Ribbons Unbound: My Fiancé's Lingering Regret novel Chapter 72

"So, would you?" Kira whispered, nudging me with her elbow.

I shook my head without hesitation. "Never. Unless he's figured out how to raise the dead."

Kira didn't push further.

After the footage of Laria attacking my mother went viral, social media erupted in collective outrage.

My mother's former students—dozens of successful architects and designers—organized a petition demanding criminal charges.

Then came the plot twist no one saw coming.

Laria, who'd vanished after her mysterious abduction, suddenly reappeared—literally dumped on a busy downtown corner like yesterday's trash.

Her clothes were torn, her appearance disheveled, but people still recognized her instantly.

As the crowd moved to detain her for the police, she somehow broke free and disappeared into the city.

Social media exploded with frustrated comments from people wishing they'd been there to catch her themselves.

I thought the drama might finally be winding down, but Hektor had one more card to play.

At the height of the scandal, he launched an unannounced livestream. Within minutes, his viewer count exploded into the hundreds of thousands.

"Holy shit, Yunifer, you need to see this," Kira said, shoving her phone in front of me. Hektor's voice—rough and hollow—filled the room.

"I need to make something clear. Four years ago, I destroyed Yunifer Harrison's life."

"To help Laria become the art world's rising star and secure her marriage into the Davidson fortune, I betrayed Yunifer's trust. I created copies of her original paintings and switched them."

Dad would regularly invite him to our home. Mom would spend all day cooking his favorite dishes.

How could he have been so ruthless? How could he have systematically destroyed my family without remorse?

I collapsed against Kira's shoulder, my body shaking with sobs I couldn't control.

I'm not sure how long I cried, but eventually the doorbell rang.

Kira went to answer it while I desperately tried to pull myself together, splashing cold water on my swollen face.

Then I heard her furious voice from the hallway:

"What the hell are you doing here?"