Chapter 8
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I had a feeling that it was all about to end.
I stepped forward and touched the broken ring. There was no response.
“Mom, Dad, do you blame me? Do you blame me for marrying the wrong man? For getting you all killed? Is that why you won’t come take me away?”
Peter suddenly dropped to his knees.
“Felicia, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forced you to obey me. Let me apologize, okay?
“Wake up. Don’t go with another man. Wake up and tell me you love me. Say you’ll stay with me forever. Didn’t you promise me that when we got married? Why are you leaving me now? Say something…”
The last time Peter cried like this was when the Auclair family was on the brink of collapse.
His father’s company secrets got leaked, and the Auclair family lost a deal worth over a billion dollars. Decades of savings vanished overnight.
Back then, Peter, still a teenager, sat on the rooftop and waved goodbye to me.
“Felicia, I’m not going to love you anymore. I’m broke now. My feelings will only burden you. Let’s end this.”
I patted his head. “Peter, then let me love you instead, okay?”
I insisted on marrying him. I fought with my parents for the first time in 18 years over it.
In the end, my mother slipped the stone ring into my palm while crying. “Take care of yourself.”
My father sighed and tapped my forehead. “The Auclair family isn’t a good family. You’ll understand one day.”
But back then, Peter was so righteous, so proud. He said he’d make a comeback, restore his family, and punish the ones who framed them.
Later, everyone mocked him. They called him my kept man, a hostage, the Auclair family’s peace offering to the Du- rand family.
His goal shifted. From revenge, it turned into a stubborn obsession to surpass the Durand family.
But no matter how successful he became, everyone said it was all thanks to my father.
And just as my father had warned, Peter used the very tactics he had once despised to destroy the Durand family and everything between us.
I didn’t get it. He had made those decisions on his own back then, so what was he crying for now?
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Chapter 8
288 Vouchers
Even when I was packing up my family’s belongings, Peter had said to me, “The only people who ever cared about you are dead.”
And now, so was he.
The whole of New York laughed at him. Only the Durand family had ever truly helped him. Only I had loved him like crazy.
He killed everyone who loved him. And finally, he became the joke New York had always wanted him to be.
The police kicked down the door and pressed a gun to Peter’s head.
The coroner covered my body with a white sheet and sent it off for examination. Sure enough, they found the stone shards in my heart.
The shards had cut my windpipe while my pecan allergy had caused my esophagus to swell. My lungs and body were filled with pecan pie residue.
That was my favorite food growing up. It was too bad I was allergic to pecans, so my parents never let me touch them.
I had first met Peter at a private party.
While my parents were busy talking business, I snuck into the hall and asked the butler for a slice of pecan pie.
By the time I ran into Peter in the garden, my face was already swollen. He frowned as he looked at me, genuinely asking if someone had beaten me up.
Then, I passed out in his arms.
From that day on, it wasn’t my parents watching my pecan intake—it was Peter.
Before I ate anything, he’d always taste it first to make sure it didn’t contain walnuts.
I guess we really did love each other once.
It began with pecan pie, and it ended with one too. In a way, that made it complete.
Peter finally accepted that I was gone. He dropped to his knees and begged.
“I’m willing to die, but can I at least handle my wife’s funeral? She has no family left. She can’t have a funeral without me.”
The officer shook his head and pulled out a contract.
“Since you two had a contractual marriage, we’ll follow the terms. The moment you deliberately endangered Felicia’s life, your marriage was considered void. You no longer have the right to arrange her funeral.
“Also, Ms. Durand provided evidence of your affairs with multiple women before her death. According to the con- tract, you’ll leave with nothing. All your assets will go to the Durand family. If you disagree, get a lawyer.
“But you probably won’t have time for that. Based on confidential documents left by Mr. Durand, you’re now under
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Chapter 8
investigation for the Durand family’s bankruptcy. You’re our prime suspect. Come with us.’
Peter laughed and cried at the same time, his eyes looking lost and hollow.”
་་
“Why? I just wanted to prove I wasn’t the Durand family’s lapdog. How did it turn out like this?”
“Officer! We found over ten women in the basement. Two are still barely alive!”
I sighed and shook my head. Now, there was no way Peter would make it out alive.
I had to leave. I didn’t want to meet him in the afterlife as well.
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As I turned around, sunlight spilled through my bedroom window, lighting up my face. I saw my sister standing there, neatly dressed and smiling as she reached for me.
“Felicia, I’m here to take you home.
“Mom and Dad are walking slowly, but they’re right behind. Let’s go meet them.”
I nodded hard and held the ring tightly in my hand.
Thankfully, I still had them.
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