Beyond the Divorce

"Once Atlas finds out who dared lay a hand on me, he'll deal with them. Navi can easily abandon you at a critical moment, saying it was his subordinate's decision and had nothing to do with him. You can judge for yourself." After saying that, I calmly sat down. The smell of blood in the room and the tension of betting my life on this story I had made up made me feel exhausted and extremely uncomfortable.

I glanced at Tristan. "What time is it?"

I asked that question to maintain my composure, but to be honest, I really wanted to know the time. My mind was on fire, and I had no idea what was happening inside or what this ruthless killer, Millard, would do. Tristan raised his hand to check his watch. "It's 4 p.m., Mrs. Chloe."

I grew nervous. There were only three hours left until Xavier's operation.

Millard looked at me calmly, but he seemed a little nervous himself. He scrutinized me intently, afraid I would deceive him.

"You can take me back to your base since Atlas is there. You can easily hand me over to Navi too," I continued to goad him. "Or maybe you have followers you can trust at the base. You can ask them if Atlas is there." I tried to give him a way out. I was sure Atlas must be at the base by now.

Millard looked at me then turned to say something to his men before stepping out.

His men immediately perked up, and Tristan tapped my shoulder. "Mrs. Chloe, may I pour you some water?"

his eyes, I understood the hint. He was asking me if he could

armed men around us. There were roughly 13 of them, not including

head. We were entirely outnumbered, and I couldn't let Tristan take

moment, Millard returned

contorted, and he seemed paler. He stared at

had

"What now? Do you

rushed toward me, and

at me emotionlessly. He almost looked like he had lost his

"If I help

of relief, feeling the tension in

question. It was as though my

to figure out if I was lying. He focused intensely on me, afraid of missing any