A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1355

Hearing that Starla had adopted a child, Herbert's heart plummeted. It felt as though every last fragile hope he had been clinging to shattered into dust.

Why would she adopt a child so soon?

The real answer was agonizingly clear: she had completely given up on romance.

The child was simply a way to continue her life, to have family. As for romantic love, she never planned on experiencing it again.

"Did Mr. Elmer Hoggart agree to it?" Herbert forced out.

"Of course. Whatever she wants to do now, her father supports her one hundred percent."

Starla was finally, truly free.

For the first time in her life, she had absolute authority over her own destiny.

It wasn't like before, when everyone told her she was a free woman but constantly tied her down with emotional blackmail and obligations.

Now, she held the reins of her own life.

"That's good," Herbert whispered.

The words tasted like ash. A profound bitterness laced his tone.

He didn't even remember how he ended the call.

Herbert sat alone in his office for a long, long time, the aura of desolation around him thickening with every passing second.

Six months.

They said time healed all wounds. So why did it feel like the hole in his chest was only growing wider and more agonizing?

In the deepest recesses of his mind, he lived out an entire lifetime with her, over and over again.

But every time he snapped back to reality, the emptiness was suffocating.

A violent, piercing pain suddenly ripped through his chest.

The agony rapidly intensified until he instinctively clutched his heart, a muffled groan tearing from his throat.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

The pain flared so fiercely that he couldn't draw breath. His lungs burned as oxygen eluded him.

The world faded into black, and he collapsed to the floor.

...

Back in Tauria Country, Darian hung up the phone.

Tanya, having heard the gist of the conversation, cradled her swollen belly and looked up at him. "So... are we going back?"

Her voice was laced with obvious reluctance.

A mother's instinct was screaming at her to stay far away. The Lynn family's sudden 180-degree turn felt like a trap, and she wanted no part of it.

She didn't even want to know why they had changed. Digging into it meant facing them again, and that could easily drag her back into a living hell.

She had endured enough trauma in Marina City to last a lifetime.

"Do you want to go back?" Darian asked softly.

"What if I say no?" she countered immediately.

Having witnessed the sheer chaos of Starla's life, Tanya couldn't help but view this sudden peace as the calm before the next nightmare.

First, they stopped hunting them. Then, they broke ties with the Moores. Now, they were promising never to hurt her again.

To Tanya, it felt like standing on the edge of a cliff in the dark. She hated the uncertainty.

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