Chapter 166


    Matilda spent the night at Chloe’s ce with Criss. They had a candlelit dinner that made her feel a


    sense of joy she hadn’t experienced in ages. The shadow of Logan and the tangled web with Yvan had


    haunted her days and nights like a nightmare.


    But now, she was finally waking up.


    She missed Logan, but she couldn’t stand the sight of Yvan any longer. Every time she remembered


    how he’d defended E, her blood would boil with a seething rage.


    She clenched her fists in silent fury.


    So, she decided to harden her heart. Once she could face losing Logan without pain. Yvan’s threats


    would hold no power over her.


    There was nothing left to cling to in Yvan’s world.


    During dinner, Matilda noticed Chloe’s gloom and pried gently until the truth came out: Chloe was


    stressed over Horatio.


    “Did Horatio call off the engagement, or did you initiate the breakup?”


    Seeing Chloe drown her sorrows in red wine, Matilda couldn’t bear the sight of her friend in emotional


    turmoil. She wrapped an arm around her, “Stop drinking; that’s enough.”


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    Chloe leaned into Matilda’s shoulder. “I… I didn’t love Horatio. I broke it off. Then we spread the word


    that he had jilted me.”


    She preserved Horatio’s reputation, which was the biggestpensation she could offer him.


    “Why be with him in the first ce if you didn’t love him?” Matilda asked, stroking Chloe’s flushed


    cheek, reminded of her own painful past with Yvan.


    Love often blinds and torments.


    “Because.” Chloe chuckled, “Den asked me to seduce him. His family and the Yeager Group were


    negotiating a deal”


    Matilda was taken aback, unaware of Chloe’s arrangement with Den. Did Chloe love Den? No,


    she didn’t. So why go to such lengths for him?


    After Chloe had too much to drink, Matilda and Criss helped her to bed. The two then retreated. to a


    guest room, where Matilda finally let out a deep sigh.


    “You and your friends… it’s tough for you all,” Criss copsed onto the bed. “Love isn’t simple at all. It


    can’t work with just one person’s effort.”


    Matilda smiled, pulling the covers over them both as they nestled into the darkness. She knew Criss‘


    journey wasn’t easy either. Being gay wasn’t without its struggles, and the pressures he faced surely


    outweighed the cheerful front he put on.


    Chapter 166


    At midnight, a strange call jolted Matilda awake. Without looking, she answered, “Hello?”


    Yvan’s obsession with his ex–wife turned morbid upon hearing her voice.


    “Matilda…”


    The sound snapped Matilda awake, and Criss grumbled sleepily beside her. “Who’s that? Can’t they let


    people sleep?”


    Yvan was drinking at home, unsure why he’d called Matilda or why he was desperate to hear her voice,


    even if it was full of scorn. He feared her disdain and Indifference.


    But a man’s voice from Matilda’s end, tinged with irritation, chilled Yvan to the bone as if he’d been


    dropped into an ice cer.


    Matilda hung up without giving Yvan a chance to react. He stared nkly at the dial tone before reality


    sobered him up. Yvan’s grip crushed the ss in his hand.


    “Mr. Boyd…” Carl who’d been drinking with Yvan, watched his boss’s vacant expression with concern.


    “Mr. Boyd, maybe you should stop.”


    “Carl…” Yvan murmured after a long pause. “Does life always haunt us with what we couldn’t have?”


    Carl stayed silent for a while before finally speaking, “Mr. Boyd, you’ve never truly lost. anything.”