Chapter 145 Empty Remnants
Chapter 145 Empty Remnants
Arthur's POV
The word hit somewhere behind my sternum.
My hand moved without thought—reaching for her wrist, but she dodged quickly.
"Our Elle." The words came out wrecked, barely above a whisper. "You're really cruel, aren't you?"
"Even if you don't love me—" My voice broke completely on the last word, and I didn't try to recover it. "Can't you just... not leave me? I’m honestly envious of Julian. He lives free and unburdened, chasing whatever he sets his heart on. Unlike me, who seems to have plenty on the surface yet owns nothing at all deep down."
I stopped. Swallowed. Started again.
The tears I hadn't cried since childhood came then, sudden and humiliating. I felt them on my cheeks and couldn't bring myself to care.
My bandaged hand had gone completely dark with blood now, the gauze saturated, a slow drip marking the carpet at my feet in a small, spreading stain. The wound had torn open entirely. I still couldn't feel it.
"Now even you want to abandon me?"
Her eyes were wet too, tears tracking silently down her face. But her voice, when she spoke, didn't waver.
"Everyone else can treat me however they want." My words came out in a rush, ragged and raw and stripped of the poised reserve I’d spent eighteen years learning to uphold. "I don’t care if Father’s harsh with me and Mother keeps me at arm’s length—they’re strict, never truly there for me. Julian can—" I trailed off. "None of it matters anymore."
I leaned closer, until I could see the exact shade of green in her eyes, until I could see my own reflection in them—broken and desperate and nothing like the person I was supposed to be.
"But you, Elle." My voice dropped to almost nothing. "How can you be so cruel to me too?"
The silence that followed was the loudest thing I'd ever heard.
"You're the only person I've ever loved in this world."
---
Elle stared at me, her face wet, her expression holding something I couldn't name.
"Arthur." Her voice was thick. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize." The words came out hollow. "Just... don't leave me. Please."
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, something had hardened in her expression—not coldness, but the look of someone who had made a decision and was going to see it through regardless of the cost.
"Then consider me cruel." Her voice was steady. "But it's better to have short-term pain than long-term suffering."
She paused. "You once said time heals everything. Remember?"
My legs gave way. I sank down onto the stairs, my head dropping into my hands, the wet gauze pressing cold and heavy against my face.
"Short-term pain." The words came out muffled. A sound escaped me that might have been a laugh if it weren't so broken. "You know what, Elle? Sometimes I really hate myself."
I looked up at her. "But what about everything we had before? What was all of that?"
Elle closed her eyes. Drew a breath. Opened them.
"Nothing. It was nothing. Forget all of it."
---
Nothing. It was nothing.
I sat on the stairs and felt the last thing I'd been holding onto finally release.
All those years. All those memories. The way she'd looked at me.
Gratitude. It was always just gratitude.
Her footsteps moved past me. Then stopped.
I looked up.
Elle had paused a few feet away, her back to me.
"Elle, wait."
She didn't turn around, but she didn't move.
I stood up slowly, legs unsteady. "I know you've made your choice. "
I took a breath. "But I need to say this. Not because I want to change your mind. Because I care about you."
Her shoulders tensed.
"Julian is my brother. I know him better than anyone." I kept my voice level. "He's not serious. He loves extreme sports, takes risks without thinking about consequences. He's never been responsible about anything in his life."
Her hand curled into a fist at her side.
"I'm not saying he doesn't care about you. I'm saying he doesn't know how to be responsible. He's used to playing around, not settling down." I paused. "Are you sure he's ready for this? For marriage? For a lifetime commitment? I just... I don't want to see you get hurt."
Elle turned around slowly, meeting my eyes.
"Thank you for your concern, Arthur." Her voice was steady. "But you're wrong about him."
"Julian isn't irresponsible. He's free." She took a step closer. "He's not playing around. He's just not afraid to live. And maybe that's what I need. Someone who isn't afraid to choose me—not because it's the right thing to do, but because he wants to."
I was quiet for a long moment.
"I hope you're right, but he...."
Before I could get another word in, she said sharply, “Don’t badmouth him. I know exactly who he is, and I’m with him for good.”
She turned and left without so much as a backward glance.
----
Julian's POV
The study door closed behind me with a soft click, and I turned to face my mother.
Katherine Vance sat in the high-backed leather chair by the fireplace, a glass of red wine in her hand. The flames cast shadows across her face.
"Sit down, Julian."
I walked to the chair across from her and sat, keeping my posture relaxed.
"Are you serious about this?" She didn't waste time.
"Of course." I kept my voice level. "I've said it many times, but you never believed me."
Katherine took a sip of wine, studying me. "How can I believe you? You've always been so impulsive, never thinking about consequences. Marriage is a lifetime commitment. It shouldn't be decided on a whim."
I'd heard these words my entire life. From my father. From Arthur. From every adult who'd looked at me and seen only the wild younger son.
"So, after careful consideration," I said, my voice taking on an edge, "you decided Father wasn't the right person to spend your life with. Is that why you switched his medication?"
The wine glass nearly slipped from her hand.
"You... you know?"
I leaned forward slightly. "Father's health has been declining, but not to the point of deteriorating so quickly. I've been suspicious for a while, but I couldn't figure out who did it."
Katherine's face had gone pale.
"Until I accidentally saw the unsigned divorce papers in Father's office." I paused. "That's when I knew it was you."
---
Katherine set down her wine glass with trembling hands.
"Julian, you don't understand." Her voice was shaking. "Your father and I... we've been living a lie for years. He wants out, and so do I."
"So you decided to speed up the process?" My voice was cold. "By making him sicker?"
"I didn't mean to hurt him!" Katherine stood abruptly. "I just... I just wanted him to sign the papers. To finally let me go."
She walked to the window. "Do you have any idea what it's like? Being trapped in a marriage where you're nothing but a trophy? Where your husband looks through you like you don't exist?"
She added, "He keeps countless mistresses on the side, and I’ve endured it for far too long."
I watched her. "And Arthur? Did you tell him?"
Katherine shook her head. "He doesn't know. Nobody knows except..." She turned. "Except you now."
"Good." I stood. "Keep it that way. Because if Father finds out, if anyone finds out what you did—"
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm protecting you." I cut her off. "Because despite everything, you're still my mother. And I'm not going to let you destroy yourself over a marriage that should have ended years ago."
I walked to the door, then paused.
"But don't use your failed marriage as an excuse to question mine. Elle and I are serious. We're getting married, and nothing you say will change that."
Silence stretched.
---
I turned to look at her before I left. " I'm choosing Elle for the right reasons. Not because it's expected, not because it's convenient. But because I love her."
Katherine sank back into her chair. "I hope you're right, son. I really do."
I studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Get some sleep, Mother. You look tired."