?Chapter 1733:


    They had once been the two closest people in the world, yet now his response made her feel like nothing more than a stranger he had passed on the street.


    Frustration and hurt rose in her chest, threatening to choke her. “Don’t you have anything to say to me? I haven’t been at the vi for days now. Have you even… have you thought about us at all?”


    Silence stretched across the line — so long and heavy that Ste began to wonder if he was still there.


    “What exactly do you want me to say? You’re the one who walked out while I was gone. Since you chose to leave, why bother calling me now?”


    William heard the cruelty in his own voice. But those words didn’t reflect what he actually felt. The simple fact that she had called him first had sent his heart hammering so hard against his ribs he thought it might burst through.


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    A bitterugh escaped Ste’s lips. She couldn’t tell if she was mocking herself or him. Her fingernails had dug crescents deep into her palms, but she registered no physical pain whatsoever.


    “If it makes no difference to you whether I’m there or not, then fine. From now on, you go your way and I’ll go mine. We’re done.”


    William hadn’t expected those words. He had expected her to do what she always did — smooth things over, give him an out, let him save face. But she was actually saying they were finished?


    “Ste, do you even hear yourself right now?”


    His tone remained eerily calm, as though he were simply watching her throw an irrational tantrum,pletely unmoved.


    Ste’s heart plummeted into a dark, hollow ce. “William, I’m exhausted. I think you must be too. Since you’ve never trusted me anyway, I’m letting you go. Let’s just end this cleanly.”


    William went silent again.


    Just as Ste opened her mouth to ask what he was thinking, the line went dead.


    She stared at her phone as the dial tone droned in her ear, a strangledugh catching in her throat. Was that his answer? Hanging up without a single word?


    Right up until she had dialed his number, some small sliver of hope had still clung to life inside her. She had thought perhaps this was all some terrible misunderstanding — that he would have an exnation waiting. She had even convinced herself that if he just exined things, she could choose not to believe anything Alisha had said.


    But he had given her nothing.


    The instant the call disconnected, William hurled his phone violently across the room.


    If he hadn’t ended that call when he did, he would havepletely lost control — his disorder erupting right there over the line where Ste could hear everything.


    He couldn’t wrap his mind around why she was suddenly saying these things. After just a few days apart, she had already decided to end itpletely. Was it because she wanted someone else? Rufus, maybe? She seemed so desperate to get away from him.


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