Too Late He Wanted Me Back Chapter 07
In the past, whenever Jaylen complained of a stomachache, Seraphina would drop everything to make him chicken soup.
There was even a year when Seraphina broke her arm at work and had to wear a cast. Even then, the moment Jaylen’s stomach started hurting, she insisted on cooking that chicken soup for him herself.
Now, Jaylen’s stomach hurt again, but she simply turned away and gave Jaylen the cold shoulder.
A suffocating pain rose from deep inside him, and Jaylen nearly reached his breaking point. “Sera, why have you been so cold to me lately? You were never like this before.”
Seraphina kept her back to him. “Before? Didn’t you always say I was a nuisance back then? Now that I’ve stopped pestering you, what is there to complain about?”
That one sentence left Jaylen speechless.
Seraphina used to cling to Jaylen constantly. She wanted to know where he was at all times and concerned herself with everything he did. He had grown tired of her hovering and was annoyed by her constant jealousy. He had snapped at her many times. “As the lady of the Canyer family, can you not act with more grace? To be jealous of my own sister, have you no shame?”
Now she had finally given him what he wanted. She no longer clung to him or pried into his life. Yet, his heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
“Sera, I know you’re still angry about Tino,” Jaylen sighed. “Trust me, I’ll make it up to you. We have a long future ahead of us, and I have all the time in the world to win you back.”
With that, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Seraphina’s forehead.
Then he turned and left.
He had no idea that the moment he walked out, two text messages arrived on Seraphina’s phone.
The first was from the courthouse. “Ms. Astriage, your divorce certificate with Mr. Canyer has been processed. Please collect it in person at the courthouse within three business days.”
The second came from NASA. “Professor Astriage, the Lunar Ladder Project officially launches tomorrow. Please send us your location so we can arrange transport to pick you up.”
Seraphina stared silently at the two messages for a long time, then smiled with a sense of relief.
At last, the day of her departure had arrived.
Before she left, however, there was one last thing she needed to do.
Seraphina swung her legs over the side of the bed. Leaning on her cane, she moved slowly and painfully toward Cyenne’s hospital room.
It was the middle of the night, and surprisingly, Jaylen was not by Cyenne’s bedside. It was for the best; his presence would only complicate things.
“Seraphina, what are you doing here?” Cyenne dropped her usual frail act and shot Seraphina a look of pure contempt. “Are you looking for my brother? You’re so pitiful. You’re covered in injuries, yet he doesn’t care about you at all. I only have a few minor scratches, but he stays up all night watching over me, refusing to leave my side for even a second.
“If I hadn’t thrown a fit about my stomachache and demanded a home-cooked meal, he would still be here. In all the years you have been married to him, has he ever cooked for you even once?”
Seraphina said nothing. She no longer cared about these petty, jealous arguments.
There was only one question on her mind. “Cyenne, I want the truth. That day, when you took Tino surfing, did he fall off the board by accident, or did you push him?”
At this, Cyenne burst into a wild, mocking laugh. “You really want the truth, Seraphina? Let me warn you first. It might just break you.”
“I can handle it,” Seraphina said through gritted teeth.
Cyenne’s grin widened into something wild. “Hahaha, really? Then I’ll tell you. Jay was actually there that day too.
“When the waves crashed in, Tino and I fell into the sea at the same time. Without a second of hesitation, Jay dove straight for me, while your poor little boy was swept away by the tide.”
Every vein in Seraphina’s body felt as though it were tearing open. The gloomy hospital felt like a slaughterhouse built just for her.
Jaylen had been there the day their son died.
“Hahaha, do you know what the funniest part is?” Cyenne laughed without restraint. “The cruelest joke is that he knew perfectly well I could swim, and he still ran to me first.
“In Jay’s heart, you and your son will never matter half as much as I do.”
Tears blurred her vision. Seraphina swore that this would be the very last time she ever cried for Jaylen.
She wiped her tears away, grabbed her cane, and limped out of the hospital.
Her steps were slow, yet unusually firm.
Seraphina thought, “Jaylen, there is no tomorrow for us and no future together.
“From this day on, we shall never meet again, in this life or the next.”
Seraphina took a taxi to the courthouse. She waited outside the building all night. As dawn broke, she finally collected both her and Jaylen’s divorce certificates.
She tucked her copy away and asked the staff of the courthouse to mail Jaylen’s divorce certificate to the Canyer’s residence.
Once everything was settled, a military jeep sent by NASA arrived at the courthouse to pick her up.
She climbed into the vehicle without hesitation. She took out her phone and uploaded the recording of her conversation with Cyenne to the internet.
The truth was that when Seraphina had confronted Cyenne the previous night, she had secretly turned on her phone recorder.
Santino’s death had been ruled an accident, which meant Cyenne and Jaylen were beyond the reach of the law.
If the law couldn’t punish them, then public opinion and moral judgment would.
It was the only thing she could do for her son before she left.
With that, Seraphina tossed her phone aside. As the jeep drove her toward a new life among the stars, she knew she was finally free.