Chapter 1325: But Without You, He’ll Only Hurt Himself

Chapter 1325: Chapter 1325: But Without You, He’ll Only Hurt Himself

"Don’t get divorced."

"Mm... huh?"

Aurelia felt a bit stifled.

She’d thought Grayson Quinn came to settle accounts with her, but the first thing out of his mouth was actually this.

"You... don’t blame me?"

"What would I blame you for? You were kidnapped back then—am I supposed to blame you for being so stupid you let someone abduct you? Then got taken hostage and used as a bargaining chip to threaten people." Grayson Quinn might’ve been using accusatory words, but there wasn’t a trace of accusation in his tone.

Aurelia arched a brow. "How about you let the Mafia kidnap you once? See if you’re stupid or not, see if you can be caught?"

Grayson Quinn: "..." When is this girl ever going to fix that habit of hers of never letting anyone off the hook once she’s in the right—she won’t take the slightest loss.

"Even if you don’t blame me, it’s still because of me that Balthazar... that he betrayed you guys, that he handed those confidential research results over to the Mafia, made all your years of hard work go to waste, and made you all sacrifice so many years for nothing." Aurelia’s eyes dimmed.

Now that she knew all this, she couldn’t calmly call Balthazar Shaw by name anymore, yet she also couldn’t call him Dad in front of Grayson Quinn.

Even though she hadn’t directly caused those things, she was the fuse. Balthazar Shaw’s momentary lapse that led him to betray his country was all for her.

She couldn’t pretend nothing had ever happened.

"You’re divorcing Mason Nightshade because of us?" Grayson Quinn looked at Aurelia.

"No."

"..."

Fuck! I actually got a little moved just now, and it turns out I was totally over‑imagining things myself! Can this girl maybe try being a little less brutally honest?

"I want Mason Nightshade to be happy being with me, not weighed down by a lifetime of infamy." Aurelia said in a low voice.

Grayson Quinn: "..." Why did he hear a bit of resentment in that? Must be his imagination, right?

"Mason can’t be happy without you."

"But he won’t be in pain."

"You don’t even have the courage to face pain together with Mason?"

Aurelia let out a laugh. To her, that kind of line was a bit ridiculous, but not long ago she’d also believed that no matter what happened in the future, she’d stay with Mason Nightshade, face everything with him. Now she’d realized she was wrong.

"If being together only means pain for two people, why keep staying together? Without me, Mason Nightshade might never truly be happy again, but he won’t spend his whole life being cursed, won’t be condemned every step of the way, won’t have to struggle with me in the abyss, won’t lose everything he has now.

You think facing hardship together is touching? No. It’s torture for both people.

I ache over the sacrifices he makes for me, and he aches over me having to go through a life that’s anything but good. Two people spend their entire lives living with guilt and pain toward each other—is that the kind of life two people who love each other are supposed to live?"

"Grayson Quinn, thank you for coming to talk to me today. From now on..." Aurelia’s voice hitched, "I’m afraid I’ll need you to take care of Mason Nightshade. Keep an eye on him. Don’t let anything happen to him. Don’t let him hurt himself."

Aurelia left, and Grayson Quinn was the only one left in the room.

"But without you, he’ll only hurt himself." Grayson Quinn murmured under his breath.

He had no right to meddle in other people’s feelings, and no standing to make choices for Aurelia.

Looks like this trip was for nothing.

...

In a certain villa, the hacker whose fingers had been flying over the keys suddenly stopped, turned his head toward the man on the sofa, feeling a bit intimidated. "Aurelia Shaw is divorcing Mason Nightshade right now."

Alaric Wood’s eyes snapped open.

The hacker shuddered. He was kind of scared of Alaric Wood. The way Alaric used to be was already twisted enough, already creepy enough. Now this cold, unreadable state of his only made his thoughts harder to guess—and made him even more terrifying.