Chapter 8
The second those words came out of my mouth, I was stunned.
It was this crushing despair that hits you after you’ve been completely let down.
Auren obviously didn’t expect me to say that either.
His hand that was holding mine just slowly slipped away.
When he looked back up at me, tears were pouring down his face.
“Nerissa…”
“Stop. We’re done, Auren. I want a divorce.”
The moment I said “divorce,” I felt like someone had just sucked all the life out of me.
I used to watch Auren and daydream about our future all the time.
Hell, I’d even imagined us saying goodbye in some hospital room.
But I never thought it would end like this.
This was the guy I’d loved through my whole damn youth.
I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
I knew we were over for good…
Auren looked like I’d just slapped him. He didn’t see that coming at all.
His whole body started shaking.
He was literally banging his head on the floor, begging.
“Nerissa, please don’t do this. I swear I love you. Just give me one more shot, please?”
For some reason, hearing Auren say my name like that made me want to throw up.
My stomach was doing flips.
I couldn’t take any more of this shit, so I hit the call button.
Next thing I knew, Dad came charging in with security and they dragged Auren out, still bawling his eyes out….
When his crying finally faded down the hall, I felt this weird peace.
Dad was looking at me with so much hurt in his eyes, gently wiping my tears away.
“Sweetheart, this’ll pass. I was just thinking out there-maybe I fucked up. Maybe without this whole test thing, you and Auren could’ve been happy…”
14:33
No More Rings. Only Crowns Mafia Princess Took the Throne Herself
11.5%
Chapter 8
“No.”
I cut Dad off for the first time in my life.
“I should thank you for showing me who he really was. At least now I know…”
Yeah, seeing Auren on his knees like that actually scared me.
I realized I’d never really known this guy at all.
He could risk his life to save me if it meant getting ahead.
He could get on his knees and grovel if it meant keeping his position.
If it wasn’t for that bet six months ago, if Dad had actually bought into my bullshit and given Auren the company, maybe today Dad and I would go to hell….
A month later, I was healthy enough to go home.
I was chilling on the couch when I saw the news about Auren.
After he left the hospital that day, Auren had just vanished from Boston.
Until three days ago, when he showed up on top of the Vale Corp building.
He looked at the sign that had been changed back to “Vale Corp,” smiled, and jumped off.
Dead on impact…
The day after Auren killed himself, they found Orielle dead in the Vale Corp basement.
Her arteries were all slashed, but there were no signs of murder.
All those dickheads who’d been in the freezer that day were either dead or fucked up within a month.
They all left notes saying Auren had done it.
His fingerprints were all over the crime scenes, so the cops closed the cases real quick.
Dad’s “back from the dead” story stayed trending for six months.
During those six months, Vale Corp ate up half the businesses in the city.
We were bigger than ever,..
I’d built even thicker walls around my already armored heart.
Maybe nobody would ever get through to me again.
But that’s exactly what I wanted, right….
14:33
No More Rings. Only Crowns Mafia Princess Took the Throne Herself
