Chapter 856:
Her voice trembled as she pleaded, “It’s not a hundred million, but I’ll give you everything I have! Just spare me!”
The kidnappers exchanged glances, and their leader pretended to deliberate before muttering, “What rotten luck.” Then, with feigned irritation, he said, “Fine. I’ll be generous — one million. Pay up, and one person walks free. So, tell me, which will it be? You or one of those pretty boys?”
Paola’s savings totaled exactly two million, an amount that could secure the freedom of two lives.
Should she surrender it all?
Her gaze shifted toward Evan, whose unkempt appearance did little to conceal the quiet magnetism he carried. In a soft, pleading tone, he asked, “Paola, do you really have that much? Can you save me?”
Across from him, Mylo cut in sharply. “Paola, forget about him. Use that money to save yourself first! This isn’t the time to play hero!”
The kidnapper reached out and lightly tapped her cheek. “Well? Have you decided yet?”
Paola’s voice quivered as she answered, “I have two million.”
The man’s brows lifted, intrigued. “So, you’re planning to take one person with you?”
A flicker of hope appeared in Mylo’s eyes. “Paola.”
He held on to the fragile hope that, after everything they had endured together, Paola would choose him. Their love had been real; he believed that with all his heart. With desperation breaking through his trembling voice, he promised, “Once this is over, I’ll change. I’ll find a proper job, Paola, and I’ll make sure you live a good life.”
Evan, however, said nothing in response. He simply watched her, his calm eyes never leaving her face.
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But Paola’s gaze drifted past Mylo and came to rest on Evan instead. There was steadiness and warmth in Evan’s eyes, a quiet assurance that stirred memories of the kind and accomplished man who could take her far from the misery surrounding her.
On one side stood Mylo, forsaken by his parents, unpredictable and weak, a chain on her future; on the other was Evan, composed and worldly, able to give her a fresh start in Eryndor. To Paola, the answer came at once, needing no thought at all.
Under Mylo’s expectant stare, Paola drew in a steady breath. Her hand trembled for only a second before she pointed toward Evan.
“I choose Mr. Carrillo.”
The words left her lips crisp and firm, carrying not a shred of doubt.
It was as if thunder cracked inside Mylo’s skull. His eyes widened, searching her face for a hint of hesitation, some sign that she didn’t mean it.
But there was nothing — only calm. A quiet kind of freedom that came from finally letting go of something heavy.
“Why?” His voice broke, raw with disbelief. “Paola, you’re choosing him? You’d pick that stranger over me?”
Rage and hurt collided inside him until his whole body trembled. “Do you even realize what I’ve given up for you?” he shouted.
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