?Chapter 388:


    Darren’s frown deepened. “You dare mention our child? If you hadn’t been so conniving, staging that pathetic stunt to frame Elena, none of this would have happened. You brought this upon yourself.”


    When Sylvia refused to take the ring, Darren’s patience snapped. He threw it to the ground, the band clinking against the pavement. “The ring is yours to keep or discard. Either way, our engagement is over.”


    Realizing Darren was resolute in ending their engagement, Sylvia felt thest flicker of hope vanish.


    Then, without warning, Sylvia burst into wild, unsettlingughter — a sound that sent a chill down the spine. Darren’s brows furrowed, his face a mix of revulsion and impatience.


    Sylvia’s eyes zed with fury as she red at him. “If you hadn’t wavered, if you hadn’t gone back to your past, I never would have used the child as leverage. This is all on you!”


    Her once-pristine appearance was gone. Tangled strands of hair clung to her damp forehead, her bloodshot eyes sunken with dark circles beneath them. Her cracked lips and wide, desperate eyes gave her the look of a woman unraveling.


    Darren exhaled sharply, his breath heavy with exasperation. How had he ever cared for Sylvia? She paled inparison to Elena — less radiant, less connected. Now, she seemed like a pale, deranged shadow of Elena.


    His patience worn thin, Darren didn’t argue. His clipped, indifferent voice said, “Say whatever you want.”


    He turned on his heel to leave, but Sylvia suddenly broke free from the woman who had raised her and lunged at him. wing at his sleeve, she clung to him like a drowning woman refusing to let go. “You can’t leave! You swore you’d marry me! How can you just cast me aside like this? I won’t let you! You will never escape me, Darren. No matter what you do, you’ll never be rid of me!”


    Darren’s expression darkened like a brewing storm. Without hesitation, he drove his foot into Sylvia’s stomach.


    A sharp gasp tore from Sylvia’s lips as she crumpled to the ground, pain radiating through her fragile body. The miscarriage had stolen more than life from her — it had drained her strength, the bloodstains on her dress cruel reminders of grief not yet healed.


    Darren dusted off his clothes with cold detachment, his gaze hard and unforgiving. “This isn’t up for debate. The Reed family is copsing, your father is in police custody, and…”


    L?t?st ?hαpt?rs in g??lnov??l??.??o??


    You, Sylvia, are nothing more than a relic of a broken past. To think you ever dreamed of marrying me—it’sughable. Let me be perfectly clear: only Elena is worthy of being my wife.”


    Without sparing Sylvia a nce, he slid on his sunsses, exuding finality, and turned to leave.


    Sylvia tried to reach for him, but a sharp pain coursing through her body pinned her to the ground. She could only watch as Darren disappeared into the distance.


    The couple who had raised Sylvia wasted no time turning their demands into threats.


    Sylvia had perfected the art of ying the victim since childhood, but the couple had long since stopped falling for her theatrics. To them, every tear and plea was just an overused script from a y they were tired of watching.


    The man gripped Cecily’s arm like iron, his voice dripping with menace. “Fifty thousand! Don’t think you can wiggle your way out of this!”


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