He Never Loved Me Until the Day I Finally Left Him novel Chapter 417

A harsh scoff tore from Sebastian's throat. "What, are you running straight into Julian's arms?"

"Sebastian!" she fired back, her voice ringing with absolute severity. "I told you, my life is none of your business anymore! Who I see and where I go has nothing to do with you!"

Her voice escalated, echoing sharply in the quiet room.

A frantic knot of panic tightened in her chest.

She was terrified he was going to trap her here.

To mask that fear, she doubled down on her defensive rage, refusing to give an inch.

Sebastian absorbed her outburst with a face carved from stone.

He stared her down and delivered his verdict. "Until the divorce is fully processed, you aren't going anywhere. You stay right here."

"Are you actually enjoying this?" Helena demanded, her face completely void of emotion.

"To anyone else, it looks like you're desperately clinging to your ex-wife by dragging out the paperwork."

Her words were laced with dripping sarcasm.

"Have you cleared this with your precious Janetta? Aren't you worried she might throw another hysterical fit over this?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you're just breaking another promise."

"Is finalizing a divorce really that complicated? All you have to do is tell your lawyer to file the paperwork."

A crushing wave of frustration threatened to drown her.

She had bled herself dry trying to escape his suffocating cage.

Yet every single time, he was the one slamming the cell door shut.

Wasn't he supposed to be the one desperate to rid himself of her?

This maddening contradiction was pushing her toward the brink of a breakdown.

The two of them were locked in a suffocating stalemate once again.

Helena took a slow, agonizingly deep breath.

Staring into his eyes, she gave a stiff nod.

"Fine. Then tell me. When exactly will this damn divorce be finalized?" she asked icily.

Sebastian's expression remained dark and unyielding. "One month."

Hearing that timeline, she had to forcefully exhale to keep from screaming.

She was dangerously close to tearing into him right then and there.

She was not taking no for an answer.

Did this mean her tiny daughter had actually survived the worst of it?

Sebastian's brow furrowed in thought.

He had to admit, there hadn't been any frantic calls from the pediatrics department all day.

The sheer volume of critical condition notices had peaked on the first day.

They had slowed down significantly by day two.

Weighing her logic against her steely determination, he considered relenting.

He parted his lips to speak.

Before a single sound could leave his throat, desperate knocking hammered against the door.

"Mr. Hayes, something's happened to the young Miss," the bodyguard shouted through the wood.

A subtle ripple of alarm crossed Sebastian's face, though he was grimly accustomed to these emergencies by now.

But Helena's reaction was instantaneous and violently visceral.