strength had been drained from him.
Kenneth stepped out from the shadows, one hand in his pocket, the other slipping naturally around Annabel’s waist.
“Mr. Morse, if you continue harassing my girlfriend, I’ll consider applying for a restraining order.”
Tristan’s eyes stayed locked on that hand around Annabel’s waist.
He suddenly recalled memories from years ago. Under the cherry blossoms on campus, he declared in front of everyone, “Annabel is mine. No one is allowed to touch her.”
Now the roles had reversed. He was the one being warned off. Only now did he truly understand what heartbreak felt like.
On the drive back, Annabel stared out the window as the city lights sped past.
She suddenly asked, “Was I too cruel just now?”
Kenneth kept one hand on the steering wheel, the other gently covering hers. “Compared to what he did to you, that doesn’t
Annabel lowered her gaze, looking at their intertwined hands.
Somewhere along the way, revenge had stopped being the only thing keeping her alive.
The car’s sunroof slowly opened, revealing a sky full of stars.
Kenneth’s voice drifted in with the wind. “Look, Vega.”
Annabel looked up. For the first time, the starry sky didn’t evoke a sense of solitude in her.
Not far behind thein, Tristan stood in the shadows, his eyes fixed on them.
even count as interest.”
“Annabel, you’re doing this just to spite me, aren’t you? You haven’t let me go either. That’s why you found someone like him to make me give in, right?”
His gaze dimmed, clouded with something unreadable. After a long moment of silence, it seemed he’d come to some kind of decision.
Torrential rain poured down on the concrete outside the Morse Group building, washing the pavement clean.
Tristan knelt in the downpour. His suit was soaked through, his black hair plastered to his forehead.
His knees sank into the water. Yet he kept his head raised, eyes fixed on the lit office window at the very top.
He knew Annabel was up there.
‘Annabel…” His voice was hoarse, nearly drowned out by thunder. “Please… Just see me one last time…” The building’s revolving doors slowly opened. A few security guards stepped out under black umbrellas.
The lead guard sighed. “Mr. Morse, Ms. Norton said if you continue like this, we’ll be forced to take action.”
Tristan forced a bitter smile, rainwater dripping from his chin.
”
“Then tell her to come down and kick me out herself.”
The guards looked at one another. Reluctantly, one of them picked up the walkie–talkie to ask for instructions.
Something was said on the other end of the walkie–talkie. The guards hesitated for a moment.
After exchanging glances, they brought out a bucket.
The next second, a splash of ice water came crashing down on Tristan’s head, soaking him through.
The cold hit him like a punch to the spine. His lips instantly turned pale, his whole body shivering uncontrollably.
From the top–floor window, Annabel coldly watched the scene. She lightly tapped at her Bluetooth earpiece. “Tristan, do you really think that pathetic act will work on me?”
Her voice came through the security guard’s walkie–talkie, clear and cruel.
“When you shattered my ribs, I didn’t get the chance to kneel and beg.”
The next morning, Tristan woke up in his hotel suite. All his credit cards had been frozen.
His phone vibrated nonstop, the screen filled with missed calls from the bank manager.
When he finally called back, the voice on the other end was grave.
“Mr. Morse, the cross–border settlement system has locked your personal accounts. This includes your offshore trust fund…”
Tristan’s knuckles turned pale as he gripped the phone. Annabel was pushing him to the brink.
He had lost Morse Group. He couldn’t even afford the hotel bill now with his assets frozen.
A hoarse laugh escaped his throat, dry and broken like sandpaper on stone.
“Anna, you really don’t intend to leave me any way out.”
