He Left Me to Freeze, So I Burned His World Down Chapter 21

He Left Me to Freeze, So I Burned His World Down Chapter 21

The car moved smoothly into the night, leaving the hospital lights far behind.

Ava leaned back, watching the streetscape blur past the window—fragments of a life she was leaving behind.

After a moment, she added softly, “In another timeline, he destroyed my family. He destroyed me, too.”

“This time, I can’t give him the chance.”

Bennett’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulled the car to the side of the road, stopping under a quiet canopy of trees.

He cut the engine. In the sudden silence, only their soft breathing remained.

He turned to her, his eyes deep and serious. “You’ve mentioned it several times. ‘Another timeline,’ things that… haven’t happened in this world.”

His voice was gentle, but carried an unmistakable weight.

“Ava, did you really… see something?”

Ava’s heart clenched. The secret was a block of ice she had carried alone for too long.

She met his gaze, her voice trembling slightly. “What if I said yes? Would you think I was insane? That I’m the next person who needs to be locked up somewhere to ‘calm down’?”

Bennett didn’t laugh. His eyes only grew softer. He unfastened his seatbelt, leaned over, and pulled her into a firm, warm embrace.

“Ava, I’m about to marry you.” His low voice was a steadying presence beside her ear. “Do you really think I’d be scared off because you can see a little further than everyone else?”

He held her a little tighter.

“I don’t care what you saw or what you went through.”

“I only know that from now on, whatever you decide, I’m on your side.”

A single hot tear finally escaped and slid down her cheek, disappearing into the expensive fabric of his suit.

It was the first time since her rebirth that she truly felt safe.

The next morning, the pressure in Graham Lockwood’s office was suffocating.

He paced restlessly, his phone lying on the desk where he’d thrown it. His lawyer had just warned him that the unlawful imprisonment charge was going to be difficult to fight.

“Damn it. It was a misunderstanding,” he growled, kicking the desk.

Just then, his assistant knocked and entered, his face pale, clutching a tablet.

“Sir…”

“What is it?” Graham snapped.

The assistant’s voice shook. “The Hart Foundation… They’ve sent an emergency meeting notice.”

Graham froze, a sense of dread seizing him. “What’s the agenda?”

The assistant swallowed hard, as if the words might cut his throat.

“The removal of your… co-chair position.”

He looked up, his eyes wide with terror.

“The motion was brought by… Bennett Shaw. In Miss Ava Hart’s name, with all of her proxy voting rights.”