Forsaking the Years of Longing
Forsaking Billionaire 39

Chapter 10

Linda's eyes grew misty, yet a smile appeared on her face.

"Yes, we can start over."

California.

A drunken Ivan sat amidst a sea of empty bottles.

His gaze was vacant, his face flushed red, yet he mechanically lifted another bottle to his lips.

Gone.

Everything was gone.

The house was stripped of everything that held Linda's presence.

He didn't even know when it had all disappeared.

In his phone, his computer-there was not a single photo, not a single message of theirs left.

It was as if Linda had vanished from his/world entirely...

Gulp.

The burning liquid slid down his throat as Ivan stared with bloodshot eyes at the divorce papers on the coffee table.

Suddenly, he lurched forward, clawing at the agreement as if to tear it to shreds.

But his hands stopped mid-motion.

After a long pause, he looked at Linda's signature, holding the divorce papers to his chest as

he collapsed to the floor, curled up in pain.

This was the last trace Linda had left behind.

A bitter laugh escaped him, followed by a choking sob. "Linda, your heart is so ruthless..." Unsteadily, he stood, stumbling and clutching the walls as he staggered back to the bedroom.

The walk-in closet, the vanity, the bedding...

Everything that had once belonged to Linda, everything she'd touched, was gone without a trace.

Ivan curled up on the bare mattress, unable even to catch the faintest whiff of her scent. Overcome by the effects of alcohol, he finally succumbed to dizziness, drifting into a

troubled sleep.

In his dreams-

It was as if he'd returned to the day he first met Linda.

It was their first day as freshmen at NYU.

Linda had that natural aura of a heroine, radiant and captivating in the crowd.

When Ivan saw her, it was as if everything around them lost its color; in that moment, it felt

as though she was the only one in the world.

She was beautiful, tall, elegant, academically brilliant, and full of ideas. She seemed like the epitome of grace, a daughter of a wealthy family, surrounded by every positive descriptor. To an orphan like him, she was untouchable.

But she wasn't. Her background was far from privileged; in fact, it was almost tragic.

Her parents had divorced and each started a new family, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother.

He thought to himself that they were kindred spirits.

He began sitting in on her computer science classes, quietly observing her preferences.