Chapter 1357

Cole looked down, a shadow crossing his features. In his heart, he had sensed the truth from the very beginning. He just hadn’t been ready to admit it to himself. In the end, it was his stubborn pride that had led to the divorce. Whenever difficulties arose, he instinctively wanted to shelter Elliana, never considering that she might want to share in the struggle.

Allan continued without pause. “Elliana didn’t ask for that letter just to punish you. She wanted you to truly see her and understand what she truly hopes for. She’s waiting for a specific promise. If you’re not prepared to offer that, she won’t agree to give you another chance.”

A heavy silence fell over Cole. His understanding of Elliana wasn’t the problem. It was the pain he couldn’t stand to see her endure. That was why, in writing the application, he danced around the real issue, purposefully avoiding the heart of what she truly needed. But Allan’s words stripped away every excuse. The truth he had been avoiding was now impossible to ignore.

Cole realized that if he wanted Elliana to take him back, he would have to make the promise she had been waiting for and honor it faithfully for the rest of their lives. However, the thought of allowing her to suffer alongside him tore him apart. What he wanted more than anything was to give her nothing but happiness for as long as he could.

Although Merlin and Manley agreed with Allan, neither dared to say a word. Cole’s silence was sacred. They understood him perfectly. Whether Cole would make that promise was a choice only he could make. They knew better than to meddle.

Allan had no intention of staying quiet. As his patience wore thin, he added, “Don’t forget, we still have a deal to finish!”

The spell of quiet broke. Cole lifted his eyes and answered with a single name, his tone cold and steady. “Adah.”

Both Merlin and Manley stared in shock. Why would Cole abruptly mention Adah, the unremarkable girl from some backwater town?

Allan froze, his whole body tensing as if someone had landed a blow. Could it be that the woman he’d been desperately searching for—the one who had captured his heart at first glance—was actually Adah? The same “ordinary bumpkin” he had once dismissed and broken the engagement with?

? ? ν?

“Cole, you’re actually serious about this, aren’t you?” Allan asked, narrowing his eyes as disbelief crept into his tone.

Cole rose from his seat and walked toward the exit. “Believe what you want.” Without another word, he swung the door open and slipped out.

Allan could only stare after Cole for a moment before sinking into the couch, overwhelmed by despair. One hand came up to cover his eyes, and a harsh, bitter laugh escaped him.

How could he have missed something so obvious? Since Elliana—a stunning beauty—could disguise herself as an ugly woman, why wouldn’t her closest friend, Adah, be capable of doing the same? Maybe the image of the “plain bumpkin” was nothing but a carefully crafted act.

As Allan started piecing everything together, it hit him: Ava and Adah were uncannily alike in every way that mattered. She had outwitted him from the very beginning, and he’d never managed to see past her mask. He couldn’t believe how foolish he had been.

Not long ago, the group was all united in teasing Cole over his struggle to win his wife back. Now, it was Allan’s turn to taste humiliation.

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