<strong>Chapter 235 Return To The Past</strong>


    Nathaniel’s brows furrowed slightly as he studied Cecilia. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” he asked. genuinely perplexed by her reaction.


    Beyond this, he truly couldn’t fathom why Cecilia had suddenly returned to the country if not to reim what was rightfully hers.


    Cecilia was taken aback by his words.


    “After all these years, any resentment should have been vented by now. Sign the dwell on the past,” Nathaniel added, his voice calm and almost dismissive..


    papers, let’s not


    Hearing these words, Cecilia suddenly found Nathaniel’s demeanor to be darkly amusing. They had reached this point–this painful, heart–wrenching point–and yet, he seemed to believe that simply returning the Smith family’s assets would somehow erase the past.


    Without a word, Cecilia clenched the contract in her hand and walked over to the shredder at the side of the room. Without hesitation, she fed the contract into it, watching as the papers. transformed into a pile of shredded bits.


    “I’m telling you this with utmost seriousness,” she said, her voice steady and resolute, “It’s not about letting bygones be bygones. I simply don’t want to be with you anymore.”


    Even though she had clearly given up, she still had to keep up an act. But pretending any longer, pretending that everything could somehow be fixed, was just too exhausting.


    At that moment, Cecilia felt a desperate need to whisk Elliot away, to disappear forever from Tud and escape this twisted cycle of maniption and control.


    Mason, who had been standing quietly to the side, was visibly stunned by Cecilia’s actions. He didn’t dare to stay in the room any longer and promptly left the office, thoughtfully closing the door behind him to give the two of them privacy.


    Nathaniel had initially thought that by generously returning the Smith family’s assets to her, she would undoubtedly be overjoyed and grateful. He had expected a moment of reconciliation, perhaps even a softening of her heart toward him.


    But he hadn’t expected it to end up like this.


    His eyes, deep and now filled with icy mockery, locked onto Cecilia’s as he challenged her, “Say it again!”


    Cecilia met his gaze without flinching. “No matter what, it’s all the same now. There are still eleven days left.” She paused for a moment, her voice growing colder. “In eleven days, I hope you can keep your promise.”


    That promise was to let Elliot and herself go, to finally set them free.


    All of Nathaniel’s patience hadpletely evaporated in that moment. His voice wasced with a mix of anger and frustration as he spat out, “Great, just great!”


    He moved closer to Cecilia, his presence overwhelming as he cornered her. Without warning, he lifted her up into his arms, his grip firm and unyielding.


    “Since we only have eleven days left, can I enjoy our final moments as a couple?” he hissed, his tone dripping with a cold fury.


    Cecilia found herself suspended in mid–air, her entire being dependent on him to keep from falling. She struggled against him, her voice trembling as she protested, “We’re in the office!”


    Nathaniel’s throat tightened, and his voice turned even darker. “Weren’t you the one who used to flirt with me at the office?” he taunted. “Let’s try something different today. I wonder if you’ve been here with Calvin before!”


    At first, Cecilia didn’t understand what he was insinuating. But as she surveyed the surroundings, noticing that all the curtains had been drawn shut and only a single dim light remained in the room, the realization hit her like a wave. Her entire body began to tremble, and she struggled desperately to push him away..


    Nathaniel lowered his head to kiss her, his actions driven by a mix of anger and desperation.


    But just as their lips were about to meet, Cecilia suddenly felt a wave of difort in her stomach. An intense urge to throw up overwhelmed her. Struggling, she pushed Nathaniel away and ran toward the restroom, where she proceeded to vomit profusely.


    Nathaniel remained outside, his expression darkening as he listened to the sounds of her retching from the bathroom. His mind raced with bitter thoughts.


    Is she really that repulsed by me?


    He lit one cigarette after another, only to snuff them out in irritation before he could even take a drag.


    Just as he was about to storm into the restroom to demand an exnation from Cecilia–demand to know what exactly about him she found so distasteful–a knock was heard at the door.


    “Come in,” Nathaniel barked.


    Mason walked in, clearly ufortable as he observed Nathaniel’s tense posture and the dark look on his face–a clear picture of unfulfilled desires and simmering rage.


    “Mr. Rainsworth, these are the documents that required your signature recently,” Mason said.


    “Leave it,” Nathaniel replied curtly, his patience worn thin.


    Before leaving, Mason hesitated, ncing toward the direction of the restroom. “Mr. Rainsworth, could it be that your approach isn’t quite right? Maybe you should tell Ms. Smith that you’re already in the process of rebuilding Smith Corporation’s headquarters?”


    Tearing down and rebuilding the Smith family’s headquarters–it seemed that Nathaniel was the only person in the world who believed that such grand gestures could fix the deep, emotional rifts between them.


    But who could me him for thinking that way? He had the resources, the power, the wealth. He wanted to win Cecilia’s heart back, but he simply didn’t know how to express himself in any way other than through dominance and control.


    As Nathaniel reflected on the disdainful look in Cecilia’s eyes earlier, and the sound of her retching, his frustration reached a boiling point.


    “Shut up! Get out!” he snapped.


    “All right,” Mason replied quickly, exiting the room without another word.N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    After Mason left, the sound of running water in the restroom ceased. A momentter, Cecilia emerged, her face pale, her eyes still red from the strain of vomiting.