All I Ask Is a Quiet Life

Celeste's hand loosened, and her phone clattered to the floor. Blood rushed to her head, sending pain shooting through her. She felt like she was going through the ordeal of being slashed again.

So, Terence was the one who'd hired that man to do that to her so that he could get even on Winona's behalf.

Celeste's lashes trembled, and her heart twisted painfully. She could barely breathe through the agony. She sobbed in earnest before drifting off into a restless sleep.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Winona's voice awakened her. The latter cried, "Didn't you say you would get back at her for me, Terence? Why are you mad now? You left me at the banquet hall last night because of her, and you're being so fierce to me now! Do you not love me anymore?"

This time, Terence didn't coax her tenderly. He said, "I promised to get even for you, but I didn't say anything about killing her! Don't you know why I'm mad? It's because you told the driver to run Celeste over!"

He still couldn't shake the image of Celeste lying on the ground with her face ashen as the car slowly crept toward her to crush her. She'd almost died there, and his heart had stopped at that moment.

He remembered her being soaked in blood as he'd lifted her into his arms. He'd rushed her to the hospital and watched as her heart rate dropped so low that it almost evened out. Her face had been devoid of color, and it was almost as if she would never wake up to disturb him anymore.

He'd panicked in that moment, and his mind had been blank as he'd stood outside the ER.

Winona looked at Terence indignantly, biting her lip in fury when she saw the emotions swirling in his eyes. She couldn't read them, nor did she dare to delve deeper into them. All she knew was that she had to act quickly.

She said, "Alright, alright. I know I went too far. I was too impulsive. I heard that Celeste's bodyguards are investigating what happened yesterday. Will she know that I—"

Terence's anger dissipated when he heard her backing down and humbling herself. Before she could finish, he cut her off and said, "She won't. She won't find out anything with me around."

Winona smiled in earnest. "We'll leave it at that, then. Didn't you say you would fake your death and take me away? Do you have everything planned?"

He said, "The corpses have already been transported here. It'll be Celeste's birthday in a week, and there will be a party. That's when we leave."

She relaxed at his words. She dried her tears and clung to him, saying that she wanted to visit a chapel in Astora and pray for their plan to work out.

Terence glanced at Celeste's hospital ward hesitantly, but all Winona had to do was whine softly. He turned back to her and immediately agreed. They left the hospital.

Inside the room, emotions swirled in Celeste's eyes. She bit her lip and called her secretary, saying, "Speed things up at the company. If there are things that can't be dealt with yet, set them aside for now. Buy me a ticket for a flight out of here in five days."

After hanging up, she shut her eyes and tried to stop her chest from heaving. Terence had everything planned out… except for her. She wasn't something he could control. Since he was keeping such a "surprise" from her, she would just ensure that she left before he could.

She didn't want to stay here and deal with the fallout of their impulsiveness.

…

Celeste spent five days in the hospital. She received two pieces of good news on the day she was discharged.

The first was that her company headquarters transfer was complete, and the second was that her immigration application had been approved. She was free to leave.

Her eyes prickled with tears as she listened to Hayden's excited voice on the other end of the line. She wiped her tears, catching sight of her wedding ring out of the corner of her eye.

Her gaze darkened. After a brief pause, she took the ring off and threw it down a drain.

It was all over now.

At the airport, Celeste collected her boarding pass and made her way to the boarding gate. As she looked around casually, she happened to see Terence and Winona walking side by side while holding hands. They wore matching dark-colored coats, and their outstanding appearances attracted attention.

Celeste watched them calmly until they disappeared from her line of sight. Then, she blocked Terence's number everywhere before removing her SIM card and snapping it in half. She threw it into a trash can and turned around.

It was time for her to board her flight.