[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603134E5B19-23":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},23,5,"Chapter 5: Ten Days to Freedom","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A lightbulb flickered in Celine Evans’ mind. She stood up and padded back to her room, rummaging through the deepest part of a drawer to pull out a calendar.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was covered, wall-to-wall, with countdowns she’d meticulously marked over the years.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Now, she added another tally.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Countdown to Divorce: 10 Days Left!\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">No one knew that Celine, who had clung to this marriage with gritted teeth, looked forward to one thing every single day:\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Leaving Dante Williams.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d been waiting a whole decade for this.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine hailed from the sticks, a tiny, dirt-poor village. She was a brainy kid, a real scholar in the making, or so her teachers claimed. But her family had zero cash for higher education.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d figured her life was destined to fizzle out in that forgotten corner of the world.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Then, BAM, the Williamses entered the picture. Their company had a charity program, and when they heard her story, they offered to sponsor her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine was fifteen. Thanks to their backing, she could ditch her hometown and head to the city for school.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">More importantly, they saved her from an arranged marriage her parents were pushing. She got to study, she got her freedom.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Back then, she swore those two were her guardian angels, and she’d repay them forever.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But just three months after she’d arrived in the city, a freak car accident snatched them away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine was in the middle of an exam. When the news hit, she bolted for the hospital, no questions asked.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The place was mobbed. Being from a humble background, Celine couldn't shove her way to the front.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She could only catch glimpses through the crowd of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, hovering between life and death.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">In their final moments, Celine saw her benefactors. Their eyes were wild, fixed on their only son, tears streaming, a silent plea in their gaze.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That was also the first time she laid eyes on the young man named Dante Williams.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Back then, Dante sat by the bedside, his usual swagger gone, his eyes raw as he kept vigil for his parents.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine had planned to properly thank Mr. and Mrs. Williams when she grew up, but fate had other plans.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Seeing the Williamses close their eyes with such profound regret, Celine made a silent vow.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She would step into their shoes and look after Dante.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">So, she gave herself ten years to settle this debt of gratitude.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">From that day on, everyone in the city knew the story of the country bumpkin girl dreaming of a Cinderella fairytale, dogging the footsteps of the young master of the Williams family like a constant shadow.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine paid it no mind.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She just poured everything into being good to Dante. When he wanted to marry her, she said yes.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When he wanted to humiliate her, she took it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She sacrificed a decade of her life to pay off her debt to the Williamses.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And now, that ten-year mark was just ten days away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Clutching the countdown chart, Celine recalled how casually Dante had tossed his wedding ring aside.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She figured, maybe this was for the best. When she brought up divorce, he’d probably be thrilled.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Over these ten years, it wasn’t like Celine’s heart had never skipped a beat.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She had to admit, Dante was a total dreamboat.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That one time he glanced back during a high school football game, laughing with his buddies in a sun-drenched polo shirt. The moment he slipped the ring onto her finger at their wedding.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Those were fleeting sparks, moments where Celine’s heart did a little flip. But they were just that – moments.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Such flutterings had long since faded, battered and bruised by wave after wave of torment.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">In the end, only the lingering echo of her debt remained.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She lowered her gaze, collected herself, and put the calendar back in the drawer.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That evening, Dante finally rolled home.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine, as always, had his dinner ready, along with hot water and slippers.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And she said nothing about Isabella Lopez.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dante, however, made no move to hide it, taking Isabella’s call right in front of her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">On the phone, Isabella asked if he was free for her recital in a few days.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They’d obviously been hanging out recently, so Celine didn’t buy that Isabella was only calling now.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She probably knew Dante was home and called just to stir the pot.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine ate her dinner in silence.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Got it, Bella. I’ll pencil you in for Saturday,” Dante agreed with zero hesitation.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He hung up and looked over at Celine, who was still calmly eating.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sensing his gaze, Celine knew she had to say something to avoid making it awkward.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Is that Isabella? She’s back in town?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dante nodded, then threw her a curveball: “Aren’t you gonna ask where I’ve been the last few days?”\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272931721]