Chapter 195: Lily Visits My Office
Today marked the long-awaited day when the verdict on my contract marriage would finally arrive, and the moment carried a heaviness in the air that pressed down on me far more intensely than I had ever anticipated or prepared myself for emotionally.
The lawyer sat across from me in the sleek, wood-panelled office, his posture straight and his expression calm and practiced from years of delivering life-altering news, and when he offered a small, reassuring smile paired with a subtle nod of confirmation.
It made all the knotted tension coiled tight in my shoulders begin to loosen at last, like a rope finally giving way after months of strain.
I had been waiting for this verdict for what felt like an eternity—waiting desperately for the legal chance to shatter the engagement chains, to sever myself completely from Felix and his toxic web, and to slam the door shut on that miserable, soul-crushing Chapter of my life once and for all.
The OG Emily’s false parents never wanted this marriage because the truth about OG Emily’s true gender would come out. Also, there was another factor working at that time.
"So, the judge has officially agreed to break the marriage contract entirely?" I asked him directly, my voice steady but needing to hear those exact words spoken aloud by someone else before I could truly let myself believe they were real and binding.
"Yes, he absolutely did, without hesitation," the lawyer confirmed with professional certainty, sliding a folder of documents across the desk toward me. "It all hinged on that crucial fact.
"You mean that worked?"
"Yes, you are not a Leonhart by blood, and without that lineage tying you to their twisted family obligations, the contract marriage holds no legal power or enforceability over you whatsoever."
That single truth was the linchpin that unravelled everything—the golden key I had been chasing.
I was not a Leonhart, not bound by their poisonous legacy, and because of Ivory’s relentless digging, I had uncovered the full, heartbreaking truth about OG Emily’s hidden past, a revelation that rewrote my entire understanding of who I had been in this body before my reincarnation.
She had never been just some ordinary, powerless woman trapped in an ugly, exploitative family arrangement.
OG Emily had been the cherished daughter of a brilliant fashion designer mother and a pioneering scientist father, which explained so much about her innate talent for fashion and design that had always bubbled up instinctively within me.
It had never been random luck or coincidence—it had been woven into her very blood; a legacy Viktor had tried to bury.
Her mother had been brutally murdered by Viktor himself, the same ruthless man who had stolen most of her groundbreaking designs for his own gain and, in a cruelty beyond comprehension, had exploited the original baby Emily as leverage to extract the special, proprietary material he coveted from her father for his cutthroat tech empire.
Then, as if erasing an entire lineage wasn’t enough, he had coldly killed her father too, acting as though he could wipe out a family of innovators and still parade himself as some untouchable genius in high society.
But Viktor was no genius—far from it.
He was a fraud, a parasitic leech who had fed off others’ brilliance for years and should have been rotting in prison long ago for his crimes.
Instead, he had slithered into the shadows, vanishing like the coward he was.
And thankfully, Elena—the venomous enabler—had met her end in custody, her schemes crumbling around her. None of them had ever been good people at their core; none deserved the power, wealth, or influence they had wielded so destructively over so many lives, including mine.
"So, with the contract nullified, they won’t come after me legally or otherwise—right?" I pressed carefully, my fingers tightening on the folder’s edge, because even with the marriage broken, I still needed ironclad assurance on how much lingering danger shadowed my freedom.
The lawyer’s expression turned a shade more serious, his eyes meeting mine with unflinching honesty. "Felix’s father is currently facing some very serious criminal charges that will keep him buried in legal battles for years, if not life. And as for Felix himself, he was a regular, heavy drug user, which has left him partially paralyzed and confined."
My eyes widened in shock, pulse quickening. "When did that happen? I hadn’t heard."
"Yesterday evening," he said flatly, consulting his notes. "The overdose was severe—his lifestyle caught up with him at last."
The news stunned me into silence for a beat, a cold wave of surprise washing over me, but beneath it stirred a bitter, twisted sense of justice that settled like ash in my veins.
One by one, the architects of my misery from the original novel were crumbling under the weight of their own corruption, drugs, and depravity—poetic ruin for the hell they had inflicted.
"What about Kien?" I asked next, steeling myself. "I heard rumours he’d been arrested—tell me it’s true."
The lawyer nodded grimly, no satisfaction in his tone. "Accused and convicted of raping at least ten vulnerable omegas during his time as a corrupt cop, preying on those who couldn’t fight back."
My stomach churned with visceral disgust, bile rising at the memory of his leering gaze. "That bastard deserves every bit of suffering coming his way—he preyed on the innocent omegas."
"He got it," the lawyer replied curtly. "Life imprisonment without parole. The prison they assigned him to isn’t kind to rapists like him—even the murderers there have a code, and they’ve already targeted men like Kien for retaliation."
I fell quiet for a long moment, letting it all sink in like stones in still water—the ripples of their downfall spreading wide.
Kien, Felix, Viktor, Alexei, Elena—they had all been cogs in a rotten machine of abuse, cruelty, and power plays, each leaving jagged scars on my soul: harassment, mockery, threats that made every day feel like walking a tightrope.
Even Alec had ended it all just days ago, suicide swallowing his poison last.
Two of them—Alec and Kien—had sneered at the idea of marking me back then, taunting me as an unclaimed omega like it was my failing, as if I had ever wanted their tainted bonds forced upon me in this world of alpha dominance.
I hadn’t forgotten a single slight, a single night of terror.
That raw history made the relief now feel strangely layered—not a clean wave, but tangled with simmering anger, bone-deep exhaustion, and the ghostly echoes of every violation.
"Thank you—for everything you’ve done to make this possible," I said sincerely as I stood, extending my hand.
The lawyer rose smoothly, clasping it with a firm shake before gathering his papers and heading for the door.
For the first time in ages, a tentative closure began to settle in my chest, like the final page turning on a nightmare novel. I don’t want my baby to live in an uncertain life. Maybe Lady Luck favours me too much.
But before I could fully exhale into that fragile peace, a soft knock echoed, and an employee poked her head in respectfully. "Ma’am, Ms. Lily is here and requests to meet with you. Should I send her in right away?"
I paused, Lily’s face flashing in my mind— not someone I’d expected so soon after this bombshell.
After a brief hesitation, weighing curiosity against wariness, I nodded. "Yes, send her in."
The employee bowed slightly and retreated. Minutes ticked by quietly, the clock’s soft tick amplifying my pulse.
Lily entered then, her steps measured, face a blank mask of composure as she claimed the chair across from me without fanfare or preamble. She looked polished as ever, but something unreadable flickered in her eyes—distance sharpened to a blade’s edge.
"How are you holding up after all this?" I asked lightly, forcing a relaxed tone to mask my lingering adrenaline.
Lily didn’t answer right away, her silence stretching like a taut wire.
I tilted my head, studying her intently—the subtle tension in her jaw, the way her fingers laced precisely. "Look, you asked to meet me specifically, right? What’s on your mind?"
"Yes, I wanted to see you in person," she admitted finally, voice even.
"Thank you for finally opening your mouth and saying something," I replied dryly, a faint edge of humour threading through despite the undercurrent of impatience. "But seriously—why are you here now, after everything?"
"I don’t know, not entirely," she said, the admission hanging blunt between us.
That caught me off-guard; I stared at her, searching for cracks in her facade.
Then I leaned back in my chair, exhaling a slow breath to steady myself. "Well, whatever tangled reasons brought you here, thank you—for saving me from Viktor."
Lily’s gaze locked onto mine unwaveringly, and for the first time, her expression shifted—just a subtle thaw, a glint of something human beneath the ice.
"That’s true enough," she acknowledged quietly. "You should be glad you’ve been saved by me not once, but twice now—first from him, and before that... well, you know."
Her tone remained flat, almost detached, but it carried a quiet, unshakeable confidence that drew a reluctant smile from me despite the weight of the day.
"So, how are you living now?" I asked Lily after a beat, curiosity sharpening my voice as I leaned forward slightly, unable to resist probing the enigma sitting across from me. "Everyone knows you’re an alpha—female alphas like you don’t exactly fade into the background in our world."
"Well, I am still the best actress in this country whether I act as an omega, or an alpha," Lily smirked.
