Fairfax felt a sudden, overwhelming wave of panic. He hadn't thought this through. He needed more time!
But did he have time?
Susanna turned to look at him, her eyes wide with terror. "People will die," she whispered, articulating every syllable.
She didn't need to elaborate. She saw the violent struggle in his eyes; he felt he was giving up too easily. But if he took the time to think it over, he would be paying for that time with their parents' blood. What was there to consider?
"If she's still alive, she wouldn't let our family die, right?" Fairfax asked, his voice cracking with a desperate, pathetic hope.
In that split second, he had pinned all his salvation on Starla. If she was alive, Yardley had to know. Why else would Yardley go to such extreme lengths to force this divorce? If she was there, she would surely—
"You're forgetting something," Susanna interrupted coldly. "She hates our entire family."
Pinning his hopes on Starla's mercy was the most laughable thing Susanna had ever heard. Starla was the absolute last person on earth who would save them.
Fairfax physically flinched, the realization striking him like a physical blow.
"Even if she is alive, this is what she wants," Susanna said. Dead or alive, Starla wanted nothing more than to sever all ties with him.
The pain in his chest flared into something blinding.
She was right. This was what Starla wanted. But if she was alive, it only made him want to hold on tighter, to refuse to let her cut him off so cleanly.
"Just let it go," Susanna pleaded softly. Stop fighting it.
Without another word, she pulled the door open and left.
This time, Fairfax didn't stop her.
He slumped into his chair, descending into a dark, disorienting fog. The absolute certainty that he had just permanently lost Starla washed over him. His mind was in shambles.
It was gone. It was all gone.

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