"Sera, I just found out you went to help Cas and Natalia shoot their wedding photos yesterday. Were you exhausted?"

Christian's gaze swept indifferently over the spot where Caspian held her hand, his voice dropping slightly.

"Natalia bought travel package tickets to Berlin, Germany. We leave in two days, and you two are coming along."

Natalia chimed in with a sweet smile, "That's right. The snow scenery in Berlin is absolutely beautiful. This season is perfect for skiing and visiting the Christmas markets..."

The three of them chatted back and forth about the itinerary, creating a lively atmosphere.

It made Seraphina look like an absolute outsider.

Yet Seraphina didn't feel much sorrow.

Because in two days, it happened to be the exact time for her to collect her divorce decree.

Everything had lined up into a perfect escape plan.

On the day of departure.

Seraphina went to the family court first to pick up the divorce decree. She kept one copy for herself and arranged for a courier to deliver the other copy to the villa's doorstep.

With everything handled, she arrived at the airport right on time.

During check-in, just as she was about to lay her cards on the table, Natalia suddenly let out a soft "Oh!" before speaking with a face full of apology.

"Oh dear... it seems I only purchased three tickets. I completely forgot about Miss Seraphina's."

"It should still be in time to buy a supplementary ticket now," Christian noted, his gaze shifting toward Seraphina.

Seraphina remained perfectly calm. "It's fine. You guys go ahead. I hope you have a wonderful trip."

With that, she prepared to leave, but Caspian caught her hand. "Sera, I'll go with you to get a ticket."

Natalia interrupted softly, "But check-in closes in just two minutes. If we miss this flight, we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

She feigned a troubled expression. "Tomorrow morning I have a booking for a tandem skydive, and in the evening there's a castle dinner on the outskirts of Berlin—everything is strictly scheduled. You two definitely won't be able to catch up, so it can only be Cas and me going ahead."

The moment the words fell, Seraphina felt the grip Caspian had on her hand loosen.

She saw Caspian's gaze firmly glued to Natalia, his eyes filled with nothing but deep attachment.

Seraphina pulled her hand back on her own accord, her tone indifferent. "I'll handle it myself. You guys board first so you don't get delayed."

This time, Caspian did not insist further. He merely let out a breath as if relieved, his tone carrying a touch of perfunctory instruction.

"Then Sera, I'll go to Berlin and wait for you first."

Seraphina gave no promise, only offering a faint smile. "Goodbye."

She watched them pass through the ticket check, then immediately turned toward Terminal A, heading for the boarding gate bound for the UK.

Settling into her first-class seat.

Before takeoff, Seraphina took out her phone, snapped a photo of the blue sky, and paired it with an image of the divorce decree to post an update to her moments feed.

"The marriage ends here. From this moment on, the mountains and rivers stand wide and far, and I shall only be a free soul."

Then she completely deleted both Caspian and Christian from her WeChat and contacts.

The plane soared into the blue sky, carrying her toward freedom.

...

On the other side, aboard the flight to Berlin.

Caspian leaned against his seat, resting with his eyes closed, when his chest suddenly felt hollow for no apparent reason.

In a trance, his mind flashed back to the way Seraphina had just bidden him farewell.

Over the past few years, he had seen many sides of her.

Gentle, worrying over him, weeping because he was hurt, and sobbing helplessly when he pushed her to her limits in bed.

Yet he had never seen her looking so entirely desolate despite having a smile on her face.

Suddenly, a suffocating tightness welled up in his chest.

Taking advantage of Natalia going to the restroom, he turned to Christian, who was busy processing emails beside him.

"Send Seraphina a message and give her the address of the hotel we booked in Germany."

Christian stopped typing on his keyboard. "Why?"

Caspian said instinctively, "Seraphina seemed to be throwing a little tantrum just now. We need to coax her a bit."

Christian stared at him, making no move.

The unnameable emotion inside Caspian's heart grew more intense by the second.

He took his own phone out and directly sent Seraphina a message.

[Sera, once you arrive in Berlin, go straight to The Ritz-Carlton.]

But the moment the message was sent, a red exclamation mark appeared, indicating it had been rejected.

In the next instant, he used Christian's phone to send her a text, only to encounter the exact same red warning line.

[Message sent, but rejected by the recipient.]

Just then, a mutual friend suddenly shared a screenshot of Seraphina's moments in their group chat.

The very first thing that struck their eyes was that clear image of the crimson divorce decree.

Chapter 8

Christian's dark eyes darkened violently.

His icy gaze swept directly toward Caspian beside him. "What did you do to Sera? Why did she get a divorce!"

Snapping out of his daze, Caspian looked at the stern, questioning Christian and suddenly laughed.

He arched an eyebrow, his tone laced with unvarnished mockery, looking entirely amused by his brother's misery.

"What are you getting so tense for? This is fake."

"Whenever Sera gets angry, she loves to play these little games."

"With a temperament like hers, she whimpers if you rough her up even a little in bed. She won't give you a good face unless you coax her for three to five days."

The irritation in Christian's heart flared up again, his voice dropping low.

"Have you said enough?"

Caspian narrowed his eyes slightly, the carelessness fading from his gaze as he looked at Christian with a hint of scrutiny.

The space between them instantly filled with a volatile, tense atmosphere.

Christian calmed himself down first, speaking with forced patience, "Tomorrow, she will be arriving over there alone. It's not safe in a foreign country. How are you going to coax her?"

Caspian lazily held out his hand. "Give me your phone, I'll do it."

Christian's sharp, dark eyes swept over him.

But he didn't budge.

"What?" A smile hooked Caspian's thin lips. "Don't tell me you know how to coax her better than I do, Brother. Don't forget that for the past three years, the one living as her husband and sleeping in her bed was me."

"Whether in bed or out of it, what she looks like when she's angry, to what extent she's upset, and exactly how she needs to be coaxed—I know all of it far better than you."

The words were like a thorn driving straight into Christian's heart, intensifying the suffocating ache inside him.

Suppressing his emotions, he handed the phone over to Caspian.

At the same time, he warned his brother, "Know your boundaries."

Caspian took the phone with a sullen face, his fingers masterfully dialing the number he knew by heart.

Yet all that came through the earpiece was the cold automated recording.

"We're sorry, the user you are calling cannot be reached at the moment..."

"We're sorry, the user you are calling cannot be reached at the moment..."

"We're sorry, the user you are calling cannot be reached at the moment..."

A fierce hostility spread across Caspian's face, the veins on his hands and forehead snapping taut.

"The call won't go through either."

After several consecutive attempts, it was always the same recorded message.

It was blindingly obvious that Seraphina had completely blocked this number as well.

Christian's brow furrowed tightly, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Just then, Natalia walked out from the cabin area holding two cups of coffee, speaking in a playful tone.

"Christian, Cas, the announcement just reminded us to switch our phones to airplane mode for takeoff. We're out to have fun, so loosen up a bit and stop focusing so much on work."

As she spoke, she placed the two cups of coffee in front of their seats.

"I specially learned how to make latte art from the flight attendant just now. Take a taste and see if you like it."

Christian took the coffee, his fingers touching the warm ceramic wall as he said flatly, "Thank you."

Natalia took the seat next to Christian, pretending to be annoyed. "I'm your girlfriend now, yet you're constantly saying thank you. What kind of boyfriend does that?"

Christian's hand holding the coffee cup paused for a moment. Instead of responding to her words, he picked up a blanket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Get some rest first. It's a long flight, and you have surgery coming up later, so don't catch a cold."

A blissful smile bloomed on Natalia's face. "I know."