Letting You Go, The Last Item

The day I was diagnosed with terminal cancer was the day the tabloids exploded with pictures of Seraphina and him again.
The heiress to the Shen Corporation, caught in yet another affair. The company stock plummeted overnight.
The board members urged me to issue a clarification. The media demanded an immediate response.
Just like all the countless times before.
Seraphinas call came through, her tone as arrogant and dismissive as ever.
Im busy taking Leo to the theater. I dont have time for this nonsense. You handle it. Youre used to it, anyway.
Her voice dropped, cold and sharp. And the same rule applies. If you dare say a single bad word about him, bankruptcy will be the least of the Wen familys problems.
This time, I didnt scream or argue.
I just stared at the two funeral urns on my desk and said softly, I know.
I told the PR department to schedule a press conference. Then I tore up the speech they had prepared for me.
They say that when people are dying, they make a list of wishes to fulfill so they can leave with no regrets.
I only have one.
To divorce Seraphina Shen.

The press conference had barely ended when Seraphinas furious call came.
I told you to deny the rumors! Who gave you permission to mention divorce? Her voice was shrill. Thats no different from publicly declaring that Leo is a homewrecker!
I paused, a sense of bitter absurdity washing over me. How could I have imagined, for even a second, that her panic was because our marriage was ending?
I pressed a hand to my aching stomach and spoke quietly. I just thought since you love him so much, you should give him the title he deserves.
This position was never truly mine anyway. Im just returning it to its rightful owner.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a scornful laugh.
Do you really think Leo is as selfish and grasping as you are? He only cares about me. Her voice turned venomous. Adrian Wen, dont you dare think that playing the magnanimous victim will make me soften up and sign those papers. Its not that easy.
Since you stole this position, you can sit on your stolen throne and weep. Unless I get tired of playing with you, dont even think about escaping.
The line went dead.
She must have been disappointed not to see the familiar look of humiliated endurance on my face.
The video of me announcing our divorce was scrubbed from the internet within the hour.
It didnt matter.
I no longer had the time to play her twisted game of revenge.
I didnt even need her signature.
When I arrived at the old family estate, Grandfather Shen was waiting for me in his study.
He frowned when I told him my intention. Adrian, I know youve been wronged these past few years, he said, his voice gentle.
Seraphina is just being foolish for a time. Marriage is not a childs game. You cant throw it away out of spite. Besides, your parents
I cut him off, shaking my head softly. Grandfather, my parents are gone.
Divorce was their dying wish. And its mine, too.
I placed the two urns on his desk, next to the terminal cancer diagnosis.
He stared at them, speechless, the color draining from his face.
Before I die, I just want a little peace. For the sake of the boy you watched grow up please, help me.
Seraphina was the head of the Shen Corporation now, but I knew that this was a favor her grandfather could still grant.
After a long, heavy silence, he sighed. Go, then. The Shen family has failed you. That girl she has utterly failed you.
He had watched both of us grow up. He had also watched me wither and fade away within this marriage.
As I was leaving, he called out to me, his eyes filled with a deep, aching sorrow. Adrian, wherever you go, you must tell your grandfather. When that day comes I will be there to see you off.
A sharp sting filled my nose. I wiped my eyes and managed a small, smiling nod.
After laying my parents to rest, I packed up all of my belongings from the house, intending to donate them.
The marriage certificate fell to the floor. In the photo, Seraphina was nestled against me, her eyes curved into crescents, full of love.
Five years. Now, that same face only held disgust for me.
Sometimes, I couldnt understand it myself. Id always been sharp, discerning. How had I so completely misread everything? If I had just asked one more question, perhaps this wouldn't be the end.
But I suppose I was greedy.
For as long as I could remember, Seraphina Shen was the brightest star in our citys elite social circle. Beautiful, brilliant, effortlessly capable, she radiated an aura of untouchable grace. Everywhere she went, she was surrounded by admirers.
Compared to the other heirs, I was quiet and awkward, an introverted loner who preferred solitude to parties. I could only ever steal glances at her over the top of a book from across a crowded ballroom.
Then, when we were twenty-two, an earthquake struck while she was at the theater. The building collapsed. She was injured and fell into a coma.
I was her attending physician.
Thankfully, her injuries weren't severe, though she had lost her memory of the moments just before the accident.
When she woke up, the first person she saw was me.
She threw her arms around me, her voice trembling. You saved me, didnt you? I would have died without you
I was stunned, completely at a loss. I mumbled that it wasnt that dramatic, that I was just doing my job.
But the next day, Seraphina announced to the world that she was going to marry me.
She, who was notoriously difficult to get a meeting with, now wanted to see me constantly. She, who hated waiting and waking up early, now drove me to and from the hospital every day, preparing elaborate meals. We went skiing in the Alps and saw the Northern Lights in Iceland. She personally flew to Switzerland and spent a fortune on a raw pink diamond, then spent months designing my engagement ring herself.
My secret, hopeless crush had been returned in the most spectacular way imaginable. I felt like I was living in a dream.
Our families had always intended for us to unite in a business alliance. Our mutual affection made it perfect. We had a lavish wedding and became the golden couple of the citys high society. Every time she looked at me with that deep, unwavering love, I felt like the luckiest man alive.
But dreams always end.
On our second anniversary, my friends booked a hotel suite for us to celebrate. Seraphina arrived late, her face a thunderous mask. When everyone cheered for us to link arms and drink, she didnt move.
I squeezed her hand. Whats wrong?
The next second, she ripped her hand away. The red wine in her glass arced through the air, splashing across my face.
Adrian Wen, she spat, her voice colder than the chilled wine, her eyes filled with scorn and loathing. How does it feel? Sitting on a throne you stole? What right do you have to celebrate anything?
Amid my friends gasps, I felt a sharp, stinging pain. My eyes swelled so much I could barely see. My suit was ruined. I stared at her, lost and confused. She knew I was allergic to alcohol. How could she have forgotten?
But there was no remorse in her eyes. She threw a stack of photos at my face.
The person who saved me at the theater wasn't you. Was it fun, playing me for a fool? Youre truly shameless, willing to do anything to secure your familys interests.
Her voice was venomous. If you hadn't stolen the credit and made me mistake you for him, Leo wouldn't have missed the window for his surgery! He wouldnt be in a wheelchair right now because he couldn't afford it!
So what if youre having a reaction? You deserve to have your face rot off!
I stared dumbly at the photos of the delicate, handsome boy in the wheelchair.
A horrifying realization began to dawn. I had gotten something terribly, terribly wrong.
I was in the hospital for two days. Seraphina never came. A private investigator gave me the full story.
On the day of the collapse, a massive crystal chandelier had broken free, plummeting toward Seraphina. Leo, a ballet dancer and a scholarship student she sponsored, had shoved her out of the way. His own legs were crushed. He had saved her life.
He had admired her for years but never dared confess his feelings because of his humble background. It was only after a recent chance encounter that they had reconnected and spoken openly.
Everything was clear now.
The person she had been looking for was never me.
For the first time, I thought about divorce.
But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Seraphina was two months pregnant.
Grandfather Shen and my parents were overjoyed. They told me all couples fight, that I had to think of the child, to give him a complete family. Grandfather Shen arranged a family dinner to celebrate and to help us reconcile.
For the sake of the child, and for the love I still couldnt let go of, I agreed.
But Seraphina had other plans.
She arrived pushing Leo in his wheelchair. They were wearing matching, custom-made outfits. She sat him down in my seat at the head of the table.
Ignoring her grandfathers thunderous expression, she asked Leo gently what he wanted to eat.
Leo glanced nervously at me. Seraphina, he whispered, is it really okay for me to sit here? Wont your husband be upset?
Hah, she scoffed. A thief has no right to be upset.
Her words were a slap across my face. Ignoring the awkward stares from everyone, I mumbled an excuse about feeling unwell and fled upstairs. As I left, I saw her press a soft kiss to Leos forehead. My heart seized.
Her grandfathers angry roar was drowned out by the sound of my body tumbling down the stairs.
Blood blurred my vision. Just before I lost consciousness, I thought I saw Seraphina running toward me.
I woke up in the hospital. She was sitting by my bed, with dark circles under her eyes. A flicker of hope ignited within me. Was she worried about me?
But her first words plunged me back into the icy reality.
I got rid of the child. A creature conceived in a lie should never have existed.
I remembered how she used to whisper in my ear, saying she wanted a gentle son, just like me.
The loss of our child, the cold disgust from the woman I lovedit shattered the last of my composure. For the first time, I screamed at her, my voice raw with anguish, demanding to know why she was doing this to me.
She calmly straightened her collar, her tone mocking. You brought this on yourself. The moment you decided to take credit for something you didn't do, you should have known this was coming.
I collapsed back onto the bed, watching as she took a call from Leo and left without a backward glance. The thought of our innocent, lost child sent me into a spiral of uncontrollable sobs.
But I truly didnt know. I was a doctor. I had simply treated my patient. It was just a coincidence that my patient was the woman I had loved from afar for years.
Why had that become a crime?
The day I was discharged, I had my lawyer draft divorce papers. If they all believed I had stolen Leos place, then I would give it back. The Wen family heir didnt need to build his life on stolen affection.
But I forgot one thing. Because I was the Wen family heir, my parents would not stand for this humiliation. And the Shen family would never accept Leo.
They found Leo. They offered him a sum of money that would set him up for life, and treatment from the worlds leading orthopedic surgeon. In exchange, he had to disappear.
He took the money and vanished that same day.
But not before sending me a text:
Mr. Wen, my feelings for Seraphina are real. Im sorry for the trouble Ive caused. Since you cannot tolerate my presence, I will accept the arrangements. I wish you both happiness.
Before I could reply, Seraphina burst into the room. She snatched the phone from my hand and stared at the screen for a full five minutes. I braced myself for an interrogation, but she said nothing.
She simply went to the kitchen and made me a bowl of chicken soup, just like she used to.
She became gentle again. She took me with her to social events, her every gesture an act of doting affection. To the outside world, we were the perfect couple once more.
Seeing her so mature and responsible, Grandfather Shen finally entrusted the Shen Corporation to her. My parents relaxed. Even I started to believe that, in her heart, our family mattered more.
It was only later that I understood. She was just biding her time.
With full control of the company, Seraphina no longer had anything to fear. Ignoring the numerous joint ventures between our families, she allied with several other powerful families and launched an all-out assault on the Wen Corporation.
In a matter of months, my family was bankrupt, drowning in debt, and cast out of the elite circle we had once belonged to. Creditors hounded us daily. My fathers black hair turned gray overnight. My mother cried endlessly.
I ran to Seraphina, begging her for mercy. I found her feeding fruit to Leo, who was nestled in her lap.
She let me wait for a long time before she finally deigned to look at me.
When you and your parents went to him, she said, her voice dangerously soft, when you destroyed his ability to have children and had him sold to a red-light district in Southeast Asia, were you thinking about mercy?
You wanted to use this marriage for your familys gain, didnt you? Well, this is the price for scheming against me.
Im in charge now. Even the old man cant stop me. The fact that your parents are still alive is a testament to my generosity.
Seraphina had her bodyguards hold me down. They forced handfuls of pills down my throat.
I felt the blood drain from me as a private doctor confirmed to her that I would never be able to have children.
She covered Leos eyes, whispering gently, Dont look. Its filthy.
In that moment, I started to laugh. Laughing at my own foolish, delusional heart.
Lets get a divorce.
She froze, a strange flicker of anger in her eyes. She grabbed my chin, her gaze hardening. What, you realize theres nothing left to gain from this marriage, so you want to cut and run? Not a chance.
If it weren't for you, Leo wouldnt still be struggling to walk. You will behave, or the Wen family might be finished, but your parents are still alive, aren't they?
She refused the divorce, but flaunted Leo everywhere, spoiling him to a scandalous degree. She let the media splash their intimate photos across every screen, and every time, she would just smile and tell them to talk to me. She pushed me into the line of fire, alone, forcing me to endure the shame and clarify the rumors, to admit again and again that I was a fraud, a self-serving thief.
It was torture. It was revenge.
And as a reward, she would keep the creditors away from my parents.
I thought things couldnt get any worse. As long as my parents were safe, this broken, humiliating marriage didnt seem to matter.
But a single phone call from the hospital taught me that there is no bottom to hell.

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "294887" to read the entire book.