Chapter 9
The next time I heard about Cassian was a year later.
Vesper and her daughter’s attempt to secure a place in his life had completely failed–and now they were everywhere trashing his name,
Vale Industries‘ PR team worked fast, but not faster than the internet.
Stock prices dropped.
Board members turned against him, blaming his personal mess for the company’s fall from grace.
The people who once envied his position were now helping Vesper tear him down.
Every kindness he’d ever shown them was twisted into a weapon against him.
Words like “cheater,” “liar,” and “heartless” stuck to him like glue.
Vesper and her daughter cried on every screen, begging for sympathy and answers.
Cassian was drowning.
Trying desperately to salvage his reputation, he finally picked up the phone.
On the eleventh divorce agreement, he called me.
His voice was rough, strained from hangovers and regret..
“Elara… can we talk?”
“Sure.”
At the café, he looked at me with that old, aching look of longing.
It reminded me of the way he used to look at me when we first fell in love.
After Vesper came along, that look had disappeared.
Funny–now that Lumi’s gone, I get to be the tragic memory he can’t let go of?
“Where’s Lumi now?”
His voice sounded like sandpaper–worn, broken, aged by pain.
I stared at him steadily.
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On the Day of Our Daughter’s Memorial My Husband Was Baking a Cake for Her
Chapter 9
“Lumi’s doing fine. But that’s none of your business.”
“Let’s focus on what matters.”
His eyes dimmed.
He buried his face in his hands.
“Her birthday’s coming up…”
I waited.
He fumbled over his words, then finally choked it out:
‘If… if getting a divorce was Lumi’s last wish, then I’ll honor it.”
I was surprised.
He looked at me again.
&
“But… I have one condition. I want to see her.”
His face was full of regret.
For once, I almost believed him.
So I took him back to the house.
He placed Lumi’s favorite sunflowers in the garden.
Then, through tears, he signed the divorce agreement.
Three copies–one for me, one for the court, and one… I burned for Lumi.
“Lumi, it’s done.”
“Mom and Dad are finally divorced.”
“You can rest now.”
Everything after that went smoothly.
Cassian transferred most of his assets to me–maybe guilt, maybe penance.
Vesper tried to force a marriage but got sued for defamation instead.
Even Briar ended up in foster care.
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On the Day of Our Daughter’s Memorial My Husband Was Naking a Cake for Her
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Chapter 9
Cassian’s cruelty felt like revenge–but maybe it was just self–punishment.
Not long after, he shaved his head and joined a monastery.
But none of that has anything to do with me anymore.
I used the money to remodel our home.
Bought a whole piece of land.
Lumi has her own garden now, built exactly how she would’ve wanted it.
Cassian tried to send a pink gazebo for her.
I refused.
This is my tower–for my daughter.
And from now on, I’ll protect her alone.
Forever.
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