Chapter 8
After seeing my parents, I told them everything.
They were furious and swore to destroy the Shaw family.
But I stopped them. I told them I wanted nothing more to do with the Shaw family, and that was enough for them to let it go.
After cutting ties with that family, my life became much more peaceful. With no more entanglements, I could finally breathe–and for the first time in a long while, I felt genuinely happy.
But for Milton, things were very different.
After a week of failing to find any trace of me, he started to lose it. Day and night, he scoured every possible lead, desperate for even a sliver of information.
But no matter how hard he searched, I remained out of reach.
He started drinking heavily, losing himself in illusions and what–ifs.
Eventually, though, everyone sobers up. Sitting alone in that silent house, every breath became a form of torture. It was only then that he realized what he had truly lost–and what he had let slip through his fingers.
But by then, it was far too late.
He picked up the divorce papers.
Lauren hadn’t taken a cent.
14:08
Chapter 6
She walked away with nothing and left nothing behind.
Her signature on the page burned into his eyes like a brand.
With bloodshot eyes, he suddenly ripped the document to shreds. The torn pieces fluttered to the floor.
He refused to accept it. As long as he didn’t agree, the divorce didn’t count -at least not to him.
Just as he was spiraling on the edge of a breakdown, his assistant called.
Milton picked up immediately, clinging to hope.
“Well? Did you find Lauren?”
There was a sigh on the other end.
“Mr. Shaw, so far we’ve only been able to track Mrs. Shaw’s flight to an international destination. Beyond that, the details are scarce. It seems she intentionally avoided using any identifiable documents. We’re still looking…”
Milton didn’t wait for him to finish.
“Book me a ticket. I’m going to find her myself.
“I don’t care where she went. I’ll find her, no matter what.”
Before the assistant could gather more intel, Milton had already booked a flight to the country I’d gone to.
