James looked defeated, slumping back in his chair.
"I'm not giving up. As long as I can find her, I don't care what she wants. If she wants the Commission to punish me, if she wants to see me ruined, I'll accept it all…"
David was surprised by his change in attitude. After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"I warned you that using a marriage to secure a peace treaty was like drinking poison. You chose this path. You should have known that your relationship with Olivia was tainted from the very beginning."
"This is the best possible outcome. I don't understand why you're still looking for her."
"What are you going to say? That you're sorry you used her name to pardon her mother's killer? Are you going to get on your knees and apologize for tricking her into a sham marriage?"
James swayed, his face pale.
"Chloe was innocent… The whole thing was just—"
Before he could finish, David cut him off coldly.

"James, as your counsel, let me give you a piece of advice. Don't let your feelings blind you. In our world, feelings are the most worthless currency there is."
"The Commission doesn't care about your feelings, and neither do our enemies."
"In that car crash case, every single clue pointed directly to Chloe."
"Why was she there in the first place? Where did that car with the faulty brakes come from? How did she know Aunt Anna's exact arrival time? Why was she the one to pick her up?"

The barrage of questions left James speechless.
He collapsed to the floor, closing his eyes in despair.
"And whose idea was it to use a peace treaty signed by a family member to end a feud?"
"James, you're a smart man. I'll leave it at that. In this entire mess, Olivia Taylor is the only one who can be called innocent."
"Your love should not be built on the grave of her mother."
David's words were a brutal wake-up call.
James sat on the floor and numbly opened his phone, scrolling through his chat history with me.
He scrolled up, and up, and up.
It was all one-sided. All my messages, my care for him.
"When are you coming home? I made your favorite clam chowder."
"Do you have another dinner tonight? I'll wait up so we can celebrate your birthday together."
"It's getting cold. I bought you a new cashmere coat. Come home and try it on."
"Can you go with me to see my mom tomorrow? I want to bring her some flowers."
…