After She She Stopped Loving Him

Chapter 126

Yolanda had practically handed Vivian the leverage herself, and with Sophie's screenshot in play, there was no

way Vivian would just let this slide.

The thought of Charles telling Yolanda to erase her from his world made Vivian's blood boil-she was itching to

get back at every single one of them.

Vivian couldn't help but think, ‘Why does Charles get over things so fast? It must be that bitch Yolanda messing

with him!"

She squeezed the carved sandalwood token in her palm, eyes gleaming with vicious intent, as a frosty smile

curled on her lips.

Earlier that night, her grandfather had warned her that something's off with Grady lately and told her to be extra

careful.

His words basically spelled out that someone had their sights set on the Andrade manor, hinting at Charles being

the culprit-but Vivian just couldn't buy it.

She took a deep breath, thinking to herself, ‘If | can just ditch that eyesore Yolanda, maybe things with Charles

will go back to how they used to be.

Using a burner phone, she shot Yolanda a text, laying it out: calone to pick up the sandalwood token, and

don’t even think about bringing backup-or she'd torch the thing without a second thought.

When Yolanda saw the message, she finally breathed easy, relief washing over her.

“This is the last chance in this game, Yolanda thought to herself. ‘Charles once gavethat token, but now

Vivian's using it as leverage against me. He might act heartless, but there's no way he won't feel something.”

All she needed was a flicker of guilt-a single moment of hesitation-and victory would be hers.

She sat in her room at Moonbay Estate, staring at the address sent from the random number-it was somewhere

near a reservoir way out on the edge of town.

Yolanda wasn’t bad in the water, and ever since she got shoved into that pool, she’d made it her mission to train

herself to hold her breath as long as possible.

‘Vivian definitely chose this place because she wantsdead, Yolanda thought, suspicion growing in her

chest.

She quickly messaged Charles and attached the location.

[Babe, the sandalwood token Athena gavewas stolen, and someone wantsto meet them here. If | don’t

cback tonight, promiseyou'll look forat this spot.]

Once she sent over the address, Yolanda slipped behind the wheel and set off by herself, swallowed by the night.

It was a forty-minute drive to the reservoir-forty minutes alone with her nerves and dread.

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Chapter 126

87

55 vouchers

Tonight, Charles was in the middle of a meeting with his own crew, going over all the fallout from Grady’s death.

As soon as he got Yolanda’s text, his brows pulled tight with worry, and without even thinking, he dialed her

number.

But Yolanda didn’t answer.

Charles immediately told Jack Nolan, who was next to him, “Go get Yolanda and bring her back from this spot.

Right now.”

Honestly, the whole sandalwood token thing didn’t even ring a bell-there were so many odds and ends lying

around Moonbay Estate, he couldn’t possibly remember every single one.

Jack didn’t hesitate for a second-he rounded up his crew and peeled out, racing through red lights without so

much as blinking, determined to intercept Yolanda before she had a chance to run into trouble.

Yolanda, on the other hand, was in no hurry whatsoever. She deliberately slowed down, dragging out the drive

and giving herself tto think things through.

Jack kept Charles in the loop on everything, and once Charles was certain Yolanda wasn’t in immediate danger,

he simply ordered, “Just keep her under surveillance for now.” That calm, decisive tone made it pretty clear who

was in control.

Yolanda, ever observant, immediately spotted a familiar license plate among the cars that sped past. ‘No way

Charles himself would show up in the middle of the night just for me, she thought. ‘Must be Jack watching my

back.’

After all, Jack was Charles’ right-hand man-the one always ready to get the job done, no matter how messy

things got.

Yolanda pressed down on the accelerator, picking up speed and soon reaching the spot they'd agreed on.

The reservoir was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that made your skin crawl. She got out and walked forward

alone. It didn’t take long before she spotted a burly guy standing by the water's edge.

The dim lighting made it impossible to see the man’s face clearly.

He gripped the sandalwood token in his hand, lifted it deliberately, then tossed it straight into the reservoir.

Yolanda hadn't even had a chance to react when someone shoved her hard, sending her straight into the

water.

Splash!

The reservoir walls towered above her-there was no way she could climb out on her own. Out here in the middle

of nowhere, even if she screamed her lungs out, nobody would hear her.

The man sneered from above, then quickly vanished into the darkness.

Yolanda kept her composure, searching the water until she found the sandalwood pendant. She clipped it

7:51 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 126

securely around her neck, thinking to herself, I'm not panicking. | can do this!

From up above, Jack’s voice echoed through the night. “Yolanda, grab the rope!”

Yolanda sounded genuinely surprised, “Jack?”

She acted as if she hadn’t expected him to be there at all.

She gripped the rope, and in no time, Jack’s team hauled her out of the reservoir.

2700

Jack took one look at her, soaked to the bone, and quickly gestured toward the nearby car. “Yolanda, con

-get in. That was reckless, even for you. Letdrive you home.”

Yolanda just smiled, fingers lingering thoughtfully on the pendant at her neck.

“This is a keepsake Athena left for me. | can’t afford to lose it,” she said quietly, letting the weight of her words

hang in the air.

Jack shot a glance at the pendant but kept silent.

Once she was in the car, Jack drove her straight back to Moonbay Estate.

Yolanda took a long, hot shower, letting the water wash away the chill. She didn’t need to say a word-Jack would

fill Charles in on everything that went down tonight.

Late at night, Yolanda was burning up with a fever. Half-conscious, she noticed someone sitting at her bedside.

Her fingers curled tightly around the pendant at her neck as she started to ramble, completely out of it.

One moment she was whispering, “I'm sorry,” and the next she was quietly sobbing-her emotions spilling out in

broken whimpers.

Someone reached out and gently brushed away her tears, then stood up and slipped out of the room.

Once she was certain she was alone, Yolanda slowly opened her eyes.

She wasn’t delirious enough to forget who it was-Charles had been right there with her.

After Charles left the room, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it slowly. The sandalwood pendant felt oddly familiar-

Yolanda had given it to him once, saying it would keep him safe.

He didn’t believe in that kind of stuff, but he’d worn it anyway. Then, when Sophie asked for it, he'd just handed

it over without a second thought.

‘So, was it Sophie who did this?‘ Charles wondered, his mind racing.

He spun his phone absentmindedly between his fingers, then hit up Sophie’s number.

When Charles started asking about the sandalwood pendant, Sophie’s eyes lit up for a split second-then she

nervously ducked her head, her voice dropping low. “Oh, | ran into Ms. Andrade on set that one time. She was

kind of buddy-buddy with that actor, so | thought I'd cozy up to her, you know? She took a liking to the

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Chapter 126

pendant, so | handed it over. Charles, I'm really sorry... Honestly, if it were anything else, she probably wouldn't

have blinked an eye. She doesn’t care about money anyway.”

Her voice faded to a whisper; she looked down, guilt written all over her face. | totally messed up this time!

Sophie thought, heart pounding.

Charles pretty much knew the truth before he even dialed-this wasn’t Sophie's doing.

Sophie wasn’t clueless enough to go after Yolanda with sblatantly obvious move.

He crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his tone cool. “Alright.”

Sophie kept quiet, knowing full well that the more she talked, the easier it was to slip up.

She nervously swallowed. “If you liked it, | can make you a new one sometime.”

Charles had had no idea it was Athena's keepsake. Realizing Yolanda had trusted him with something so

meaningful was enough to give his heart a brief, guilty squeeze.

She hadn't told him back then.

He understood just how much Athena meant to Yolanda-so that sandalwood pendant had to be her most

treasured possession, woven with memories and emotion.

For sreason, a restless frustration began to simmer inside him—one he couldn't quite explain.

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