Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 385

Chapter 385 The Choice of No Choice

The night was pitch black.

Finished

The group moved stealthily, lugging their gear through the shadows as they prepared to board. The ship was moored at the most remote corner of the harbor, sitting in total darkness.

They moved by touch, Alita leading Tatiana toward the water.

“There! That’s our ship!” Alita pointed excitedly.

Suddenly, a wave of uncase crashed over Tatiana. She grabbed Alarm. “Wait!”

“What is it?”

Tatiana stared ahead, her eyes narrowing at a specific point in the gloom. It was too dark to she felt a presence.

A sudden flare of light tore through the darkness, unveiling the figure standing there.

y but

He was dressed in a black suit beneath a trench coat, his silhouette tall and unyielding as the wind whipped the fabric around his legs. Tatiana bit her lip; she didn’t need the light to know who it was.

But she hadn’t expected him to be this fast.

“Jasper.”

Alita recognized him too and let out a low curse. “Go to hell! Is this man a shadow? You can’t shake him!”

They had driven for nearly nine hours specifically to lose any tail. Yet, he was already there, waiting at their final destination.

Jasper’s gaze cut through the group and settled on Tatiana. It was a look of profound, aching longing.

The situation ground to a stalemate. Alita and the others considered charging through–surely they could handle one man-

“One man?” Hanson grabbed Alita’s arm, his voice a low hiss. “You idiot, open your eyes.”

Alita looked closer, swallowed hard, and cursed a thousand times in her head.

It wasn’t one man. The docks were crawling with people. Shadows stood on every single vessel in the vicinity. She finally realized why the harbor was so unnervingly quiet; even for a late shift, there should have been signs of life. The entire area had been locked down long before they arrived. They had walked straight into a cage.

Tatiana began to walk forward slowly.

Alita yanked at her sleeve. “Don’t go!”

Tatiana shook her head gently. “It’s alright. If he doesn’t let go, we’re not going anywhere.”

She knew his methods too well. Alita reluctantly released her, watching with her heart in her throat as

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16:25 Tue, Jan 6 MMA

Chapter 385 The Choice of No Choice

Tatiana crossed the distance.

They stopped just three meters apart.

Jasper reached out his hand, his expression softening, “Tatiana, come home with me.”

Firefied,

She looked down at his hand. Only a few days ago, she would have taken it with a heart full of joy and thrown herself into his arms.

She shook her head. “Jasper, there is no going back.”

You remember.”

She offered a faint, sad smile. “And if I hadn’t, what would you have done? Continued to paint a picture of peace? Kept pretending we were a happy couple?”

He stiffened, a look of realization dawning on him. “How much of your memory has returner?

She frowned. “Does it matter?”

“It matters,” he said, his tone sharp with urgency. “You haven’t remembered everything. The ti followed… we weren’t always at each other’s throats.”

They had survived crises together, brushed against death, and held each other in the aftermath. It wasn’t all just a cycle of pain. To him, those moments were precious–the start of something real.

Tatiana’s frown deepened as the pressure in her head increased. She had been pushing through the pain for the entire journey, and now her strength was waning.

“Jasper,” she said, her voice laced with a weary sort of amusement. “I won’t let myself trust you again. Because if there is even the slightest chance, you will always choose to make a decision for me–decisions you claim are ‘for my own good.“”

A

Jasper opened his mouth to argue, but the words died in his throat when he met her shimmering, tear–filled

eyes.

“This is who you are, Jasper. You are dominant, you are powerful, and you are utterly dismissive of what other people want. You make decisions because you assume you know best. When I lost my memory, you decided that hiding the truth was what was best for me. You see? Not once was ‘being honest‘ an option on your list. You never even considered helping me recover my memories, nor did you care what it would mean for me to live my life in a fog. You made the choice for me. Again.”

She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye, though her voice remained steady. “That isn’t how people love each other, Jasper. In your dictionary, I have no agency. The moment I deviate from your plan, you interfere with my life. At eighteen, I loved you so much I would have followed you anywhere, no matter what you did to me. But I’m not eighteen anymore. People grow up. I won’t spend my entire life… waiting for you to look back at me. I won’t spend my life being your victim.”

Her words hit him like a physical blow. He stood paralyzed, watching the tears fall, feeling as if they were burning holes through his heart.

Slowly, the overwhelming, possessive energy he radiated began to dissipate. He had lost.

“Fine,” he said, his voice thick and wavering. “As you wish. I will respect your choice.”

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Chapter 385 The Choice of No Choice

Finished

He took a jagged breath, nearly choking on the words. “But if we could start again… would you choose me?”

Throughout the entire conversation, he never pulled back his hand. He was still waiting, hoping she would choose him of her own will, even as he surrendered the power to force her.

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