Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 384

Chapter 384 The Leftover Ring

“Madam is missing

The subordinate didn’t even dare look at Jasper’s face as he whispered the final part of his report,

The truth was glaringly obvious: only someone who knew the villa’s security protocols inside and out could have pulled this off so seamlessly. There were no signs of a struggle, meaning the person responsible was someone the guards trusted implicitly–someone they wouldn’t have guarded themselves against.

The only person missing was the answer.

“Boss, Madam… she left on her own.”

Jasper remained silent.

He had already anticipated this possibility the moment he stepped through the door. He le against the sofa, his fingers pressing hard into his brow, a bitter taste filling his mouth.

“Keep looking.”

“Yes, sir.” His men didn’t linger, scurrying out to fulfill the order.

He was left alone in the living room. He didn’t turn on the lights, allowing the darkness to swallow his solitary figure.

After a long silence, he stood up and returned to the room Tatiana had stayed in. Her scent still lingered in the air. The room was tidy–even the bed was made–but several of her personal items were gone.

She had left of her own free will.

The most likely explanation was that her memory had returned. Or rather, she had remembered the four years he most hoped she would forget.

Those four sinful years. The time of his most painful and regrettable decisions.

A glint of light in the darkness caught his eye. He walked over to the nightstand and saw a ring lying there, resting atop a piece of paper.

He picked it up. It was the gift he had given her before he left–the one he had lied and told her was their wedding ring. She had put it on with such pure, radiant joy, giving him a sweet kiss and smiling in his arms.

That smile felt like a knife in his chest now.

Jasper’s eyes burned. He gripped the ring tight and looked down at the paper. On it, a single sentence was written in her elegant, flowing script:

Jasper, you are despicable.

Despicable.

He was. He had taken advantage of her amnesia to weave a beautiful, hollow truth, trying to keep her trapped in a cage of false warmth.

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Chapter 384 The Leftover Ring

**Finished

“Tatiana. I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry

Tatiana sat on the roof of the SUV, staring up at the night sky, looking thoroughly unhappy.

Beside the car. Hanson frowned and whispered to Alita, “Is she… traumatized?”

Alita shot him a look of annoyance. “You don’t understand love. It’s that thing that makes people want to live and die at the same time.”

“That’s not right,” Hanson muttered, scratching his head. “I don’t think that’s how the saying goes.”

Alita’s tone was dismissive. “What do you know?”

Hanson lapsed into silence.

“Anyway,” Alita continued, “don’t bother her. She’s grieving. Anyone would be heartbroken man who was playing the field, especially if they found out they were just a substitute.”

A voice drifted down coolly from the roof. “Hey. I can hear you.”

The two of them shut their mouths instantly.

Tatiana hopped down from the roof and glanced at them. “Let’s keep moving.”

“Where to?”

She bit her lip. “Back to Steele Island. For now.”

The two of them lit up instantly. “Yes! Back home!”

4

for a

The convoy set off again. Tatiana sat in the back seat, letting the cold wind whip against her face. She made no effort to hide her sour mood. Her mind was a chaotic mess, a throbbing headache pulsing behind her eyes as flashes of memory–some strange, some familiar–jostled for space. She couldn’t tell them apart yet.

She chose to stop thinking about it. She knew she had lost a lot of time, and she needed to reclaim it slowly.

Until then, she didn’t want to see Jasper. She couldn’t even trust him anymore.

When Alita had contacted her, she had made her choice: she would go with them. She had planned the escape herself and executed it perfectly.

By now, Jasper should be back. He would have found the note. She wondered what kind of look would be on his face. Rage? Disappointment? Or perhaps… total indifference?

She suppressed the thought. Whatever he felt, it no longer had anything to do with her.

“Are you okay?” Alita leaned over, concerned.

“I’m fine.”

“Here, have some candy. It’ll make you feel better. Once we’re back on Steele Island, I know you’ll be happy again.”

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Chapter 384 The Leftover Ring

“Why?”

Finished

“Because you love gold! You always said those emeralds were basically gold–that the mountains were covered in gold and it made you happy just to look at it.”

Tatiana pictured the scene, and the sheer absurdity of it actually helped lift the weight from her chest. “You’re right.”

“Don’t hang yourself over one man,” Alita added, having recently absorbed a lot of modern slang. “You have a whole forest out there!”

Tatiana let out a small laugh, the gloom on her face finally beginning to clear. “Alright. To Steele Island.”

Once the decision was made, the group was fueled by a desperate homesickness. They had been away for too long.

The only way back was by sea. Their ship was waiting at the harbor, which was an eight–h avoid detection, they stuck to the backroads and bypassed every security checkpoint.

After a long, stop–and–start journey, they finally reached the docks.

way. To

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