?Chapter 806:


    The more Javier talked, the more it felt like shouting into the void. His voice started to dry up, and he realized halfway through that nobody was even listening. Annoyance crept in.


    “Guys. Seriously. I’m trying to say something important here. Did you even hear what I said?”


    “Cutie looks even hotter when he’s angry!”


    And that was thest straw. Javier slumped slightly in his chair and let out a breath that sounded more like surrender than frustration. How was he supposed to defend Elena when all anyone cared about was his face?


    Night had already settled by the time Sylvia wrapped up her live stream and gged down a cab back to the rundown neighborhood of the city.


    The wind had grown restless, carrying a chill that cut through her coat, while rain sprinkled the cracked sidewalks like a quiet warning. Only one flickering streemp lit up the block, its weak glow barely pushing back the darkness that filled every narrow alley.


    Stepping out of the taxi, Sylvia paused as someone called out to her from behind.


    She turned, startled. Her breath caught in her throat.


    There, standing beneath arge umbre, was a face she hadn’t seen in years. Draped in a ck coat, Darren looked different—thinner, paler, and hollow in a way that made her uneasy. There was something about him now that made the air feel heavier.


    “Darren?” Sylvia said slowly, struggling to process the sight of him. The name felt unfamiliar on her tongue.


    He moved toward her without saying a word, and with each step, she noticed it more—his old spark was gone. That confident, easy charm he once had? Nowhere to be found.


    Whatever Sylvia used to feel for Darren had long since disappeared. Time, betrayal, and bitterness had taken care of that. After all, he was the first to walk away when her family lost everything.


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    “So what is this?” she asked, folding her arms. “Came to gloat? Wanted to see how far I’ve fallen?”


    After the Griffiths family relocated to the, they’dpletely vanished from Sylvia’s life. Darren, especially, hadn’t looked back since breaking off their engagement.


    Darren lifted the umbre just enough for her to see his face clearly. His eyes were sharp, almost ssy, and there was no warmth in them at all. “I’m not here to mock you,” he said, voice cool and deliberate. “I’ve got a proposition. You want Elena ruined, right? I can help with that.”


    The way he said it sent a shiver down her spine. His tone didn’t waver—it was the voice of someone who no longer cared about consequences.


    In the low light, he almost looked unreal. That ck turtleneck hugged his thin frame, drawing attention to his sharp jaw and those piercing, soulless eyes that held something deeply broken.


    Sylvia narrowed her gaze. “You used to chase after her, didn’t you? You moved to the just for her. Now you want her destroyed?”


    “Don’t tter her!” Darren snapped. His lip curled in disgust. Like Elena? That wasn’t even close. What he felt wasn’t affection—it was hatred. Elena had trapped him in the worst kind of humiliation, forcing him into something unspeakable with another man, leaving him impotent for life.


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