ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 164: My decision is final

The name fell like a prayer that had never been fully spoken.

Before her, the blue gem reflected the candlelight beautiful, serene, and cruel in its calmness. Every fragment fell into place now, the coat, the silence, the overly careful attention, the postponed promises, the words that had never been said.

Valerie stood rigid.

She didn’t cry. She didn’t move.

Some wounds choose silence, because no sound could change what had already happened. Ethan stood beside her without speaking he knew that words, now, would only feel like an insult.

Beneath the cloak, Valerie’s hand clenched, then slowly loosened. She released a long breath, like someone who had just accepted a verdict handed down by her own fate.

Below them, the ceremony continued.

Above it, a heart learned how to say goodbye even before it had ever been given the chance to say farewell.

The wedding was real.

Not a shadow, not a misunderstanding that could still be undone by explanation. Between stone pillars and trembling candlelight, vows had been spoken and the blue-eyed ring now gleamed on Ivanka’s finger, binding something that could no longer be disguised as possibility.

Valerie felt the blood drain from her face. The world shrank into a single throbbing point at her temples. The air felt too thin to breathe. Her legs weakened, her vision blurred not from tears, but from a body refusing to accept a truth her mind was forcing upon it too quickly.

"Valerie." Ethan’s voice was close, urgent.

He didn’t wait for an answer. He caught her before her knees fully gave way, pulling her back from the small balcony. The temple corridors felt longer as they retreated narrower, colder while the prayers and murmurs from the main hall faded behind them like echoes from another life.

When they stepped outside, daylight struck with cruel clarity. Valerie stopped at the threshold, her breath coming in uneven breaks. She didn’t cry. Her eyes were dry too dry as if even tears refused to come and save her from this silence.

Ethan stood in front of her, regret written plainly across his face."I’m sorry," he said at last, low but steady. "I know... you may hate me for showing you this."

Valerie shook her head. The movement was small, almost imperceptible."No," she replied. Her voice was flat calm in a way that hurt. "I’m grateful."

Ethan fell silent.

"If I hadn’t seen it today," Valerie continued, swallowing hard, "I would have kept waiting. Kept making excuses. Kept hoping for words that were never going to be spoken. That would have been crueller."

She stepped back once, creating distance. Her gaze flicked briefly toward the temple not to look for anyone, but to close a door inside herself. Then she turned away.

"Valerie," Ethan called, his voice held back by something he could not fix.

She paused, but didn’t turn around.

"If you need anything," Ethan said more loudly now, pushing through the widening space between them, "I’ll help you. Anything."

Valerie didn’t answer. She walked on. And that step slow, certain was firmer than any reply.

She returned to Lena’s house through the back door. The hinges creaked softly as it opened, the scent of herbs greeting her like a memory that had once been warm.

Lena looked up from the old wooden table, her brows knitting at once."You came in through the back?" she asked. Her gaze then shifted, catching sight of Ethan standing a few steps outside. "And you’re not alone."

Valerie didn’t respond. She stood in the center of the room, shoulders straight, face pale yet her eyes were clear. Too clear. The eyes of someone who had made a decision and had no intention of arguing with the world about it.

"I’ll join the caravan," she said. Direct. Without preface. "Tomorrow."

The words fell like a stone into still water.

Lena froze. She studied Valerie for a long moment, as if reading lines of resolve written where no words existed. Then her gaze moved to Ethan, who stepped inside, confusion and concern colliding on his face.

"Valerie," he said softly, "where will you go?"

Valerie turned. Her eyes met his whole, unclouded. "Anywhere," she answered simply. "As long as it isn’t here."

Not escape. Severance.

Lena let out a long, heavy breath the breath of someone who knows when to stop asking questions."Very well," she said at last. "Come tomorrow morning. We leave then."

Valerie nodded. A single nod small, but final.

She turned and walked out, passing Ethan and Lena without looking back. There were no farewells. No promises to return. Only steps that were unhurried, yet unwavering.

Outside, the late afternoon light dimmed, shadows stretching across the road. Valerie brushed a hand gently over her belly an almost reflexive motion and for the first time since the temple, her breathing steadied.

She did not cry.

Not because it didn’t hurt but because she had chosen to live.And for that night, that choice was enough.

Inside the carriage, Valerie sat still.

Too still.

The creak of wooden wheels over the cobblestone road repeated in a steady rhythm, and yet it only made the silence more pronounced. The window curtains swayed gently in the late-afternoon breeze, filtering golden light onto Valerie’s face a face that looked calm, almost serene, and yet somehow unfamiliar to those who knew her well.

Sera sat across from her, while Lira occupied the seat beside her. The two exchanged glances brief looks filled with unspoken questions.

Usually, Valerie would be gazing out the window in a daze, or complaining about the jolting road, or at the very least resting a hand over her stomach with a soft, tender smile. But now, her hands were folded neatly in her lap. Her eyes were fixed on a point that did not exist, as if her soul had wandered far from her body.

"Lady Valerie..." Sera finally spoke, hesitant. "Are you feeling well?"

Valerie blinked slowly, as though only then becoming aware of their presence. Her gaze shifted to Sera, then to Lira. A faint smile appeared too faint, too controlled.

"I’m fine," she said gently.

Lira was not convinced. She knew that tone the one Valerie used when she did not want to be questioned further. "You’ve been very quiet today," she said carefully. "Did something happen?"

Valerie turned her gaze back to the window. The afternoon sky stretched wide, pale blue brushed with gold. The city looked lively people moving about, some carrying flowers, others dressed in their finest clothes. Laughter echoed faintly in the distance. Somewhere, the muted toll of church bells could be heard.

A living day.A joyful day.

Valerie’s smile widened just a fraction a smile that never reached her eyes. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"It’s a beautiful day," she murmured, almost as if speaking to herself. "And to hold a wedding on a day like this..." She paused, as though choosing her words. "That must be the happiest thing for a couple who decide to marry."