Chapter 23:1
Blanca stood frozen in place. What? No! Don’t please! I went here because I thought you were him!
save me. Don’t give me back to
“You’re married now. So live a proper life, Blanca,” Troy said calmly then faced the older man. “I already talked to this guy. If you over lay a hand on her again, you’ll face the consequences.“})
The old man quickly nodded, stepping forward to grab Blanca by the wrist. “Come home, sweetheart l treat you well this time.”
Bianca thrashed in his grip, screaming as if the betrayal had split her in half. “You said you’d always protect me! That I was the most Important person in your life! Brother… I was wrong. Please, brother..“.
Her voice cracked with heartbreak, but he didn’t look back Not even once..
He walked into the study in silence.il
That night, in his private room, Troy &t the fire himself. Every memory of Bianca from photos, childhood paintings, the gifts she once gave him–burned to ash. From now on, this place would remember only Thalia. But as he looked around the house, something struck him- she’d already taken everything. Her presence was gone. Every trace of her had vanished.).
He knelt in the middle of the room and let out a low, bitter laugh.
“Where’s Thalia?” his mother asked anxiously, peeking out the door, “Didn’t she say she’d be coming with you?”
Troy remained silent for a beat before answering quietly. “We’re divorced.”
The room fell into stunned silence.
His father shot to his feet. “What did you just say?
“I’m sorry,” he said, and for the first time, he confessed everything–the truth of the past two years, what he did to Thalia, the pain he caused, and the moment he finally woke up.||
His mother’s eyes welled up with tears. That girl. Every time she visited, she smiled and told us everything was fine… She made herbal meals for me, embroidered peace charms for your father, took care of the sick servants–how could you.”
His father slammed his teacup down, shattering it across the floor. “You bastard! Go to New Zealand. Kneel if you have to. Get her back!““” Tory nodded. “My flight’s tomorrow. I just came back here to fix Bianca’s problem and to tell you the truth__” That night, his study was lit until dawn.
Troy sat hunched over his desk, pen scratching across paper as he wrote him love letters. No, he wouldn’t stop. everything even if it seems impossible.
He would stil
still do
By morning, the box was full–pages of love, regret, and everything he never had the courage to say. He brought the box with him on the flight to New Zealand.
When he arrived at the apartment, he was met with silence. The living room was empty.
“Miss Thalia left early this morning,” the housekeeper informed him. “Today is Mk Xander’s birthday. The celebration is at the Lakeside Manor,
Troy’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as he drove. The Lakeside Manor glowed under a canopy of lights and murmurs of laughter. As he stepped into the garden, a cheer erupted from the crowd.
He pushed through the sea of guests–and then he froze.
On the stage, Xander knelt on one knee, champagne in hand.
“Thank you all for coming to my birthday party” Xander said. “But today, I’d like to take something even more precious.”
The crowd gasped as he opened a small, blue velvet box.
“Thalia,” he smiled, eyes soft. “I wanted to do this ten years ago, during the first snowfall in Munich.”
Tears streamed down Thalia’s face as she covered her mouth in disbelief.
“You said you loved the sunsets along the Rhine, so I bought every piece of land where the view is clearest. You once told me you hated how ordinary you felt–so in ten years, I haven’t saved a single woman’s number but yours. I watched you love the wrong person, watched you get hurt again and again But now give me a chance. Let me heal every scar.“X
He reached up to gently wipe her tears, voice trembling X
“Let me prove that to be loved you never have to lower yourself or beg for it!
The quests murmured in awe, but Thalia turned her eyes to her brother Nathan, who stood nearby.
“Say yes,” he smiled. “He’s earned it. He’ll make you happy”
As the diamond ring hovered over her finger, about to seal a new promise-
A voice tore through the crowd
Troy had finally arrived
12:30 PM c
Gasps spread through the ballroom like wildfire.
