Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: It Took Him 10 Years to Reach This Point

The blue diamond ring she had left in the study.

It wasn’t for Stella Locke. Her initials were even engraved on the inner band.

She had worn it for so long, yet she’d never looked closely at the inside, and Miles Warren had never mentioned it.

But that time in the car, when she’d said she wanted a new ring, Miles Warren’s gaze had been so heavy, so deep. Back then, she’d thought he was reluctant to part with the memory of Stella Locke, so she had forced the new ring onto his finger.

And what had he said? That as long as she liked it, that was all that mattered.

Jonathan Keller’s angry roar suddenly echoed in her ears—’Ten years! How many ten-year periods does a person get?!’

Claire Kendall’s mind went blank. She had to go back. Even with this mess on her hands, she had to go back and find out the truth.

"Professor, could you please watch over the site for me? I’ll be right back."

"Hey, it’s pouring out there, where are you—"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Claire Kendall turned and bolted into the downpour, hailed a cab, and headed straight for Regency Gardens.

She was soaked to the bone. Without even stopping to change her shoes, she burst into Miles Warren’s study.

’The ring, where did I put the ring?’

She didn’t have time to think. She rummaged frantically, pulling open the bottom drawer. There it was—an exquisite blue velvet box.

Her fingertips trembled as she opened it, picked up the ring, and held it to the light to look at the inner band.

C.K.

She froze on the spot.

Claire Kendall. Her initials.

Beneath the ring were letters of various colors, preserved immaculately, without a single crease.

She opened them.

One, then another, and another... They were all in her handwriting, filled with the romantic lines she had written so casually.

They were the love letters she had ghostwritten in bulk during college to earn living expenses.

She had written countless naive words for all sorts of strangers. There were so many that she’d long since forgotten who she’d written them for.

Claire Kendall’s hands were shaking violently.

Miles Warren had collected and saved every single one.

The starting point of his love was so absurd—so absurd that she had never once suspected it.

She clutched the letters and slowly sank to the floor.

She read them over and over as tears streamed down her face, landing without warning and blurring the ink that had survived nearly a decade.

’How could anyone be such a fool?’

’Did he really cherish the things I wrote so carelessly and wait for me with such devotion for ten years?’

Guilt, sorrow, and regret—a tangled web of complex emotions—constricted her heart.

She leaned against the mahogany desk, almost unable to breathe.

Claire Kendall’s shoulders shook violently as a suppressed sob exploded in the study.

-

Miles Warren awoke in Jonathan Keller’s bedroom. After a somatic episode from his depression, every part of his body still ached.

The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was reach for his phone to reply to Claire Kendall.

He couldn’t find it, and his heart sank.

"Jonathan, my phone..."

Jonathan Keller said in a low voice, "What do you need your phone for? You’re sick. You should be resting."

"Help me tell her I’m away on a last-minute business trip for some intensive training." Miles Warren fell back onto the bed, completely drained of strength.

"Help me call the housekeeper and driver in my contacts. Have them go to Regency Gardens to take care of her for the next few days."

"And the bridal shop... go to the address, talk to the owner, and buy the wedding dress she had her eye on..."

Jonathan Keller’s anger, which he’d been suppressing all night, finally erupted.

He snatched Miles Warren’s phone and slammed it onto the floor.

"Miles Warren, are you a fucking idiot? She wants to divorce you! Divorce! Do you understand?"

"You almost died for someone who isn’t worth it, do you realize that?"

"Five years without an episode, all down the drain! Do you remember how you got better back then? By going abroad! By leaving her!"

"You can only survive by staying away from her! She wants a divorce? Then just give her one!"

In all these years, this was the first time Jonathan Keller had ever lost his temper like this in front of Miles Warren.

The moment he’d picked him up in front of the OCHH Building, he had truly thought Miles Warren was going to die.

The bedroom fell into a deep silence.

"My illness has nothing to do with her. It’s because of the Warren Family."

"She wants a divorce, but I won’t agree to it."

Miles Warren looked up at Jonathan Keller, his voice unnervingly calm.

"It took me ten years to get to this point. I’m not getting a divorce. Even if she’s in pain, she’ll have to be in pain with me."

"Where is she?"

Jonathan Keller, furious, gritted his teeth and blurted it all out.

"There was an explosion at a factory in the western suburbs. She’s busy with her career! Why would she have time to care whether you live or die? Miles Warren, for fuck’s sake, snap out of it!"

’An explosion at the factory?’

Miles Warren’s pupils constricted. The weakness throughout his body was instantly replaced by panic.

Forcing himself up, he got right out of bed. "Take me there. To the western suburbs."

"You want to go now?" Jonathan Keller could have kicked himself for his big mouth. He grabbed Miles Warren tightly. "You won’t be happy until you’ve killed yourself, will you? You’re not going!"

"Let go." Miles Warren’s eyes were bloodshot. "I’ll go by myself."

There was no room for negotiation, only a madness verging on the brink of collapse.

Jonathan Keller couldn’t hold him down or stop him.

"You’re insane. You’re both fucking insane..." Jonathan Keller trembled with anger. He gritted his teeth and grabbed his car keys.

"Fine! You’re my goddamn responsibility, I’ll take you!"

"I’ll go with you! Dammit, if you drop dead in the western suburbs, at least I’ll be there to give you first aid!"

Dawn had broken, but a long, drizzling rain was still falling.

The roads in the western suburbs became increasingly difficult to navigate. Jonathan Keller cursed as he drove.

At the factory in the western suburbs, the open flames had mostly been extinguished. But after burning for nearly the entire night, the thick smoke had not yet dissipated.

The walls were cracked, exposing rebar, and parts of the structure had completely collapsed.

Miles Warren broke through the cordon. He staggered forward, his eyes filled with nothing but panic and chaos as he frantically scanned the devastated factory grounds.

Rescue workers, firefighters, staff, and medical personnel moved back and forth. But the one person he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

Miles Warren’s heart was in his throat, a pain a hundred times sharper than the heartbreak he’d felt yesterday.

Ian Rhodes saw him—a Miles Warren who was out of control, completely devoid of reason.

’He really is devoted,’ Ian thought. ’Even after seeing the divorce papers, he still chased her all the way to the western suburbs.’

Ian Rhodes stepped forward, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Dr. Warren, are you looking for my senior?"

"Where is she?" Miles Warren’s bloodshot eyes locked onto him.

Ian Rhodes pointed behind him toward the factory building, which looked ready to collapse at any moment.

"My senior? Oh, she didn’t make it out."

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