Farewell to Love: The CEO's Desperate Chase novel Chapter 289

She remembered Tyler had told her Emilia would be coming tonight, and that he’d even saved the seat next to him for her.

But no one—absolutely no one—had ever told her that Serena was Emilia.

Suddenly, Vivienne jolted, icy realization washing over her. She recalled how she’d threatened Serena before, trying to convince her to team up against Emilia…

If what she was seeing now was real, then—

No. Impossible. There was no way Serena and Emilia could be the same person.

Vivienne whipped her head around, eyes darting to Tyler.

He stood rigidly, staring up at Emilia on stage from across the room.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

How could it be Emilia?

How could he possibly not recognize her?

He’d known her since they were young. She’d been by his side for seven years, through countless days and nights, sharing whispered conversations in the dark. He knew every inch of her—she had always been right there. There was no way he could miss her.

But vivid, unbidden memories flashed through his mind: that first time he met Serena, she’d been wrapped in a long coat, Christian steadying her as they slipped backstage.

Her first performance as Serena.

That frail figure—the Masked Woman—standing beneath the spotlight, dressed in the Burning Rose costume. The pale light revealed bruises blooming across her skin, dark and brutal, so severe she looked close to death.

He heard it again, echoing in his mind—the cry that day in the hospital, after Emilia tumbled down the stairs. She’d called out to him, her voice trembling from the end of the corridor—“Tye.”

His right hand trembled. Another memory surfaced: after that first livestream, he’d pulled her aside into the woods. She’d barely been able to stand, so weak that Christian had to carry her away in the end.

Tyler could barely stay upright now; his face was rigid, lips pressed into a hard, bloodless line.

To strangers, he appeared almost expressionless, but anyone who truly knew him would recognize the storm raging inside.

How had he failed to recognize Emilia?

From his last glimpse of Emilia in the hospital to Serena’s first performance, only a few days had passed.

He couldn’t bear to imagine it—in just a handful of days, someone could lose so much weight.

That was why he’d dismissed the idea at first.

But later…

At Lunar Manor, he’d clearly noticed how much weight she’d lost. He’d seen that she still shivered with cold in April, that her health had taken a sharp turn for the worse…

Why hadn’t he realized?

His nails dug into his palm as he stared at Emilia on stage, a wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm him.

Oblivious to everything else, Tyler didn’t notice the figure watching him from the shadows not far away—Theodore Glenn, seated with his back against the wall.

Gone was the gentle composure Theodore was known for; his dark eyes fixed on Tyler, cold and merciless.