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Novel Catalog
Chapter_30
Quinn’s mind was spinning, her body trembling from the force of the emotional storm crashing over her. The ashes of her portraits floated in the air like ghostly remnants of her past, and she stared at them, unable to make sense of the loss. Her thoughts were fragmented, like the burned fragments of those portraits, torn between the images of what had been and the painful reality of what was left.
Alexander stood over her, watching with an unreadable expression. His satisfaction was apparent in the coldness of his gaze, the way his lips curled ever so slightly into a smug smirk. Quinn felt a wave of nausea rise in her throat, a mixture of anger, sorrow, and helplessness. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, not after what he had just done.
She had fought for everything she believed in, for the friendships that kept her afloat, and yet here he was, burning it all to the ground with the flick of a lighter. It wasn’t just the artwork he had destroyed; it was a part of her spirit, the connection to a world outside of his control.
“Are you done?” Quinn’s voice broke through the silence, soft and shaky, yet laced with defiance.
Alexander’s brow furrowed as if the question itself confused him. He didn’t respond right away, as though he were still trying to gauge her reaction. For a moment, Quinn thought he might apologize, but that would’ve been far too human, too vulnerable for him to admit.
Instead, he simply turned and walked away, his footsteps heavy against the gravel of the yard.
Quinn remained on the ground, her knees drawn to her chest, surrounded by the dust of her lost memories. She wanted to scream, to curse at him, but no words came. The only sound that escaped was the quiet sobs that wracked her body, each one another layer of grief she couldn’t suppress.
When the last of the fire flickered out, leaving only the remnants of what once was, Quinn closed her eyes. She didn’t know how much longer she could endure this, how much more of herself she could lose without breaking completely. The thought of leaving for good, of walking out of that suffocating villa and never looking back, became more and more alluring.
But how could she leave? Where would she go? The pain of knowing that Alexander would never truly see her, never truly understand her, settled like a heavy weight in her chest. She was nothing to him. Just an object. A tool to be discarded when he no longer found her useful.
The thought of the child growing inside her gave her a moment of clarity. I am more than this, she told herself. I am not just a victim of his cruelty. I am a mother. She would protect the life inside her, even if it meant facing the future alone.
Quinn slowly pulled herself to her feet, the wind catching the ashes and scattering them into the night. She didn’t know what her next step would be, but for the first time in a long while, she felt a flicker of resolve deep within her.
Alexander had made his choices. It was time for her to make hers. And this time, she wasn’t going to let him control her.
As the night air wrapped around her, Quinn took one last look at the villa. She wasn’t sure what would happen next, but she knew this—she wasn’t going to let him take everything from her. Not anymore.
