?Chapter 1198:


    The silence that followed hung heavily in the air.


    To Elissa, those words sounded painfully familiar.


    They’d been down this road before. Too many times. And each time, things only got worse—his cheating, the violence, the lies.


    She let out a quiet sigh and gently pulled her hand free from his.


    “What happened on our wedding night… it’s already done. You can’t rewrite it, Robin. And if you haven’t let it go after five years, then I don’t believe you ever will. Divorce is the only path left.” A dryugh escaped her lips. “Honestly, we should’ve ended it back then. Maybe if we had, we wouldn’t have wasted all these years pretending we could make it work.”


    “Elissa, I…”


    She met his eyes, her voice calm but steady. “If we had let each other go back then, maybe today… we could still smile if we passed each other. We could nod politely, even talk like old friends. Instead, we’ve be strangers. Worse—” She paused, her expression tightening. “Enemies.”


    Robin visibly shuddered at her words, his shoulders trembling as if her voice had struck something deep inside him.


    “We’re… enemies?” he asked, barely above a whisper.


    Elissa gave a soft, bitter smile. “Aren’t we?”


    “When you hit me,” she continued, her voice calm but cutting, “you didn’t just treat me like an enemy—you stopped treating me like a person.”


    The pain was still there, woven into her bones, carved into her memory. It wasn’t something she could ever forget.


    Her gaze shimmered, eyes slightly wet. “You treated me like I didn’t matter. That’s what makes you my enemy.”


    Robin was stunned. His lips parted, but no words came out. He just stared at her—silent, hollow.


    Elissa shook her head slowly, a trace of helplessness in her expression. “If I had known this was what you came to say, I wouldn’t have bothered showing up.”


    She pushed back her chair and stood.


    Discover more


    “Sign the agreement,” she said firmly. “If you don’t, I’ll file it myself.” She bent down to grab her bag, refusing to meet his eyes, and turned to leave without a nce back.


    “Elissa!” Robin scrambled to his feet, reaching out instinctively. But she was already walking away—fast, unshaken, determined.


    He stood frozen in ce, dazed and hollow, his hand pressed to his forehead as if trying to steady the ache inside.


    “Is there really no way left?” he whispered, the words breaking apart. “None at all?”


    That evening, Elissa made her way to the hospital.


    “Everything okay today?” she asked softly as she approached.


    “Yeah.” Hadley had just stepped out of Brady’s ward. She nodded.


    “Everything’s good—both Brady and Joy are stable.”


    Earlier in the day, she and Eric had visited Joy in the sterile unit. Joy had been awake, her little face lighting up as she waved through the camera, smiling as brightly as ever.


    “How long does she have to stay in there?” Elissa asked.


    “It depends,” Hadley said. “Anywhere between two to four weeks. We’ll have to see how her body responds.”


    But as she finished, her attention narrowed on Elissa. Her expression had dimmed—just enough to be noticeable.


    .


    .


    .