Farewell to Love: The CEO's Desperate Chase novel Chapter 402

Hot air balloons drifted across the sky, while down below, a sleek Maybach glided smoothly along the avenue.

After Tyler dropped Vivienne Hargrave off at her place, he didn’t linger, despite her repeated invitations for him to stay. He knew exactly what she wanted from him—but he wasn’t willing to give it.

Everywhere online, people were talking about Emilia and Theodore, their whirlwind romance the subject of endless gossip and speculation. Witness after witness described Theodore’s devotion to her, painting him as the perfect suitor.

“Honestly, is Mr. Theodore Glenn still claiming he’s chasing her? Has Emilia agreed to date him yet?”

“There’s no word that she’s said yes.”

“Does anyone know what Tyler thinks about all this? His ex-wife is barely out of the marriage and already has a billionaire madly pursuing her, making such a spectacle of it!”

“Oh, please, Tyler and Vivienne are clearly together now. That ship has sailed.”

“True, haha—but what happens to Vivienne if Tyler bails after a few months?”

“Who knows?”

The more Tyler scrolled, the heavier the ache in his chest became.

Why was Theodore doing this? Was it just to torment him—or to undermine the Erickson family’s influence?

And what about her?

She had to realize that accepting Theodore’s invitations, time after time, only fueled the public frenzy—so why agree to see him at all?

Where did that leave him, in her heart?

Was she really done waiting for him?

He couldn’t help but remember that night in the rain, the two of them alone in the car. He’d asked her if she still loved him.

Her answer had been clear: “I do.”

The night breeze ruffled her hair. Theodore looked at her swollen, red-rimmed eyes—evidence she’d been crying—and felt something stir inside him.

She would never know, he thought, just how out of reach she’d always seemed to him. All her worries, all her talk of being unworthy, had never mattered.

He was transported back to that day at the docks, when he’d been penniless and alone—nothing but a struggling young man surrounded by the glittering crowd. And then she’d appeared: Ms. Dennis, with her softly curled hair draped over her shoulders, her luminous skin and dazzling jewels making her seem almost regal.

And yet she had stepped out from the crowd, walked straight to him, and pressed a locket into his palm.

“Take this. It will help you,” her voice echoed from years ago.

If it hadn’t been for that moment—if she hadn’t given him that heart-shaped pendant—he might not have survived at all.

Standing before her, he’d always felt like someone reaching up from below.

Emilia gazed out at the city lights, unable to pinpoint her own feelings. She was afraid to dwell on the past; all she could do was let Theodore lead her onward, wherever this night would take them.