Chapter 178

The next morning, I reached out to Nason myself.

We met at a café near my parents' place. Nason arrived before me.

"Did you know about Gabriel's first love?" I stirred the coffee in my cup, getting straight to the point.

Nason froze slightly, seemingly surprised I'd bring up Gabriel's first love out of nowhere.

"Why bring her up all of a sudden?" Nason asked cautiously.

"Gilly told me." I wasn't going to hide my source.

"So you knew about Gabriel's first love too, right?" I stared hard at Nason, trying to read more information from his reaction.

Nason didn't hide it, just nodded. "I'm actually the one who introduced them."

"You introduced them?" I was confused, my brain struggling to process this.

Nason nodded. "Yeah, me."

"If you liked her yourself, why would you hand her over to someone else?" I stared at Nason intently.

If that was the case, then his falling for Azure made sense—probably just another tacky replacement storyline.

Nason shook his head without answering my question.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let me drive you back."

Seemed like there was more to the story that I didn't know. But I didn't have a habit of prying into other people's secrets. If Nason didn't want to talk about it, I wouldn't push.

In three days, I'd be leaving the country.

Ceria dragged me out for a farewell dinner. After several rounds of drinks, Ceria started rambling. "Ember, you should totally just disappear without telling him. Let Gabriel feel what it's like to suddenly lose something. People only learn to cherish what they have after it's gone."

That might be true, but only if Gabriel actually loved me. Since he didn't, my sudden departure would just let him love someone else guilt-free.

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll focus on my career and make tons of money to buy you bags."

We hung out all night, so when I had to catch my flight the next morning, my head was still fuzzy.

Uncle Danny and his wife took great care of me the whole way. When the plane finally landed, I felt like I was coming back to life.

I turned on my phone. Besides messages from Ceria, there was nothing else.

I was kind of curious—what would Gabriel's reaction be when he found out I'd left?

The driver was already waiting at arrivals.

That evening, the whole family threw me a welcome dinner. I didn't feel lonely at all being in a foreign country.

That night, lying in an unfamiliar bed, I tossed and turned. Ceria sent me a WhatsApp message.

"Heard someone got into an accident. Honestly, serves her right. Like they say—karma's just slow, not absent."

Even through the phone, I could feel Ceria's excitement.

"So she gets another chance to have Gabriel come take care of her and grow their relationship."

I'd seen through Azure's little tricks ages ago.

Ceria snorted coldly. "Two-faced bitch!"

"Whatever. I wish them eternal love." I said casually.

Maybe because I was in a foreign country, I suddenly felt at peace with everything back home. Or maybe knowing Azure was just a replacement—no better off than me—helped.

Uncle Danny's family took really good care of me. My cousin quickly helped me rent an apartment near the office. The only difference was Uncle Danny called multiple times a day asking if I was eating well, sleeping well, if I should just move back home.

Each time I'd laugh and reassure him that I wasn't a kid anymore—I needed to learn independence.

After countless back-and-forths, Uncle Danny finally eased up.

After work, I spent most of my time chatting with Ceria.

Ceria mentioned that Ethan had called asking about me a few times.

"Ember, Ethan waited for you all these years. He was single abroad, finally moved his work back home, and now you've gone abroad. Don't you think he's devastated? Is there anyone more tragic than Ethan in this world?"

Hearing Ceria ramble on, I laughed it off. "Stop talking nonsense. Nobody dies without someone else."

After all, I'd once loved Gabriel desperately, even thought I'd never be happy if we split up. And yet, we split up anyway.

"Has Gabriel contacted you at all these past few days?"

Ceria suddenly remembered something important.

I shook my head. "He's probably busy taking care of his patient right now."

"What do you think his reaction would be if he found out you left the country?" Ceria asked excitedly.

"Probably happy," I said with a slight smile.

"After all, with me gone, he can be with her openly."

Right as I was talking to Ceria, Gabriel called. Speak of the devil.

"Hello." I answered casually.

Even though the person on the other end was trying hard to control himself, I could still hear his anger.

"Why did you suddenly leave the country?"

Faced with Gabriel's interrogation, I was pretty nonchalant. "I wanted to, so I did. Do I need a reason?"

"We're not divorced yet. You're still Mrs. Sinclair. Shouldn't you have consulted me before making such a decision?"

Gabriel's voice went up several notches.

"If you'd just signed the divorce papers, maybe I wouldn't have left."

Then I deliberately brought up Azure. "I heard Ms. Jane was in an accident. How do you have time to call me? Shouldn't you be taking good care of Ms. Jane?"

I deliberately taunted Gabriel, wanting to remind him that he was the one who cheated first, the one who forced me abroad.

There was a long silence on the other end. Finally, Gabriel spoke slowly. "It's just a divorce. You didn't need to run all the way abroad to avoid me. I'll have my lawyer draft divorce papers right now and express mail them to you."

I didn't expect Gabriel to agree so readily this time.

"Are you serious?"

I asked again, not quite believing it. Afraid Gabriel was using some delaying tactic.

"Yes, I mean it this time. I promise." I heard the person on the other end sigh softly, sounding somewhat helpless.

Half a month later, I received Gabriel's divorce papers by express mail. I didn't even hesitate—just signed them immediately.

Then I announced to all my friends and family that I was officially single again.