The Godfather Who Never Lost Begged Me Not to Leave Him Chapter 10

The Godfather Who Never Lost Begged Me Not to Leave Him Chapter 10

I shook my head.

“No.”

He slowly bent forward.

I closed the door,

He stayed on his knees outside for a long time.

A single door separated us, but the same crushing weight seemed to hang over both sides of it.

I closed my eyes.

Someone came sometime after midnight.

I heard his second-in-command speaking in a low voice, coaxing and pleading, the fear in every word impossible to hide.

Leander never answered. He never moved.

Much later, a heavy thud sounded outside.

Then came his second-in-command’s panicked, muffled calls.

The sounds outside my door quickly receded, leaving behind an empty silence.

The next morning, a news post appeared on my feed.

Someone had photographed Leander in the ER. He lay on a gurney, face ashen, lips bloodless, eyes

closed.

He looked frighteningly thin and utterly drained of life.

I stared at the photo for a long time, then sank down beside the bed and rested my forehead against

my knees.

I’d loved him once, after all.

Five days later, my attorney told me Leander had finally relented.

He’d agreed to sign the divorce agreement, but only if I came in person.

I pushed open his office door.

He sat behind the desk, still looking unwell. He tried to hold back his cough, but couldn’t.

We were alone.

He looked up at me.

After a long silence, he said hoarsely, “I don’t want a divorce.”

He paused, then added in a tired voice, “But I also know that once you make up your mind, nothing changes it.”

“When you decided to marry me, you didn’t ask questions. You didn’t overthink it. You just grabbed my hand and dragged me off to find a priest.”

A lonely, self-deprecating smile tugged at his mouth.

“You used to be so spontaneous. You did whatever you wanted. You were happy every day. You were

always smiling.”

His gaze moved slowly over my face, as if memorizing it.

“But this past year, you changed. You stopped smiling as much. You were always unhappy. It was like you became someone else.”

“And I think I did that to you.”

“I failed you. If you’ve decided to let go, I shouldn’t keep holding on. I should give you your freedom

and let this end with some dignity.”

He opened the document and signed the last page.

I said nothing. I took the pen and signed my name on the other side without hesitation.

We agreed on a time to finalize the divorce. He stood to walk me out, but at the door, he suddenly

stopped.

“Rissa.”

I turned back.

He braced one hand against the doorframe, his eyes shadowed and unreadable.

“Someday… if we meet again, could there ever be another chance for us?”

I looked at him and shook my head.

“Leander, you’re always looking backward. Whether it’s Cressida or me.”

“But I’m going to spend my life looking forward.”

He went still.

I turned, opened the door, and gave him my last words.

“Leander, I hope someday you stop looking back. I hope you stop living with regret.”

Then I walked away.

“And I hope I never stop moving forward.”

A gust of wind swept through the corridor.

I didn’t look back as I left his family’s headquarters.

The spring light outside was bright and clear.

Trees lined both sides of the street, their fresh green leaves whispering in the breeze.

This spring would be a new beginning.