She Was Never Just a Pretty Face novel Chapter 128

Late into the night, Hilda returned to her apartment alone.

As her car came to a stop, she spotted a black Rolls-Royce Phantom parked under the banyan tree. The window was rolled halfway down, and a long, elegant arm rested against the frame. On the wrist sat a diamond Patek Philippe watch. It was Luther.

She knew that watch perfectly; she had personally polished it countless times.

Hilda stared for a long moment before unbuckling her seatbelt to get out, but the door of the other car opened first. Luther stepped out, his long legs striding directly toward her. His towering figure cast a heavy shadow over her car, radiating an intense pressure. He rapped his knuckles twice against her window.

Hilda rolled down the glass and looked at him calmly.

In the dark of the night, the man's sharp features looked incredibly handsome and commanding.

Before she could even utter a word, he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Luther, what are you doing?"

The man ignored her completely, dragging her straight to his car and slamming the door shut behind her. He walked around, got into the driver's seat, and with a soft click, locked the doors.

Hilda couldn't leave. Mindful of the baby in her stomach, she didn't struggle or fight. She simply sat in the passenger seat, staring out into the dark night.

Luther was wearing a tailored vest over a white dress shirt. The crisp white fabric made him stand out strikingly in the dim interior.

His eyes locked onto her as he spoke. "Naomi Zeller is hosting a banquet for you on Saturday."

"And?"

Luther stared at her in silence. After a tense pause, he said, "I drove past Serenity Road and saw you getting coffee with Naomi. You're already seeing her on Saturday. Is it really necessary to stick together every single day? She was even holding your hand. Do two women really need to be that clingy?"

Hilda let out a very soft laugh.

"Do you love me, Luther?"

It wasn't a genuine question. It was pure mockery.

Predictably, Luther's brow furrowed. He couldn't answer.

Hilda's smile grew even fainter.

"If you don't love me, why do you care which woman—or which man, for that matter—I get close to? Let's just be clean about this. You were perfectly decisive that day you told me to take the painting away."

For a prideful, wealthy heir, words like that were absolutely unbearable.

Hilda turned her gaze back to the dark window, her hand instinctively resting lightly over her flat stomach.

The baby was two months along now. By the fourth month, it would definitely start showing, and it would be impossible to hide. Right now, it wasn't Luther pushing for the divorce—it was her demanding it. If she didn't finalize it soon, the baby might complicate everything.

Her voice was steady and calm.

She even sounded remarkably friendly as she reasoned with him. "We can still be friends after the divorce. When you remarry, I'll even publicly congratulate you. If Aegis Group's stock takes a hit, I'll gladly step up and do some PR for you. Luther, a woman's youth is limited. Don't string Jolie along anymore."

She spoke with complete sincerity.

But to Luther, it sounded like utter nonsense.

It was because she grieved the way she had once loved him so fiercely, so completely, without holding anything back.

The pain was suffocating, and tears pricked her eyes as she murmured, "I'm not trying to make you angry. I just can't keep walking down this road with you. You chose Jolie, didn't you? Tell me, Luther, exactly how strong do I have to be? How many times do you expect my heart to be ripped to shreds while I sit quietly by your side playing the dutiful lover? If you're willing to just 'tolerate' things, then it's not real love. True love doesn't allow for flaws. It doesn't allow the other person to be half-hearted. Infatuation might come without conditions, but love has them. The man I want is someone who will spend his entire life with me, someone who will never crave the touch of someone else. He has to be unwavering. He has to be absolute. I did love you, but you are undeniably not the right man for me."

Those words were meant for the Luther of the past.

She had never gotten the chance to say them. She was officially saying goodbye to the boy who had been her first love. They could never go back.

The man she had lived with for the past six months was Luther Sanford, the ruthless CEO, not the young boy she had fallen in love with. And she was no longer the same naive Hilda, either.

He had killed that version of her on their wedding night.

Her tears soaked through the fabric of his shirt. Gently, she pushed him away and offered him a radiant, beautiful smile. She told him that after the divorce, she would live a wonderful life, and Annie would too. She told him there was no point in dragging out this messy entanglement—it would only end up hurting everyone involved.

Luther stared at her calm, serene face.

He had no idea why, but he pulled her back into his arms and held her tight.

He felt like he had never truly held her like this before.

Eventually, he had to let her go.

Watching her walk away step by step, disappearing into her building, he couldn't understand why he was still hesitating. He couldn't understand why seeing her with Naomi made his chest ache with a sour, burning jealousy, or why he had completely crossed the line to find her, desperately wanting the comfort of her skin against his.

They were about to get a divorce. But his body still fiercely craved her. He wanted her so badly it physically hurt.