Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3652

Marina pressed her lips together. "Why wouldn't you? Isn't an amicable split better? We've reached this point, there's no need to keep torturing each other."

Carson swallowed hard. "Do you think this is fair to me?"

He turned to look at her, his eyes red and burning with a fierce intensity. "If you didn't feel anything for me, why did you agree to my proposal at the church?"

"When you held my hand in Grand Falls, when you told me you missed me when I came back late... tell me, what were you thinking?"

"We had a contract to fake a relationship, but nowhere in that agreement did it say you had to fake falling in love with me!"

Marina stared at his intense, almost agonizing gaze, momentarily stunned.

Carson stared back, his voice hoarse. "I thought you loved me, so... I took it seriously."

"I took it damn seriously!"

Marina met his eyes directly, tears welling up before she even realized it. She looked away, her voice very soft. "Taking it seriously makes it even more terrifying."

With that, she opened the door and stepped out of the car.

Carson watched through the window as her figure disappeared into the darkness, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

*

Marina walked step by step toward the courtyard, a suffocating wave of despair and heartache washing over her.

She wished he was still that cynical, playful Carson. It would have been easier to convince herself that he didn't love her and was just treating life like a game.

The sad, ridiculous truth was—he said he meant it.

Marina stopped, tilting her head back to force the tears away. Only when a maid approached did she take a deep breath and walk toward the brightly lit main house.

Phoebe secretly went to the hospital and overheard Rowena and Kai talking outside the room.

Through the door, it was muffled, but she caught snippets that Carson had beaten Kai up, and that it had something to do with Marina.

Phoebe hadn't gone inside. On her way back, her mind had raced with wild assumptions. Based on what she heard, she assumed Marina and Kai had been seeing each other privately, Carson had caught them, and that was why he had brutalized Kai.

It made perfect sense to her. After all, they had created a comic together, Kai admitted to liking Marina, and it was highly likely that Marina and Carson's recent breakup was because of him.

Heartbroken, Phoebe had returned home pale and fainted right at the door.

The staff found her in time, carried her to her room, and she only slowly recovered after taking her medication.

Naturally, Charlotte couldn't keep this quiet. She immediately told Grandpa and Grandma Evert, causing this grand interrogation and demanding Marina be called back.