"Come with me, Elena." Noah stretched his hand toward her, expecting her to take it and come with him.

"I’ll spend time with you. I’ll take care of you. I’ll protect you."

Elena didn’t take his hand. She stared at it blankly.

"I’ll never leave you alone again. Just come with me."

Elena said nothing.

Her silence made him nervous. He swallowed hard.

"I’ll cut all ties with Tessa. I promise."

"We are over, Noah," she finally said. I am married now. There is nothing left between us." Her words were sharp and decisive. You should leave."

"I won’t until you come with me," Noah said stubbornly.

"Why would I go back to you?" Elena snapped back. "We are divorced already. And I am now someone else’s wife. Just leave me alone."

Pain flashed across Noah’s face. "We can fix this."

"No..." Elena said firmly. "There is nothing to fix."

A painful knot formed in Noah’s chest. "I know I hurt you, but I’m willing to change."

"Change?" Elena let out a cold snort. "Do you know what kind of life I lived beside you?"

Noah stared at her, bewildered.

"I woke up early to prepare your breakfast. I washed and ironed your clothes. I always keep your medicine in your pocket so you can never forget to take it on time. I worked beside you and did everything for the company to rise."

A mocking smile played on her lips. "But you never saw my efforts. You never truly cared about me. You used me whenever it was convenient. You even used me as a shield to cover up Tessa’s mistakes."

Noah flinched. Every word struck him like a whip.

"But I am done being that obedient fool. I won’t spend another day sacrificing myself for you."

A painful sense of regret settled in his chest. He had not paid attention to what Elena had done all those years to make his life comfortable.

"I’ll break up with Tessa," he said with urgency lacing in his voice. "I won’t see her again."

"You should focus on Tessa, your legal wife. After all, she is carrying your child," Elena said almost immediately.

The words hit Noah like a punch. His heart felt unbearably heavy. He had not expected Elena to also find out about Tessa’s pregnancy.

"You know? Who told you?"

"It doesn’t matter," she answered dismissively. "What matters is she is your wife. And she is now pregnant."

"No," he exclaimed in a frenzy. "That child is a mistake. I never wanted it. I’ll divorce her and send her abroad. I won’t let her come between us."

Elena stared at him with disbelief. Then she laughed. The sound was full of heartbreak.

This man had divorced her secretly just to be with Tessa and had even caused her miscarriage. He had hurt her over and over again just for that woman.

And now, he wanted to sever ties with that very woman.

"Do you hear yourself?" Her eyes glistened with tears. "You married her, got her pregnant... And now you want to divorce her as if she were nothing."

Noah struggled to steady his breath. He wanted to explain, but he couldn’t find the proper words.

"You should pay more attention to her," Elena added. "She is your responsibility."

"I have nothing to do with her anymore," Noah said desperately. "The only one I want is you, Elena. I love you."

He held her shoulders firmly.

"Love me?" Elena wanted to laugh. But her mouth twisted into a sneer. She pushed his hands away.

"When I loved you, you never cared. You wanted Tessa. To be with her, you deceived me. And now, you want me back. How absurd!"

Emotion squeezed painfully around her heart. "You know what—you only missed the person who followed you everywhere and obeyed you without question. This is not love. You are just used to being me revolving around you."

"This is not true," he countered. "I never intended to leave you. You were the perfect wife, the true daughter-in-law of the Sinclair family."

"But you never made our marriage public," Elena snapped. "You always hesitated to introduce me as your wife."

Noah fell silent. The burden of his mistakes pressed down on him.

"Every time I requested to announce our marriage, you found an excuse. When I asked you for the wedding, you kept delaying it. Sometimes, I doubted whether you truly loved me. But I kept convincing myself that you would see me as long as I remained loyal to you and fulfilled all your demands."

A wave of fury washed over her. "But I was wrong. You never reciprocated my love. You only have Tessa in your heart. So the moment she appeared, you didn’t hesitate to divorce me. And now you claim I am your perfect wife?"

Every instinct in her recoiled.

"Well, I’m done being fooled by you. You can no longer deceive me. I have already moved on. And I am happy with my new life, with my husband."

Something dangerous flashed through his eyes. Suddenly, he lost control.

"What did you say?" he exploded. "Happy with that guy? You don’t even love him. How could you be happy with him?"

His fists trembled at his sides. "You married him to get back at me. Admit it."

Elena stiffened.

"The man you ever loved is me," Noah said confidently. He took a step toward her. "You can’t forget everything we shared. We have been together for years. How could you just forget everything and be with a stranger?"

"The same way you did."

"Elena," he roared.

"I don’t love you anymore," she fired back.

Noah stared at her as if she had stabbed him.

"No..." His voice cracked. "No. That’s impossible. How can you stop loving me?"

"Because you destroyed that love with your own hands," Elena screamed. "The moment I learned you tricked me into signing the divorce papers and married Tessa secretly, my heart died.

Her chest felt unbearably heavy.

"You destroyed everything we had, Noah." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "And you still expect me to continue loving you?"

Noah’s heart felt as if it were being crushed.

"I really loved you. I gave you everything—my loyalty, my trust, and my heart."

Fresh tears spilled from her eyes. "But you never loved me back the way I loved you. Instead, you betrayed me. You threw me away without hesitation."

The pain in her eyes nearly broke him. "That’s not true."

"You didn’t care about our years together." Elena wiped her tears away. "You threw away my efforts, my love, and everything we built together."

A self-mocking smile appeared on her face. "And I foolishly thought you loved me. How pathetic."

"No..." He reached for her but stopped halfway. His hand trembled.

"I was a jerk." His eyes overflowed with regret. "I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I know that. But don’t treat me like a stranger."

His voice became desperate. "You don’t know how dangerous this is. You married a guy you barely know just out of spite. You are putting yourself at risk."

Elena let out a cold sneer. "Who should I trust then? The man who betrayed me?"