Chapter 5 The End of Illusions
“What?” Maya nearly shouted.
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In normal circumstances, Maya was always the overachiever. Maya had always been that perfect child that everyone admired.
She excelled in academics, was accepted into a prestigious university, finished her law degree, passed the bar, and secured a position at Kingsley Attorneys.
Maya had handled even the most challenging cases with ease, never failing. Her intelligence was unshakable. But at this moment, her brain seemed to freeze, unable to comprehend what Ellis was saying.
Maya paced in front of Ellis, staring at her.
“Are you the same Ellis I know? Are you seriously telling me you want to divorce Easton? Did I hear that right? Have you lost your mind?” Maya couldn’t believe her ears. The idea that Ellis would ever talk about divorce seemed like a fantasy.
Maya knew how much Ellis had given and how much she had endured to marry Easton and finally take the title of Mrs. Hudson. No one understood better than her the struggles she endured just to marry Easton.
“I don’t want to continue living in a marriage where my husband doesn’t love me, Ellis said, her earlier sarcasm fading into sorrow. “If I don’t ask for a divorce, Easton will eventually do it himself. I don’t want to be the woman people mock, the wife discarded by her husband. I don’t want to be the laughingstock. I want to keep some dignity.”
“Are you
sure you’re ready to let him go?” Maya’s eyes drifted to Ellis’s stomach. “Just a few days ago, you were telling me you and Easton were planning to have a baby and that you were preparing for it.”
Ellis had talked about wanting to have children with Easton, and the moment he heard it, his face had darkened visibly. Ellis, absorbed in her happiness, hadn’t noticed the shift in his demeanor.
Maya had always felt that Easton and Ellis were too different. Easton’s actions made it obvious his heart wasn’t with her, and Maya had often urged Ellis to move on. But Ellis had remained stubborn, fixated on him.
Recalling that conversation, Ellis lowered her head, concealing the pain in her eyes as her bitterness deepened.
“Bringing a child into a loveless marriage would only cause more harm. I’ve decided to spare myself and the child from the suffering
“What finally pushed you to this decision?” Maya asked, not trying to press but needing to understand. “Was it because of the kidnapping?”
Ellis didn’t respond. Silent tears slid down her cheeks.
At that moment, her silence was all the answer Maya needed.
Maya couldn’t stand to see Ellis crying, so she gently dried her tears with a tissue, her voice filled with care. “Think about it; there are over thirty billion men in the world. Why cry over one heartless man who
doesn’t love you?”
Ellis, finding solace, hugged Maya tightly and let her tears flow freely in her friend’s embrace.
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Chapter 5 The End of Illusions
Maya
tried every way to comfort her, but nothing seemed to calm Ellis down.
In the end, Ellis cried herself to exhaustion and leaned on Maya for support, quietly resting.
Maya’s heart ached for Ellis, igniting a powerful urge within her to take on Easton.
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At the police station, the mastermind behind the kidnapping and his two accomplices were caught.
Once the victims identified them, they would cooperate with the police to document their statements, pushing the case toward prosecution. The officers were prepared for the identification process, observing the three bound criminals.
To everyone’s surprise, the leader of the kidnappers suddenly kneeled, tears streaming as he pleaded for forgiveness. “Mr. Easton, I made a terrible mistake by kidnapping Ms. Victoria. I beg for your mercy; since I didn’t harm her, can you please forgive me?”
Realizing his escape plan had failed, Nolan understood that seeking forgiveness could potentially lighten his sentence. Yet the police remained unimpressed by his desperation.
Nolan, the leader behind the scheme to extort Easton, was now more concerned with pleading for Easton’s mercy than seeking forgiveness from the victim.
Easton’s influence reached far beyond Stonebridge, extending across the country and even internationally. His power came from his position as the head of Hudson Group, a vast corporation involved in numerous fields.
Before gaining control of Hudson Group, Easton had mercilessly dealt with any family members who competed for the inheritance. After securing his position, business rivals found themselves at the mercy of his ruthless tactics, leaving no room for competition.
Nolan, once a wealthy man, had fallen into financial ruin and now lived in poverty, constantly borrowing money. His decision to target someone associated with Easton was a grave mistake. With just a nod from Easton, plenty of people would gladly handle someone as foolish as Nolan.
“Forgive you? How absurd.”
Easton’s short, cold laugh was followed by a sharp, chilling glare.
Nolan, who had previously been so brazen, now kneeled in fear, his arrogance shattered.
Bowing over and over, he mumbled nervously, insisting that despite taking two hostages, he knew exactly which one he couldn’t afford to touch.
