It wasn’t the answer he had expected. The words hung between them for a long moment, neither knowing what to do with them.
Then, Lucas did the unexpected. He turned away, his shoulders stiff, his movements sharp. “Go,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Go and live your life. Don’t come back. Not for me. Not for anyone.”
Belinda’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected this—this release, this finality. He was letting her go.
She stood frozen for a moment, the weight of his words settling over her like a blanket. And then, without another glance in his direction, she turned and walked away, her steps resolute, each carrying her farther from the man who had once been her everything.
The rain had started again, soft and steady, as Belinda walked down the mansion's steps. Her heart felt strangely light, the weight of the past lifting with every step she took away from him.
She wasn’t sure what the future held, but she felt like she could breathe again for the first time in years.
She had broken free.
And there, standing under the canopy of the grand estate, her heart steady and sure, Belinda realized something profound. This was her life now. The pain, the heartache, the endless nights of wondering if she had made the right choice—they were all in the past.
She didn’t need Lucas. She never had.
With a deep breath, Belinda lifted her chin, walking into the storm without looking back. She had finally closed that chapter of her life. And the next one? It would be hers to write.
The rain softened around her, but she knew one thing: she was no longer afraid.
She was free.
