FAR GONE

Chapter 27

I couldn’t take it anymore. The moment Aria and her father walked in, something inside me snapped. I stood up instantly, my chair scraping loudly against the marble floor.

My eyes followed them as Alexander Dreyford strode towards Mr. Lucien.

“Lucien,happy birthday. May this day bring you more strength and wealth.”

Lucien’s lips curved into a smile. “Ah, Alexander. Your presence alone is already a gift. Thank you.”

Then Alexander stepped aside slightly, placing a hand on Aria’s back as though presenting her like a trophy.

“And this—this is my daughter, Aria. She has returned to where she belongs.”

I froze.

Aria bowed her head slightly, her soft voice carrying grace.

“It’s an honor, Mr. Lucien. I wish you a happy birthday as well.”

“From today,” Alexander continued proudly, “Aria will officially join the Elite society. She is taking over my company.”

The words hit me harder than any fist could. My heart twisted. My breath caught. I never imagined not in my entire life that my wife, would return to her father.

The party pressed on, music and chatter resuming, but I was locked in a haze. My eyes never left her.

Aria was laughing, greeting people, conversing with ease. I had never seen her like this before. She had always been reserved, shy even. When her father cast her out for being pregnant with my child, she hadn’t fought back. She had chosen me. Lived a modest, quiet life by my side. Even when I was jailed for five years, she waited, enduring humiliation, holding on to the hope that I would come back.

But now… this woman sitting there wasn’t the Aria I knew.

I clenched my fists, waiting for the right time to approach her. But every second felt like sand slipping through my fingers.

She lifted a glass of wine. Wine. My chest tightened. Aria never drank alcohol. She couldn’t even stand the smell.

And then came Elias. The bastard wouldn’t leave her alone.

“You’re so beautiful, Aria,” he said, leaning in with that mocking smile.

Aria gave a polite reply, trying to brush him off, but he pressed harder.

“How about a drink with me after the party?”

She laughed nervously, shaking her head. “I’m afraid I have an early morning. Maybe another time.”

“That’s bad,” Elias grinned, loud enough for the others to hear. “New members of the Elite always celebrate with a drink. Why are you rejecting my offer when I’m only being friendly?”

Before she could answer, he grabbed a bottle of wine, popped it open, and poured it into a crystal glass. Aria’s eyes darted between the cup and the people at the table—her father, Lucien, Milton, all of them watching silently. Their gazes were heavy, expectant.

Elias slid the glass toward her.

“Drink.”

I saw the anxiety on her face. She didn’t want to. But if she refused, what would happen? Would she humiliate her father here, in front of the entire society?

Slowly, trembling, she lifted the cup and gulped it down.

Elias clapped mockingly, and the others joined in.

“That’s it!” Elias cheered. “She drinks just like her father!”

Lucien chuckled. Milton nodded in approval. Her father smiled with pride.

“Then let’s have another!” Elias smirked, already pouring.

I could feel my blood boiling. My jaw locked so tight I thought my teeth would break. Darren sat frozen—he couldn’t do anything. Nobody moved.

But I couldn’t just sit there.

I stood.

Mia caught my arm, panic in her voice.

“Kael! Where are you going?”

I didn’t look back. My eyes were fixed on one thing, my Aria.

I moved across the hall, my steps echoing. The guards at the base of the elevated platform stopped me, their arms outstretched.

“Cards,” one of them said firmly.

“Move.” My voice was low, dangerous.

“You can’t pass without the proper card.”

I growled, my patience gone. “I said, move!”

They repeated the demand. That was it.

Rage exploded inside me. My fist shot forward, cracking ribs, and the guard flew back, crashing into the table. The other swung at me, but I grabbed his arm, twisted, and hurled him down onto the polished floor.

CRASH!

The table shattered, glasses spilled, and screams erupted around us. Gasps echoed through the grand hall as the music cut.

And I stood there, my eyes blazing at the people who thought they could take my wife away from me.

Guards rushed toward me again, but I didn’t even glance at them. My steps were steady, heavy with anger, until I reached the table. Her eyes widened when she saw me, her lips trembling as she whispered my name.

“Kael…” she said softly, almost like a plea.

My gaze dropped to the glass in her hand. Wine. Alcohol. She never touched it in her life, yet here she was, holding it like it belonged to her. Something inside me snapped. Without asking, I snatched the glass from her, raised it to my lips, and gulped it down in one swift motion.

Gasps rippled across the room. The whole hall froze. Even the Elites stared in disbelief.

Aria stood up, she looked so angry. “What are you doing?!” she shouted, her voice sharp enough to cut through the silence.

I slammed the empty glass on the table and leaned closer to her. “No, Aria, I should be the one asking you that. What are you doing here?” My voice dripped with venom. “Do you really have time to sit here, drinking and smiling with these men, while our son is out there—alone, in danger?”

Her face flinched, but I didn’t stop. The words poured out, raw and cruel, each one laced with the bitterness that had been festering inside me.

“What kind of mother are you?” I spat. “Liam is fighting for his life, and you’re here… pretending you belong with them, sipping wine like some pampered doll. Have you forgotten him already? Or do you think a few glasses of alcohol will wash away the fact that you abandoned your child?”

My voice rose louder, more cutting. “Tell me, Aria, is this the mother Liam deserves? A woman who hides behind her father’s name and drinks while her son suffers?”

The hall was dead silent. Everyone was watching—Lucien, Elias, even her father—but I only saw her.

Her face twisted with anger and hurt, her hands trembling at her sides. And suddenly she raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

The sound cracked through the hall like thunder.

The sting burned on my cheek, but it wasn’t the pain that shook me—it was the silence that followed. Every single person in that hall froze. No one breathed, no one spoke. The room was stunned into stillness.

My wife staring at me with fire in her eyes, her chest heaving, her hand still trembling from the strike.

My cheek still burned from her slap. My own wife. My hand lingered there, pressed to the sting, as the hall buzzed with whispers.

“Is that not him?” one woman murmured.

“Yes… the man who killed all his comrades five years ago…” another replied, her voice hushed but sharp enough to pierce me.

“He went to jail. What is he doing here?”

“Who on earth invited a criminal to such a gathering?”

Their words rippled around me like venom, spreading fast, but I didn’t care. I didn’t even look at them. My eyes were on her—Aria. My wife.

I reached out, gently but firmly holding her wrist. “We need to talk,” I said, my voice low, pleading, almost desperate.

She yanked her hand away as though my touch burned her. Her eyes were cold, her face pale with fury. “Leave me alone, Kael!”

My heart twisted. “What is happening to you? Why are you acting like this?”

Her lips trembled, her voice cracking, but her words were sharp. “I will do everything in my power to protect my son.”

I staggered back as if she had struck me again. “Do you think this is the right way?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“Yes,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks as she looked straight at me. Then her gaze flicked to where Mia sat in the crowd. “You can live with the woman you want now, Kael. I don’t care.”

Her words gutted me.

The guards rushed in then, heavy steps echoing, hands grabbing at me. I didn’t resist. I couldn’t. My strength had already drained away the moment her words pierced me. I stood there like stone as they shoved me back, dragging me toward the edge of the hall.

I didn’t fight. I didn’t even look at them. My eyes never left Aria until the very last second, when she turned her face away.

They pushed me outside, roughly, and I stumbled to the ground. Mia rushed toward me immediately, her hands under my arms, her voice soft and worried. Darren followed quickly, bending to help.

“Kael, get up—” Mia whispered, steadying me.

I shoved them both away, rising on my own feet, my chest heaving. “Don’t,” I muttered, broken and sharp. “Just… don’t.”

And then I left the place. I didn’t know where my legs carried me, only that I needed air, I needed space. I had never felt this shattered in all my life. Not even prison broke me the way this moment did.

At the main road, I stopped. My breath fogged in the night air. Memories stormed me—Aria’s smile, the nights we spent dreaming of a family, the hope we clung to when everything else was stripped from us. Liam’s tiny hands wrapped around my finger.

I clenched my fists, feeling helpless—utterly useless—for not being able to protect them, not even my own family.

And then, as if the heavens themselves mocked me, the rain poured down. Heavy, cold, unrelenting. It drenched me to the bone, but I didn’t move. I let it wash over me, my head bowed, my body numb.

Then—a soft sound. The rain softened against me, replaced by a shadow overhead. I blinked and turned my head. An umbrella covered me.

Mia stood there, her hand gripping the handle, her eyes worried and questioning. “Why are you like this, Kael? Why can’t you control yourself?”

Her voice was sharp but trembling. I looked at her, really looked at her—into her eyes. For a moment, I saw the concern, the care… but it wasn’t what I wanted. Not what I needed.

I pushed her hand away, letting the umbrella fall to the side. The rain immediately crashed back down on me, cold and heavy. Without a word, I turned to walk away.

Then—headlights. A sudden roar of an engine.

Before I could react, a car sped out of nowhere, its tires slicing through the wet road. The impact slammed into me with brutal force.

“MIA!” I heard myself cry—but it wasn’t my voice. It was hers.

The world spun as my body rolled against the wet ground, pain exploding in every corner of me. I landed hard, my chest seizing, my breath stolen. The car didn’t stop. It drove away, vanishing into the rain like a ghost.

“KAEL!” Mia’s scream split the night. She rushed to me, falling to her knees in the mud and water, her hands frantically pulling me into her arms.

“Wake up, Kael! Don’t you dare close your eyes—don’t you dare!” She tapped my cheeks, desperation breaking her voice. “Stay with me! Please, stay with me!”

Her hands were shaking, her cries raw, echoing into the storm as she looked around wildly. “Help! Somebody help! Please!”

Her tears mixed with the rain as she clung to me, her voice breaking, panicked, begging. “Kael, don’t fall asleep, don’t do this to me—please!”

But my vision blurred. My chest grew heavy. The edges of the world dimmed.

And finally… my eyes shut.