?Chapter 1508:


    Ste braced herself and rose slowly. “Thank you. I’m fine,” she answered.


    Her legs continued trembling, but she managed a weak smile for the instructor before hurrying after William.


    During the descent down the stairs, neither William nor Ste spoke a word.


    Ste’sbored breathing trailed behind him, fraying William’s nerves.


    He had meant to torment her today, but in the end, he was the one left raw.


    Watching her fall from that dizzying height had brought no triumph—only a crushing weight in his chest.


    In the car, Ste and William sat side by side in the back while Luca started the engine without a word. The ck Maybach slipped smoothly out of thepound.


    Ste pressed her forehead to the window, eyes fixed on the blurring scenery.


    At a red light, she spoke out of nowhere, her voice scarcely audible. “Have I ever stood at the edge of a cliff before?”


    William’s fists tightened in hisp, the movement almost invisible. He offered no reply.


    Ste let the question hang. Silence swelled until the air felt too thick, and even Luca seemed to hold his breath.


    The moment they reached the vi, Ste hurried inside and up to her second-floor room, as if fleeing something invisible.


    She shut the door, climbed onto the bed, and curled tightly into herself again, knees to chest, arms wrapped around them.


    Sinceing here, this was the only position that made her feel remotely safe—folded small, hidden away.


    Yet William had a key. He could walk in whenever he chose.


    The realization pulled a bitter smile from her lips.


    All the magic begins at g?lnσν???s


    There was no real privacy in this house, no true freedom. Every step she took might be watched.


    Her body still shook with faint aftershocks she couldn’t stop, but worse were the jagged memory fragments that had shed across her mind during the fall.


    The past Josie and Sharon kept hinting at—however hard she reached for it, it stayed maddeningly beyond her grasp.


    Why had it vanished so utterly?


    Footsteps approached in the hallway, measured and unhurried, then paused right outside her door.


    In an instant, Ste became motionless and her breathing became quieter.


    She heard the person pause for several seconds, then continue walking away.


    She exhaled in relief, but an indescribable emptiness and helplessness soon flooded in to rece it.


    Time passed, and the sky outside darkenedpletely. The vi fell eerily quiet.


    Ste sat up in bed and walked to the window, pulling aside a corner of the curtain to peer outside.


    The garden lights illuminated the meticulously maintained grounds, making everything look as bright as day. Vi staff moved about with awnmower, trimming the grass. It was a picture of thriving domesticity.


    Ste couldn’t help thinking of William, wondering what he was doing.


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