Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2373

She turned back to her office, and only when she was out of sight did her smile fade, replaced by a look of worry.

Willowbrook Plaza

It was nearly noon, yet the drapes in the master bedroom remained drawn, casting the room into dim obscurity. Sylvia lay curled up on the bed, her eyes blankly fixed on the faint sliver of light filtering through the curtains, her face utterly devoid of life. Since her return, she had been like this—no appetite, no motivation, everything around her seemed utterly meaningless.

It reminded her of the first time she had left him. Back then, she was just as lifeless, lying on a motel bed, drifting through a month in a fog, uncertain of her future path. She had been driven away because she was disobedient. He had taken his team on a mission, and she had unintentionally discovered that they were walking into an ambush. Disregarding his orders, she had rushed there on her own. When he saw her, he said nothing, merely had her escorted back.

After the mission was successful, she expected praise. But upon his return, he told her that she was disobedient, that she had acted independently and was expelled from the organization, forbidden to return. She was shocked, terrified, and pleaded with him not to send her away, just like she had that fateful night. She had followed him from a young age, with no other family to turn to. Where could she possibly go? But he remained resolute and indifferent, unmoved by her apologies and pleas.

As she drew closer to him, she also reminded herself that he belonged to many, but would never belong to her. During her days in J City, spending every moment together, waking up in his arms, she treated every day as their last, prepared for the moment he would leave. So when he left last time, despite her sadness, she could let him go with a wish for his safe journey.

But in C City, perhaps because their time together was so blissful, she lost herself in the desire to stay, to hold on. In the end, it was her own wishful thinking that led her back into despair, even more profound than the first time. She was engulfed in darkness, succumbing to it, no longer wanting to find her way out. Abandoned by her birth parents, her adoptive parents, and then by him, her life seemed like it should have never started, and certainly wasn't worth continuing.