Chapter 6

Audrey's POV

The entire office fell into a dead silence. Chloe stopped crying, staring at me in shock. The employees gathered at the doorway also widened their eyes.

And Julian-that usually impassive face-showed a crack for the first time.

"You..." His throat bobbed, as if he wanted to say something.

But I no longer wanted to listen. I turned and walked toward the door. As I passed Chloe, I stopped and whispered, in a voice only she could hear, "Chloe, you won. I hope you never regret it."

Chloe's face instantly paled.

I didn't look at her again, walking straight out of the office. Behind me, Julian's roar, thick with suppressed rage, followed.

"Audrey! Stop right there!"

I didn't stop. From the moment I signed my name and took off the ring, Julian, this man, was no longer anything to me.

I returned to the villa and began packing my few belongings. Clothes, documents, and a photo my mother had left me. I took nothing else. I didn't want any of the things Julian had bought for me. I only wanted what was truly mine.

An hour later, Julian returned. He kicked open the bedroom door, his eyes bloodshot, glaring at me like a cornered beast.

"Audrey, what is this? You think you can threaten me like this? Do you think I care?"

I looked at him and found it almost funny. "Mr. Sterling, are you misunderstanding something?"

I zipped my suitcase shut, stood up, and met his gaze calmly. "We're divorced. I'm simply fulfilling the agreement and moving out of your house."

My calmness seemed to enrage him further. He grabbed my wrist, his grip so fierce it felt like my bones would shatter.

"Divorced? I haven't signed the papers, so this divorce isn't final!" he snarled, gritting his teeth. "Audrey, don't think you can just walk away so easily! You still owe me!"

I owe him?

For him, I abandoned my dream of becoming an artist. I sacrificed my pride and self-respect, almost even my life. What exactly did I owe him?

"Julian, let go." I was furious.

"No!" He stubbornly clung to me. "You need to explain yourself! Why did you leak company secrets?"

"Why did you suddenly agree to the divorce? What game are you playing now?"

He still didn't believe me. Even now, he still thought everything was a carefully orchestrated plot of mine.

I suddenly felt incredibly tired. Too tired to even argue.

"Believe whatever you want to believe." I closed my eyes. "Julian, I'm exhausted. Let's just end this, okay?"

"End this?" He laughed as if I'd told the biggest joke. "Audrey, you were the one who shamelessly insisted on marrying me. And now you're just walking away like this? What do you take me for?"

I opened my eyes, looked at him, and said, "I take you for... the man I was blind to, the one I loved wrong."

His pupils constricted. His grip on my hand unconsciously loosened. He took a step back, staring at me in disbelief.

This was probably the first time in three years I'd spoken such harsh words to him.

I didn't look at him again. I picked up my suitcase and walked straight downstairs. As I passed the locked art studio on the second floor, I paused. I looked back, taking a long, deep look at that door. Inside that room lay the love of my entire youth.

Now, I was saying my final goodbye to them too.

Julian followed me down. He noticed my gaze and scoffed. "What? Can't bear to leave your dirty secrets? Still putting on a show?"

I ignored his taunts, dragging my suitcase, and continued down. The front door of the villa was right in front of me. Outside, the sun was bright, almost blinding.

I took a deep breath and pulled the door open.

The moment I stepped out, Julian's cold voice came from behind me. "Audrey, the agreement states very clearly, you leave with nothing."

"Aside from your personal belongings, not a single thread in this house belongs to you."

My steps faltered, but I didn't turn back. "Don't worry. Your things? I find them disgusting."

With that, I dragged my suitcase, leaving without a backward glance, walking out of the prison that had held me for three years.

Behind me, the villa door slammed shut with a resounding bang.

Goodbye, Julian.

Goodbye, my foolish youth and love.

From now on, I am just Audrey.

Audrey, living for herself.

The moment I stepped out of the villa complex, my tightly wound nerves suddenly snapped. Pain instantly overwhelmed me. The intense agony blurred my vision, and I almost collapsed. I grabbed a nearby tree trunk, gasping for breath, cold sweat soaking my back.

Audrey, hold on. You're free now. You can't fall here.

I desperately tried to hail a cab, but as I took a step, an uncontrollable metallic taste flooded my throat. I doubled over, coughing violently. Each cough tore at the wound in my stomach, making me curl into a ball.

I opened my hand, staring at the bloodstains on my palm. My consciousness began to fade.

So, this is what dying feels like.

It's fine.

Freedom.

Just before I completely lost consciousness, a black sedan screeched to a halt in front of me. The door opened, and a frantic figure rushed towards me.

"Audrey! Audrey!"

It was Daniel's voice. He lifted me from the ground, and I could feel his arms trembling.

"Don't be scared. I'm taking you to the hospital. You'll be okay, you'll be okay..."

He tried to comfort me, his voice laced with panic. Leaning against his warm embrace, smelling the faint scent of antiseptic on him, I felt a rare sense of peace.

I struggled to open my eyes, wanting to thank him. But in the end, I passed out completely.