Chapter 192

Chapter 192

Edward's final words seemed to tear themselves from between his clenched teeth, carried on the cold wind, echoing in Molly's ears.

"Whatever you want." Her footsteps didn't falter. She didn't even glance back at the man behind her.

After taking a few more steps forward, she suddenly caught sight of a woman's silhouette at the entrance.

Elora came rushing over in a flurry, brushing past Molly just as their shoulders nearly touched.

Her gaze swept past Molly, landing on Edward standing behind her.

"Edward, you had me so worried!" A perfectly calibrated coquettish voice rang out, reverberating through the air.

Molly's steps paused for the briefest moment, but still she didn't turn around.

A sharp pang struck her chest. Despite herself, her pace slowed unconsciously.

"Molly, are you really going to be this heartless?" Edward's low voice came from behind, tinged with a trace of desolation.

Only then did Molly barely turn her head.

She saw exactly what she expected: Elora hastily linking her arm through Edward's, putting on an intimate display. "Why didn't you tell me? Let me come with you next time, okay?"

Molly looked right through her, her eyes locking directly onto Edward's. "Edward, we're already divorced. From now on, my business is none of your concern."

Her words were ruthless. She didn't spare a thought for how dark Edward's expression had become.

Meanwhile, Elora, having heard those words, allowed a triumphant smile to flicker across her lips.

This was exactly what she wanted to see.

"Fine! Just fine!" Edward suddenly clenched his fists tight, the veins at his temples bulging visibly. "I'll never concern myself with your affairs again!"

The moment those words left his mouth, he stormed off in fury.

Elora anxiously clicked after him in her high heels, struggling to keep up.

Molly watched their retreating figures, feeling nothing but a bone-deep chill invading every fiber of her being.

Michael said nothing, simply escorting her all the way to the entrance.

In the distance, a sports car with sleek, flowing lines sat waiting.

The car door closed, sealing out the cold outside air and shutting away the external chaos.

The vehicle pulled out from the street where the police station stood, merging into the evening traffic.

Neither spoke. The silence inside the car was absolute.

Molly leaned back against the passenger seat, closing her eyes as exhaustion gradually overwhelmed her.

So much had happened today. Each incident had drained another piece of her mental strength.

"Tired?" Michael's voice broke the silence.

His hands gripped the steering wheel, eyes fixed ahead as he spoke softly. "I'll take you home first. I'll have people follow up on everything else."

"Thank you." Molly opened her eyes, gazing at the lights flying backward outside the window. Her voice came out slightly hoarse. "I'm sorry to trouble you again."

"You don't need to be so formal with me." Michael smiled, though the expression never quite reached his eyes.

After a moment's hesitation, he spoke again. "Just now, Edward, he—"

"Don't mention him." Molly cut Michael off abruptly, a chill flashing through her eyes.

Michael glanced sideways at her, taking in her furrowed brow and tightly pressed lips. In the end, he said nothing more.

Silence spread once again.

After a long while, Molly suddenly let out a soft sigh. "Actually... he wasn't always like this."

As if something had just occurred to him, Michael's fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel.

"He's always been exactly this kind of person. You just didn't know him well enough." Michael twisted his lips into a mocking curve. "He'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. You and I—we're nothing but pawns on his chessboard."

"I don't want to hear you badmouth him."

Michael had expected Molly to agree. Instead, those words caught him completely off guard.

For a moment, he was stunned.

"You don't hate him?"

Molly's gaze remained fixed on the window outside, her eyes somewhat unfocused. "Even though things between us have gotten this bad, we've both said terrible things and done humiliating things to each other... I can't deny that when I needed help most, he was the one who helped me."

The truth was, Molly had once imagined living happily with him. But life was unpredictable.

She couldn't accept a man who cheated.

What's more, Elora was already pregnant. He had to take responsibility for his actions.

Listening to Molly's quiet reflection, Michael nodded, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

When Molly finished, he suddenly asked with pointed meaning, "If I'd been the one who appeared when you needed help most, would you have chosen me?"

Michael's voice wasn't loud, but in the car it sounded exceptionally clear.

After he spoke, the air in the cabin seemed to freeze for an instant.

Molly slowly turned her head to look at Michael.

Light and shadow played across her calm, unruffled face, and in those eyes Michael's expectant expression was clearly reflected.

She didn't answer directly. She merely tugged at the corner of her mouth in the faintest of smiles, one whose emotion was impossible to decipher.

She turned back to face forward, saying flatly, "There are no what-ifs. Hypothesizing about the past is completely meaningless."

Her directness left no room for interpretation.

Michael's eyes dimmed, but he quickly summoned up a warm smile again. "You're right. That was presumptuous of me."

Then, looking ahead, he changed the subject. "We're almost there."

Just as he finished speaking, Molly spotted her apartment building and felt a small measure of comfort settle in her chest.

"You should head home. I still have some things to handle," Michael said.

He dropped Molly off downstairs at her apartment, watching as she got out of the car and walked through the building entrance. Only after her figure disappeared did he slowly withdraw his gaze.

His fingertips tapped lightly against the steering wheel, a complicated, indecipherable emotion flickering through his eyes.

Meanwhile, Edward was barely holding himself together by the time he returned to the hospital.

By the time he arrived, cold sweat had already soaked through his temples, and the oppressive pain in his chest grew tighter with each passing moment.

His assistant, seeing how frighteningly pale he looked, immediately called for a doctor.

"Mr. Howard, your condition requires bed rest! How could you leave without permission?" The doctor's tone carried a hint of reproach, though he didn't dare be too obvious about it. Still, genuine worry colored his words.

"I'm fine." On Edward's typically stern face, traces of pain had crystallized.

Edward leaned back against the hospital bed, allowing the nurse to reattach his IV drip.

He said nothing, but his gaze appeared hollow.

Molly's face flashed repeatedly before his eyes. Those resolute words of hers were like daggers stabbing viciously into his heart.

Without warning, another wave of pain struck his chest.

He closed his eyes, clutching at the fabric over his heart.