CHAPTER 18
After his divorce, Griffin became consumed with thoughts of me.
He missed the days I’d spent by his side…
The way I smiled at him…
How I’d cared for him in countless little ways…
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His solution was desperate but simple: have me found, no matter what it took. Even if I was on the other side of the world, he would track me down and bring me back. Though he’d failed to keep his promise to marry me by thirty, he now
understood what he truly wanted.
With Chloe gone, he would apologize. In his mind, our twelve years together meant I would surely forgive him and return to his side.
Several days later, his assistant finally located me. After our courthouse marriage, Alex had taken me to his estate in New Zealand.
Griffin immediately booked a flight.
He arrived in New Zealand after an overnight journey, having neither slept nor eaten, and headed straight for the estate where I lived.
Throughout the drive, his emotions swung wildly between anticipation and anxiety, like a rollercoaster he couldn’t escape.
When he reached the gates, armed security guards blocked his way.
Frustrated yet determined, Griffin was about to force his way through when a feminine figure in a rose–patterned dress appeared in the distance.
Having grown up together, he recognized me instantly.
“Tessa!” he called out, his voice cracking with emotion.
In his mind, he’d imagined all the reactions I might have upon seeing him–pain, anger, tears…
But what he never expected was the calm indifference I showed, the kind reserved for complete strangers.
His heart sank as a peculiar ache spread through his chest.
I approached with graceful steps. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with Chloe?” My expression remained neutral, as if addressing someone of no significance. Even mentioning my former rival didn’t stir any emotion in me.
Griffin could have handled my anger or tears, but this detachment was unbearable. Calmness meant I no longer cared about him at all.
He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Tessa, Chloe and I are divorced. Can we talk privately?”
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18
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I hadn’t dismissed the security guards or staff when I approached. Griffin wanted privacy to bare his soul and apologize for his past behavior.
Without hesitation, I refused. “I don’t think we have anything to discuss. Your divorce has nothing to do with me.”
“Please, I’m begging you. I need to talk to you.” The once–proud Griffin Hayes wore a pleading expression–something he’d never shown anyone, least of all me.
I found it both surprising and ironic. The Tessa who had loved him fiercely would have granted his every wish without question.
But that Tessa was gone.
“I have no interest in wasting time on meaningless conversations.”
Griffin’s eyes immediately reddened. He couldn’t believe that I–the woman who had loved him for twelve solid years–could be so cold.
“Tessa, you must be angry with me, right? I know I wronged you. I did so many
gs that hurt you-”
e you finished?” I cut him off impatiently. “If you are, you can leave.” With that, I turned and walked away, not sparing him another glance.
This unfamiliar version of me left Griffin lost and helpless. The heavily guarded estate gave him no way to follow.
All he could do was call my name over and over.
As I moved farther away, Griffin’s voice grew desperate, almost trembling: “Tessa,
I’ll do anything, absolutely anything. Just… just give me one chance to talk to you. I have so much I need to say.”
My steps halted at his words.
Not because I’d softened, but because an intriguing thought had occurred to me. Griffin, who had mockingly called me a lovesick puppy for years, was now behaving exactly like one himself. How ironic.
I turned back with a smile. “I’ll give you a chance to speak with me. But…”
Griffin’s eyes filled with hope as I continued casually: “You’ll need to bark like a dog first. Then you can kneel outside the gate while you talk.”
The light in his eyes slowly died as he stared at me in disbelief.
The woman who had once loved him so deeply was now demanding something so humiliating.
Barking and kneeling were degrading acts, especially for someone with Griffin’s massive ego. For him, it felt worse than death.
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After several seconds of stunned silence, I shrugged indifferently. “If you’re not willing, that’s fine.”
I started to walk away again.
“Wait!” Under my amused gaze, Griffin crushed his pride and stammered, “I–I’ll do it.”
His face burning with shame, he gave a sharp “Woof!” and dropped to his knees with a dull thud.
This time, my laugh was genuine.
“Where did this pathetic dog come from? So desperate for attention.”
My words—an echo of his own past mockery–drained all color from his face.
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