Chapter 68: The Final Severance

Chapter 68: The Final Severance

(Patricia ckthorne’s POV)

With outsiders present, I wiped away my tears and slowly got up. “Nathan, you came.”

These three days, Nathan Sterling had been helping with the handling of Richard’s affairs. I had a good impression of him because of his kindness.

Nathan nodded respectfully. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to manage.”

I smiled wryly, feeling the weight of exhaustion in my bones. “It’s okay, bjust /bbury him directly, no need bfor /bany

ceremonies.”

Presumably, my mate in the moon goddess’s realm wouldn’t want to see that scene again. The thought of Richard watching from above made my heart ache even more.

(Elena’s POV)

I took Richard’s ashes and buried them in the Eternal Rest Cemetery. The morning air was crisp and cold

against my skin.

There were only four people present: Patricia, myself, Nathan Sterling, and Marcus’s Driver. The funeral was consideredplete.

The simplicity felt appropriate somehow Richard had always been a humble man who didn’t seek attention

or grand gestures.

Nathan stood beside me as we watched Patricia ce the urn in its final resting ce. His presence wasforting in a way that surprised me.

The driver remained at a respectful distance, his head bowed in silent acknowledgment of our loss.

(Marcus ckwood’s POV)

At the ckwood Ancestral Manor, I absentmindedly stared at my phone screen. For three whole days, Elena hadn’t returned home, not a single call, not a single text message.

The silence from her felt like a physical weight pressing down on my chest. I had never experienced this kind of uncertainty before.

“Marcus!” Victoria ckwood stormed into the study, her voice sharp with anger. “Are you crazy? How can you let that little bastard live in the ckwood family!”

I put away my phone, lifting my eyelids to meet her furious gaze. “He’s just a pup.”

“It’s not your pup, why are you so worried?” Victoria was about to be driven mad by my apparent indifference. “What, you don’t want to have your own, so you have to raise someone belse’s/b?b” /b

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes to rest. I felt slightly weary from the constant tension.

“Just letting him stay in the ckwood family for a while.”

“I don’t agree!” Her voice rose to an almost shriek.

Chapter 68. The Final Sey

Iughed softly, the sound Incking any real humor. “It’s not like I’m asking you to take care of him.

“Marcus, do you really not understand or are you pretending not to?” Victoria’s frustration was palpable. you keep him in the ckwood family, what will people think? What will Elena think?”

“I wished c***k open your head to see if your father and you shared a brain. If your thoughts were the same stubborn, Iprehensible mess.” She said frustratedly.

I casually loosened my tie, feeling the fabric constrict around my throat. “Don’t you dislike her?”

“I don’t like Elena, but I know what’s important!” Victoria’s voice cracked with exasperation. “She’s still your Lunal If I don’t speak up for her, am I going to help a pack outsider?”

I seemed to dislike that word, frowning slightly at the Implication. “Sophia is not a pack outsider.”

Victoria scoffed coldly, her eyes shing with disgust. “Someone like you, if you and Sophia didn’t have something going on, I really wouldn’t believe it!”

“The innocent are always innocent; I don’t need others to believe me.” My voice carried a finality that brooked

no argument.

As I walked out of the manor, Amber Stone, who was waiting outside, received a call and approached me. Her expression was carefully neutral, but I could sense her tension.

“Alpha, I just received news that Richard ckthorne is dead. Elena has been handling her father’s funeral for

the past three days.”

I paused, my gaze suddenly fixed on Amber’s face withser intensity. “When did this happen?”

Amber lowered her head, unable to meet my eyes. “Three days ago… um, I heard that it was toote when the pack healers arrived, they missed the best golden treatment period.”

I loosened the top two buttons of my cor, my expression bing increasingly gloomy. The weight of this revtion settled over me like a suffocating nket.

In the end, I didn’t say anything, getting into the car with mechanical movements.

(Elena’s POV)

That night, after Patricia fell asleep, I returned to Moonhaven Estate to pack my clothes. I was nning to move back for a while to take care of her.

As I entered, the Great Hall was brightly lit. Marcus was sitting at the bar, drinking whiskey with methodical

precision.

There were at least a dozen empty sses scattered around him, far exceeding his usual amount. In my memory, he didn’t have a strong drinking habit, only drinking asionally.

Even though the venttion was on, I could still smell the strong scent of alcohol permeating the hall. The smell made my stomach turn.

He looked at me, setting down thest ss in his hand. His voice bwas /blow and hoarse when he bspoke/b.

b“/bYou’re back.

I expressionlessly passed him, changed my shoes in the Shadow Gate Foyer, and didn’t answer. The silence between bus /bfelt thick and oppressive.

Chapter 6 The Imal Sey

I went straight to the Master Suite, fook out a suitcase, and began packing my clothes with sharp, efficient

movements.

Marcus entered the room, seeing this scene. He quickly stepped forward, grabbing my arm with desperate

force.

“Where are you goingb?/bb” /b

I backhanded him, pping him btwice /bacross the left face. The sound echoed sharply in the quiet room

As I tried to continue, he grabbed my wrist with his Alpha strength. “Enough, Elenal”

“Not enough.” I stared at him, my eyes filled with anger, struggle, and the shackles of reason. “Marcus,

band /bSophia are the same, both deserve to diel

All that remained of my once most ardent feelings were resentment and hatred. The love I had once felt for

him had curdled into something toxic and bitter.

Seeing the hatred in my eyes, Marcus felt a tightness in his chest. It was as if a ball of wet cotton was

stuffed inside, bmaking /bit acutely painful.

During those few minutes of stalemate, the strength with which he held my wrist loosened. His grip became

almost gentle

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know the pack healers would bete.”

He, who was always self–possessed and aloof, would also lower his head to apologize and exin himself.

But it was all toote.

My eyes were bloodshot, a salty, fishy taste rose in my throat. Iughed, the sound harsh and broken.

“Prioritizing the rescue of patients with chest pain and stroke, wouldn’t you know that?”

“A pup who fell from the second floor, a ce just over two meters high, couldn’t wait a few minutes for pack healers, and had topete with a heart attack patient?” My voice rose with each word.

“Those few minutes were the golden rescue time for my father, you just snatched it away!”

My entire body shook uncontrobly. At that moment, I could hardly breathe, feeling dizzy, as if I were about

to faint at any moment.

Marcus’s chest tightened, and he pulled me into his arms. “Elena!”

Get away- I resisted his touch, and as I pushed him away, I gradually lost consciousness and fell to the

ground.

Thest thing I heard was the Alpha’s urgent voice calling my name.

At five in the morning at the end of July, the sky outside the window was already bright. When I opened my eyes again, the moonlight herb IV drip at the head of the bed came into view.

The familiar decor of the room and the smell of healing herbs made me realize that I was in the ckwood’s private healing sanctuary.

“You’re awake.” The Alpha’s low, hoarse voice sounded from somewhere nearby.

I turned my head. Marcus was sitting on the chair by the window, his legs crossed, looking through a pack business report.

His suit jacket was draped over the back of the chair. It seemed he hadrit slept all night, and his golden eyes: were tinged with weariness.

If this were before, he would have stayed by my side like this, and I didn’t know how touched I would have been. But now, I found it meaningless.

As I was about to sit up, Marcus frowned, suppressing his emotions and casually tossing the report aside He reached out, pressing me back down.

He stood at the bhead /bof the bed and looked down at me. “You’re suffering from emotional stress and fatigue;

now is the time to rest.”

Those three days after Richard’s death, I really hadn’t rested well. When I returned to Moonhaven Estate, I

already felt very tired.

My tone bwas /bunpleasant when I responded. “Can’t I even go to the washroom?”

Marcus’s eyebrows rxed slightly. As he was about to take the IV drip bottle, I waved his hand away with

sharp movements.

“I don’t need you.”

I took down the IV drip bottle and went to the washroom by myself. When I came out, I even acted as if

Marcus didn’t exist.

I hung the IV drip bottle back up by myself andy down on the bed. The mattress felt cold beneath my body.

Marcus’s gaze was fixed on my face with ufortable intensity. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Nothing.” The word came out t and emotionless.

His chest rose and fell with a deep breath, his jawline tightened, cold and hard. But he still took a step back.

“Elena, I’m very sorry about byour /bfather’s matter, but your body is your own; I don’t want you to torture

yourself.

I looked at him with eyes that held no warmth. “I don’t want to see you right now.”

I turned over, facing away from him. The gesture felt final, like closing a door.

Marcus was silent, stood for a moment, picked up his suit jacket from the chair. “If anything happens, call

me.”

I closed my eyes, not responding. The silence stretched between us like a chasm.

Marcus also opened the door and left. Hearing the sound of the door closing, I opened my eyes, my eyes

devoid of any emotion.

When Patricia learned that her daughter was in the healing sanctuary, she rushed over. Seeing that I was

okay, just exhausted, Patricia breathed a sigh of relief.

“You almost scared Mother to death. Now Mother only has you and David left, if something happened to you

too…

“Momb, /bit won’t.” I caressed bher /barm, smiling tofort herb. /b“I cherish my life very much.”

“That’s bgood/b.” Patricia smiled kindly, withdrew her hand, and slowly got up. “Mother will go buy you

breakfast.”

Chapter 68 The Final bSey /b

Watching Patricia’s departing figure, I felt a mixture of sorrow and joy in my heart. This was the first time I felt my mother’s care and love.

Even though her love was built on the loss of her mate and her son being in aa, it still meant everything

to me.

I stayed in the healing sanctuary for two days and was discharged on the third day. Afterpleting the formalities, I picked up my phone and called Legal Advocate Barnes.

Soon, the other party answered. “Luna Elenab?/b”

“Send that mate bond severance agreement to Marcus bnow/b.”

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