?Chapter 806:
“Only what?” Ste snapped, her lips curling into a cutting smile. “Only decided to show up at just the right time? Or only used your power as another excuse to control me? William, if you’d simply stayed away, none of your family’s poison would have ever touched me.”
Every syble struck William like ash, slicing through thest fragile threads between them.<fnb359> Read full story at find?novel</fnb359>
Her eyes burned with loathing, and William felt the weight of her rejection squeeze his chest until breathing itself became a punishment.
Paul’s warning had sent him running the moment he heard Amon was with her. Even knowing she wanted nothing to do with him, he hade anyway, hoping to shield her from danger. Amon had spent years abroad, living without restraint, and William couldn’t shake the fear that his recklessness might spill over onto Ste.
William’s voice cracked as though strangled by his own grief, the rest copsing into a stifled sigh.
His gaze lingered on Ste, heavy with words he could no longer bring himself to say.
When silence finally won, he turned away. His broad shoulders carried the loneliness of a man walking out of her life, yet still unwilling to let go of his need to protect her.
“I’ve uncovered a few threads from the past. Give me a little more time, and I’ll bring you the truth,” William promised.
The tension in Ste’s shoulders loosened at his vow, though her face remained hard and unyielding.
Without adding another word, William pivoted and strode away, each step clipped and resolute.
After his departure, Ste leaned back against the icy surface of theb bench and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the floor.
She drew her knees close, pressing her face into her arms. Around her, the silent machines seemed to echo her sorrow, like unfeeling witnesses to her copse.
No matter how often Ste told herself not to falter, her resolve was slipping through her grasp.
Time crawled, and eventually Ste pushed herself up and wandered onto the institute’s terrace, desperate for air before Sandra and the others returned. There was no way Sandra could allow them to find her shattered like this.
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To her colleagues, Ste had always been the model of brilliance, the tireless figure who never wavered.
If they caught even a glimpse of this broken version of her, their respect would crumble.
The thought of seeing that disappointment in their eyes was more than Ste could bear.
After a week that left herpletely drained, Ste finally copsed onto her bed. She slept straight through the weekend, her body refusing to move, her mind drifting in a haze.
When Monday came, she didn’t see William. She didn’t see Amon either. For a moment, it almost felt like Amon’s so-called “partnership” had been nothing more than a bad dream.
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