Chapter 53: Is this some kind of punishment?

The words crashed into Noah with devastating force. He felt a sharp pain laced through his chest.

"Calling someone else your husband?" His eyes turned watery. "Is this some kind of punishment?"

Punishment?

Yes.

Elena wanted to kill him for what he did to their child. But death would be too merciful for him.

She wanted him to suffer. She would keep him alive and make him regret every moment of his life.

"I am nothing like you," she said coldly. "I don’t lie. I don’t hide the truth."

She interlaced her fingers with Elias’s. "I am legally married to him."

Everything around Noah seemed to blur. It was as if the floor beneath him vanished.

"No..." He refused to believe it. "You are saying this to hurt me. How could you marry someone else when you are still my wife?"

"I can marry anyone I want," Elena shot back. "Because I am no longer your wife."

She held his gaze without flinching. "We are already divorced."

Those words echoed through him long after she had spoken.

Divorced?

’She knew?’

Noah had thought he had concealed it well. But it turned out that she had already found out about it.

The realization hit him with a staggering force.

"You thought you could hide it forever," Elena continued, taking a step toward him. "You thought that if you lied enough, I would never discover the truth. But you forget that the truth can’t be concealed for long. It will find its way to come to the surface."

Noah’s face turned ghostly pale. He didn’t know how to explain, but he still tried. "Listen to me, Elena. I can explain."

"I don’t need your explanation," she interrupted him sharply. "You betrayed me, hurt me, and destroyed me. You broke my heart, my trust, and my hope. You shattered everything we built together. What exactly is there left to explain?"

Noah opened his mouth and then closed it. He wanted to say something, anything that could justify his actions. But there was nothing.

Deep down, he knew he was guilty. No explanation would erase what he had done. No excuse could undo the damage.

"You and I are over. I am now married to Elias. So don’t bother me again."

She turned toward Elias and reached for his hand. "Let’s go."

Elias nodded and immediately clasped her hand. Just as they walked out the door, Noah rushed after them.

"Elena, wait."

Their steps paused.

"What now?" Elena asked coldly but didn’t turn to look at him.

Noah stared at her stiff back, and then his gaze dropped to her hand intertwined with Elias’s. The sight felt unbearable.

"I don’t believe it." He forced those words past his clenched teeth.

Elena slowly turned around, a deep frown etching her brow.

"You love me. You can never marry someone else," Noah uttered with certainty. "You are saying this only to hurt me, to make me jealous."

Elias laughed mockingly. "To make you jealous? Who do you think you are?"

"You..." Noah ground his teeth. "Stay out of it. This is between her and me."

"She is my wife," Elias said, holding his gaze fiercely. "Her matter is my matter."

Noah stormed forward and grabbed his collar. "Say that again, and I’ll kill you."

"Get away from him." Elena pushed him away and shot him a warning glare.

"It’s okay, Elena." Elias pulled her behind. "Let me handle this."

He stood in front of Noah, holding his chin high. "You don’t believe me, right? How about I show you the proof?"

Noah’s eyebrows dipped. An unfamiliar fear crept into his heart.

Elias remained calm. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out the marriage certificate.

"Take a good look, Noah Sinclair." He pointed at Elena and his photograph on the certificate. "We are legally married."

Elena gaped at him in surprise. ’He actually carries it with him!’

For a brief second, she didn’t know whether to laugh or feel touched.

Noah stared at the certificate, the official seal, the signatures, and the photograph.

Everything was right in front of him. Yet his mind refused to accept it.

"This can’t be true," he mumbled in a daze. "This is fake. This has to be fake."

"It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not," Elena muttered, her patience running out. "I am now with Elias. Get that through your head. If you keep coming after me, I’ll take legal action against you."

Dropping that warning, she held Elias’s hand and walked away.

Noah stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

"No... I can’t let her leave me. She is mine. She can only be mine."

He started walking, and then his strides quickened. "Elena..."

He broke into a run.

"Noah?" Tessa appeared suddenly, blocking his way. "Where were you? I was looking for you everywhere... Uh..."

Before she could finish speaking, Noah shoved past her.

He didn’t even hear what she was saying. His entire focus was on Elena.

When he burst out of the restaurant, he saw her stepping into Elias’s car. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Elena, wait..." He ran faster.

But the car pulled away. Within seconds, it disappeared into traffic.

Noah stopped by the side of the road. His chest heaved violently, his breathing becoming erratic. Slowly, his fingers curled into fists. Pain and anger warred across his face.

"Elena, if you think you can escape me, you are wrong," he groaned out the words. "I’ll bring you back. Just wait."

"Noah?" Tessa’s voice came from behind.

But he ignored her. Without a glance, he got into his car and sped away.

"Wait... Noah..." Tessa ran after the car, but it didn’t stop. It vanished into the distance.

She stomped her feet.

Fury smoldered in her gaze. "Ugh," she let out a suppressed groan. "It’s all because of Elena. I’ll make her pay. I’ll ruin her reputation."

She dropped her gaze to her phone. Opening her gallery, she scrolled through the photographs of Elena and Elias she had secretly taken inside the restaurant.

A dangerous light flashed in her eyes.

"You think you can grab Noah’s attention by hiring an actor. Let’s see how long you can keep pretending."

She called a number.

"Hello. I have spicy news." After a moment of pause, she added, "It’s a shameful scandal of the Sinclair family."

"Tell me more," a woman said excitedly from the other end of the line.

"Noah Sinclair’s fiancée is cheating on him."

"Really? Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes."

Tessa immediately forwarded all the photographs. "Check your messages."

A moment later, the woman from the other end exclaimed, "These photographs will explode online. Just wait for tomorrow. This is going to create a sensation."

Tessa smiled vilely. This was what she wanted – Elena being humiliated in public.

’This is the price you have to pay for messing with me,’ she muttered inwardly. ’I’ll make you lose your face.’