Chapter 54: She can’t leave me.
Inside the car...
Elena wiped the traces of blood from Elias’s face. Her movement was gentle and careful, as though she were afraid of hurting him further.
Elias watched her quietly. When he thought back to how Noah had pressed her against the wall and forced himself onto her, a lethal fury shimmered within him.
"I am sorry," he said. "I should have gotten there sooner."
Elena’s fingers paused briefly. Then she continued to wipe the last trace of blood.
"Don’t say sorry. You didn’t know he was there."
After finishing, she leaned back on the seat, letting out a sigh. For the first time in days, she felt lighter as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders.
She had finally told Noah that there was nothing left between them, that she had already moved on.
That Chapter of her life was over.
A small smile curled her lips.
Elias immediately noticed the smile. His face brightened. "What is it?" he asked with curiosity. "You are smiling?"
Elena didn’t answer him straight away. She looked at him. For a moment, amusement flickered across her face.
"You carry the marriage certificate."
A grin broke out on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
In truth, he had carried it because he was finalizing some legal paperwork earlier that day.
What Elena didn’t know was that he was preparing a surprise for her. He intended to transfer ten percent of his company shares into her name.
But he wouldn’t tell her yet.
"Yes, I carry it," he admitted with a soft laugh. "Look, it came in handy."
Elena couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a smile.
"Did you see Noah’s face when he saw it?" he continued mockingly. "It was priceless."
Elena turned her gaze outside the window, her smile waning. She had noticed the shock in Noah’s face.
He might not have expected that she would leave him. But she did.
He had pushed her away with his own hands.
"I don’t want to talk about him anymore," she said. "That Chapter is closed. I don’t want to dwell on the past. From now on, I’ll focus on my future." She turned to him. "On us."
Elias smiled, interlacing his fingers with hers. "Together, we will build a better future."
At the bar...
Noah emptied one glass after another. His eyes were bloodshot. His hair was messy. His tie hung loosely around his neck.
He looked like a man whose world had been ripped apart. When he reached for another drink, his friend stopped him.
"That’s enough," Evan growled, snatching the glass from his hand. "You are already drunk. Don’t drink anymore. Your stomach will start hurting."
Noah squeezed his eyes shut briefly. He scrubbed a hand over his face.
"She left me," he muttered.
Evan frowned.
"She chose someone else over me. Can you believe that?" Noah looked at his friend with pain in his eyes.
"It’s late now. I’m taking you home." Evan reached out to hold his arm.
Noah swatted his hand away. "I don’t want to go home. That place is empty, cold without Elena."
Evan let out a long, weary sigh. "Then why did you betray her in the first place?"
The question struck like a slap. Noah couldn’t find a word to respond.
"You pushed her away, tricked her into signing the divorce agreement, and married Tessa." A crease appeared between Evan’s brows. "You got everything you wanted. You are now with your first love. You no longer need to hide your relationship with her."
He gestured vaguely. "Why aren’t you happy?"
Noah regarded him with cold eyes. "Elena was my wife for five years. We have been family for fifteen years. She has loved me since she was a child. How can she throw all of that away in a few days?"
A painful ache spread across his chest.
"She is lying. I am certain." The words came out stubbornly.
"She is doing this to make me suffer. She even faked a marriage certificate. Elena can’t marry someone else. She loves me."
Evan shot him a troubled look. He had known his friend for ages.
Noah had deep feelings for Elena. The problem was that he had realized it far too late.
"What is the point of saying this?" Evan muttered. "You chose Tessa over her. And you crossed every line. You almost killed her and caused her miscarriage."
Noah visibly flinched. His face became wan and drawn.
"If she finds out the truth, she will hate you," Evan added.
Noah’s eyes closed, sadness clouding his face. He regretted it every single day.
"She will never forgive you."
"She will never know it..." Noah thundered instantly. "She can never find out about it. She must never know."
"What if she already does?" Evan shot back.
Noah blanched visibly. He stared at him, shaken.
His mind immediately replayed everything – Elena’s sudden distance, her coldness, her refusal to answer his calls.
The way she had looked at him tonight, protected another man, and declared herself Elias’s wife, had pierced his heart.
It was as if he had ceased to exist in her world.
A terrifying possibility surfaced. Had she really found out about the truth?
The thought almost drove him mad. The doubt had already entered quietly into his head. Yet he refused to believe it.
"No... It’s impossible." His voice lacked confidence. But he forced himself to believe that she knew nothing.
"Other than you, nobody knows, not even Tessa. How could Elena possibly find out?"
Evan lowered his head. Yes, this was a secret they had guarded carefully. Logically, Elena shouldn’t know.
"Alright. Let’s assume she doesn’t know."
He leaned forward. "But what happened to her lately is enough to make her upset. You made Tessa vice president, the position Elena desired. She worked hard for it. You even let her take the blame for Tessa’s mistakes. Do you think she will be pleased?"
He grabbed his shoulders. "You chose Tessa over her again and again. So tell me... Why do you think she will still want you and wait for you?"
Noah racked a hand through his hair. He remembered every single time he had left Elena alone.
At the hospital, he had abandoned Elena and stayed with Tessa. At that party, he had walked away from her. He had given Tessa their bedroom. He let Tessa take the blue diamond pendant that meant everything to Elena.
When Tessa destroyed it, he had not demanded an apology. Instead, he had taken her side and blamed Elena.
His conscience tormented him. Every memory brought a fresh stab of regret.
"She loves me. She can never leave me."
His eyes reddened with unshed tears.
"That marriage certificate is fake. She was with that man to make me jealous. Yes. She is punishing me for choosing Tessa over her."
He nodded repeatedly, as though trying to convince himself.
"She is angry. That’s all. When she calms down, she will come back to me."
A desperate hope flickered in his eyes. "Yes, she will. She has to..."
He continued blabbering.
"Okay, I understand. We are going home now." Evan pulled him up.
"No, I am not going there," Noah protested.
But Evan’s grip around him was firm. He practically dragged him out of the bar, not caring about his protests.