Chapter 339: Kneeling

Chapter 339: Kneeling

"Honey, I really want a child of our own—I really, really do, okay?"

In the end, Bruce couldn’t hold back.

He fixed his gaze on Lily, cloaking his intentions in love and silently urging her to give in.

How could Lily not understand what he was thinking?

The way he looked at her was soft and full of affection.

His eyes held a quiet yearning, silently pleading for something she couldn’t give at the moment. Behind his desire for a child was a deeper demand for her heart.

His love and expectations felt like an invisible weight pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Okay," Lily agreed as she nodded gently.

But her heart felt as though it were sinking into an endless abyss.

The man who once said he didn't mind, in the end, still did.

......

The night grew deeper.

Having gotten his way, Bruce held Lily and slept soundly, but the latter, lying in his arms, couldn't fall asleep.

Gently freeing herself from Bruce’s arm, she rose silently and made her way downstairs to the garden alone.

She curled up in a chair, letting the night breeze wash over her.

Her heart felt unbearably heavy.

She took out her phone and sent Mia a message: [Mia, are you asleep?]

Mia was still working in her study. After receiving the message, she immediately made a video call.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

Lily's eyes were red, and her voice sounded distant as she told Mia what happened that day.

"Are you really going to have a child at a time like this?"

Even loving newlyweds aren’t truly ready to have a child if they haven’t yet settled into married life—let alone her and Bruce.

Having a child under these circumstances would only make things more complicated.

Lily fell silent.

She knew it wasn't the right time, but faced with Bruce’s eagerness just now, she didn't know how to refuse him.

"Mia, I know Bruce wants to use a child to keep me by his side. He thinks that as long as I'm pregnant with his child, we’ll share the deepest bond—and that he’ll truly have me. But..."

Lily’s voice caught in her throat.

Mia felt a deep ache for her.

Lily had thought she chose the best path for herself and Keyan, but marriage involved far more than she expected. Walking this path had proven far more difficult than she imagined.

"Mia, did I make the wrong choice again?" Lily asked, her eyes red, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.

She loved Benjamin, but when faced with his advances, she feared losing control of her emotions and becoming a mistress.

She wanted to use marriage to restrain herself and protect Keyan, so after making things clear to Bruce—and when he said he didn't mind and was willing—she chose to marry him.

But...

"After getting married, I tried so hard to forget Benjamin, but I just can't."

The man she fell for at first sight—she didn't know how to let him go.

During those four years apart, she had tried—and failed.

Love has never been something anyone can control—you can’t choose when to fall in love or when to let go. If feelings could be controlled at will, life wouldn't be so exhausting.

"I believed that even if Bruce and I lacked love, I could still have a happy marriage as long as I put in the effort to sustain it. But only after entering marriage did I realize that finding a balance is far too difficult."

She had thought marriage would be simple. She tried hard to forget Benjamin, but couldn’t let him go so easily.

She didn't even know when she would be able to do it.

Bruce was eager to have her heart, giving her no space to breathe as he gradually cornered her, determined to replace Benjamin and claim that place himself.

Right now, she truly didn't know what to do.

She couldn’t move forward, yet she had no right to retreat.

"Lily, you’re only torturing yourself."

If she allowed herself to be a little selfish and ignored the Howard family’s feelings, she wouldn’t be suffering so much. But it was precisely because Bruce and his family treated her so well that she couldn’t bear to let them down.

"Mia, I chose this path myself. I'll try to find a balance."

She would try to bury Benjamin deep within her heart, and do her best to preserve her marriage.

Lily wiped the tears from her face, took a deep breath, and made up her mind.

"Mia, can you come with me somewhere tomorrow?"

Seeing Lily's expression, Mia felt a sense of unease.

Could Lily be planning to...

After relying on each other for four years, Mia could almost guess what Lily was thinking.

"Lily, have you really thought this through? Are you sure you’re going to do this?"

This was like walking a tightrope.

What if she got caught?

"Mia, I have no other choice."

This was the only way she could maintain balance. This was the only solution she could think of that might work for everyone.

......

Saskia found Benjamin in his study. He hadn't turned on the light and sat smoking in the dark.

As she opened the door, a thick wave of smoke hit her, making her cough uncontrollably.
It stung her already red, swollen eyes even more sharply.

She raised her hand to turn on the light, only to meet a pair of cold eyes. "Get out."

Ever since he refused to divorce, they hadn't spoken.

She knew Benjamin hated her.

She knew the odds were slim, yet to spare Jue from so much inner turmoil, she still felt compelled to try. She really didn't want to lose Dwayne.

"Benjamin, can we get divorced?"

Benjamin continued to look at her coldly, unmoved.

"I'm begging you. I'll kneel if I have to—just divorce me, okay?"

Saskia slowly bent her knees and knelt before Benjamin.

She set aside her dignity and pride, lowering herself completely.

She wanted to beg for even the slimmest chance with Dwayne.

After experiencing his care and affection, she didn't want to lose it. She only wanted to hold on with all her might.


Benjamin’s expression remained unchanged.

Aside from the initial glance when she entered and the command for her to leave, he completely ignored her.
He treated her as though she didn't exist.

At that moment, Saskia realized that even if she begged desperately, Benjamin wouldn't divorce her.

He wouldn't let her go.

Lost and dejected, Saskia slowly got up from the floor and walked out.

She walked alone for a long time before finally stopping downstairs at Dwayne’s place.

She looked at the light that had been left on for her.

Not long ago, he had called her, but she hadn’t answered.

He sent her a message saying Sterling had rushed back from abroad to take care of Brielle at the hospital, and that he had already gone home and was waiting for her.

She felt a chill deep inside, as if her heart had a gaping hole with icy wind blowing through it. She longed to go to him and seek warmth in his embrace.

But what right did she have to go upstairs?

She didn't have even a glimmer of hope.

The marriage she had schemed so hard to obtain had become the very obstacle to her happiness.

Just as Isaac said, she had brought this upon herself.

Saskia's knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

The night, like the mouth of an abyss, seemed to swallow her whole.

Her heart and eyes were filled with despair.

Tears welled up in her eyes once more and quietly slid down her cheeks.

Divorcing Benjamin had become nothing more than an impossible dream.

If this was retribution, how could it ever let her have her way so easily?

She should have accepted her fate long ago.

She shouldn't have tried to fight against her destiny.

People really shouldn't do bad things—retribution does exist.

If she had known earlier, she would never have done those things that hurt others without bringing herself any benefit.

Her phone rang again.

It was Dwayne calling.

Saskia took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and answered.

"Saskia, where did you go? Why didn't you answer? I’ll handle my parents—don’t overthink it or feel pressured. Trust me..."

"Dwayne, let's break up."

Saskia pinched herself hard with one hand, using the pain to force out the words she hadn’t been able to finish earlier.

It was a simple sentence, but it took all her remaining strength to say it.

As soon as the words left her lips, she didn't dare listen to Dwayne’s response. She hung up immediately and turned off her phone.

Her body gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

Tears fell in heavy drops.

So this was what it felt like to be forced apart from someone you love—a pain that shattered the heart.

Benjamin was making her experience firsthand everything she had once inflicted on him.

......

A few days later, at the airport, Dwayne carried a small piece of luggage in his hand. In just a few days, he had grown noticeably thinner.

Sterling supported Brielle as they walked ahead, while Dwayne followed behind, looking back every few steps as he searched for Saskia in the crowd.

Over the past few days, he hadn’t been able to find her. He called her frantically and sent countless messages.

But all of them went unanswered—she gave no response.

"Dwayne, hurry up."

Supported by Sterling, Brielle had already passed through security and turned to call out to Dwayne, who was still holding onto hope.

"Coming," Dwayne responded.

But his feet wouldn’t move. He held on until the very last moment, insisting on waiting, but even as the final boarding call was announced, she never appeared.

In the end, she chose to give up on their relationship.

He didn't know whether she didn't trust him to handle things, or if she had never been as wholehearted and unwavering about their relationship as he was.

He had already walked ninety-nine steps toward her. As long as she took just one step forward, no matter what storms lay ahead, he was willing to face them with her.

But she wouldn't take even a single one.

She gave up with just a single sentence—breaking up.

Filled with exhaustion and heartbreak, Dwayne finally turned around.

It wasn't until his figure disappeared at the security checkpoint that someone emerged from behind a nearby pillar.

The person was fully disguised, revealing only a pair of red, swollen eyes with dark circles beneath them.

Over the past few days, she had barely slept.

Listening to the flight announcements, she stood by the glass window, watching the plane Dwayne was on taxi, take off, and soar into the sky.

It quickly disappeared from view.

The plane took Dwayne away—and with him, her heart—leaving behind only pain.

It was over.

Her love was over too.

Benjamin had dragged her into his own hell, forcing her to suffer alongside him.



Without Dwayne, her life fell into darkness once again.

Her tears soaked her face, then dried, only to fall again.

When she finally turned around, Saskia's face was calm—empty, as if her heart had gone numb.

Some people are perhaps destined never to find happiness in this life.

Like Benjamin, and her.

If this was fate, she would stop struggling.

She accepted it.

She would face the consequences of the sins she had committed.

She would bear it alone and set Dwayne free.

He was such a good person—she didn't deserve him.