I Let Him Choose His Ex This Time Chapter 08

I Let Him Choose His Ex This Time Chapter 08

Cressida’s POV 

Evangeline looked up at me, the tears finally spelling over. Her voice trembled. “Cressida, do you know what kind of financial trouble Lysander’s family is in? They can barely scrape together the deposit for the new project bid. If you cancel the engagement now, the Corleone family is finished.” 

I looked down at her and said nothing. 

Thinking I was hesitating, she grew more frantic. “If you marry him, he gets the Beaumont family’s capital, and everything gets solved. Cressida, I’m begging you-” 

“Evangeline,” I interrupted her. “You’re so worried the Corleone family will go under.” 

I tilted my head. “Where is the Monroe family’s money?” 

Her lips parted. She froze. 

You’ve been deeply in love for years. His family is on the brink of ruin, and you come here to kneel to *me* My voice was flat, but it cut to the bone. “Why don t I see you using your own family’s assets to save him? 

The color washed entirely from her face. 

I didn’t wait for her to conjure up an excuse. I turned around, went back inside, and shut the door. It wasn’t worth listening to a fool for another second. 

Over the next few days, I barely slept. I was buried in logistics reports, hotel asset appraisals, and draft 

contracts for the Beaumont port project. I piled files. on my desk, scrutinizing every single digit. It wasn’t until one afternoon, lifting my head from a pile of financial statements, that I noticed the afternoon sun slanting through the windows. Only then did it dawn 

on me that I hadn’t seen Gavin in days. dropped my pen, grabbed my car keys, and drove straight to Gavin’s place. 

He was standing by his desk, jacket slung over his chair, sleeves rolled up, reading through documents. Hearing me, he looked up. A faint movement pulled at the corner of his mouth–not quite a smile, but more genuine than one. 

“You’re here,” he said, as if he expected me. 

He put down the document, picked up another from the corner of the desk, and handed it to me, took it, glanced at it, and my mind went blank for a split second. 

It was a contract. The project name, the billions in equity, the “Party A” slot–it all said Beaumont Family. The multi–billion dollar port project I had been killing myself over for days was sitting perfectly in my hands, needing only a single signature on the bottom line. 

“Are you-” My voice shook slightly. “Are you insane?” 

His expression barely shifted. He looked at me, his tone light. “I happen to have what you want. Giving it to you is only natural.” 

I stared at the contract, a strange sensation swelling in my chest–warm, heavy, like a dam quietly breaking. 

“Then how…” my voice trailed off. “How do I repay you?” 

He didn’t answer immediately. After a moment, he reached out, his large palm covering my hand that held the contract, firmly clasping it. “Anything will do.” 

I looked at him. I looked into those eyes–usually so cold, but now containing something hidden, absolute, And entirely reserved for me. 

“Let’s go,” I heard myself say. 

“Where?” 

“City Hall.” 

We got our marriage certificate at 4 PM. When we walked out of City Hall, the sun hit my eyes, making me squint. Then I saw Lysander. 

He was standing at the bottom of the steps. He looked like he’d been waiting for a long time. His suit was immaculate, but his face was ashen. His eyes locked onto the document in my hand and froze, his face draining of blood until he looked like a corpse. 

“Cressida.” He walked up, his voice hoarser than I expected. “I’m sorry. It was my fault. I put you through hell recently, just give me one chance-” 

“Lysander.” I cut him off smoothly. 

He looked up, panic flashing in his eyes like I’d never seen before. That panic rapidly twisted into something bizarrely confident. He smiled a twisted, desperate smile. “Cressida, Evangeline orchestrated everything. She’s been trying to sabotage us. I will give you an explanation.” 

Watching him shift the blame entirely to Evangeline, watching the deranged “sincerity” burning in his eyes, I suddenly just felt exhausted. 

Goodbye, Lysander.” 

turned and walked toward the car. 

About a month later, I was lounging on the sofa, leaning against Gavin’s arm. Outside, the low hum of ship horns drifted in from the port. His hand rested on my shoulder as he casually flipped through a book, The room was so peaceful it felt like time had slowed down. My phone lit up on the table. A news alert. I glanced at it but didn’t move. 

The Corleone family’s capital chain had completely ruptured. Audits revealed massive discrepancies, all pointing to Evangeline–she had siphoned the last of their liquid funds and fled overnight. But she didn’t get far. Lysander hunted her down and pulled a gun on her on a deserted highway. Following that, Lysander was entirely ruined, and the Corleone empire collapsed. 

Gavin looked down at me. “Did you know this would Happen?” 

“Pretty much.” I flipped the phone face down. “He’s the kind of person who never thinks he’s wrong. In his eyes, all his failures are caused by others- Evangeline, me, Orion. Anyone is guilty, but him.” 

I paused. 

In my last life, he trapped me in a marriage for years grinding me down day by day. In the end, he dragged me into a fatal car crash, claiming he owed Evangeline 

life and needed to pay her back. Even in death, he needed a scapegoat.” 

Saying it out loud, I found it mildly amusing, though couldn’t laugh. “Of everyone, he is the most selfish one.” 

Gavin didn’t say anything, but he tightened his arm around me, holding me securely. 

A ship’s horn blew offshore–low and drawn out, like the sound of a coffin lid shutting tight. I closed my eyes. The nightmare of my past life could stay dead in the past. 

THE END