"Is what we share...so easily broken?" William's voice was strained.

"Between us, there's nothing left to discuss," Elise responded, her tone icy. "Have you forgotten, Mr. Levine? I agreed to give this relationship a trial period. It's clear now it wasn't meant to be."

"What if I promised to keep you separate from my engagement with Victoria? Would you wait for me then?"

"No," Elise refused instantly, without a moment's hesitation.

"Am I truly so undeserving of your faith?" William's knuckles were white, his eyes tinged with crimson.

"Yes," Elise confirmed with a nod.

William let out a bitter, hoarse laugh, laced with self-mockery.

A heavy silence fell between them, thick and suffocating.

They sat without speaking for what felt like an eternity.

It seemed their conversation had reached its conclusion.

Elise moved to open the car door, but William's hand shot out, gripping her wrist with bruising force.

She didn't cry out or flinch.

She simply endured his desperate grasp.

"I don't believe you feel nothing for me," William insisted, his gaze piercing. "What we have is real. I know it is."

Elise remained silent, offering no reply.

"Nor do I believe you'd surrender so easily," William continued, his voice low and intense. "You wouldn't just walk away because the Levines and Stuarts pressured you."

"William, I'm only human. Not invincible. Facing powerful families like them...it's terrifying."

"Yet you've stood against both families with your own strength! I refuse to believe you'd capitulate so quickly!"

Elise bit her lip. It seemed she could hide nothing from William. He saw straight through her defenses.

"What did my grandfather say to you?" William asked, his voice now controlled, emotions forcibly restrained.

So William knew about Henry's private meeting with her. He'd even guessed it influenced her decision.

"He asked me to leave you voluntarily," Elise admitted honestly, seeing no point in concealment.

There was no need for secrets now.

If they were ending this, it should be with complete transparency.

...So neither would be left wondering what might have been.

"Did you agree?"

"Yes."

"Did he threaten you?" William's gaze hardened.

"Not exactly," Elise replied truthfully.

William narrowed his eyes at her response, but Elise continued, "He simply helped me see things more clearly. It was...enlightening."

William's hands trembled slightly. He probably knew exactly what Henry had said. Watching his expression, Elise murmured, "And everything he said appears to be true, doesn't it?"

William pressed his lips together, remaining silent.

"Remember that promise you made me on Ayro Island?" Elise asked calmly.

She wasn't indifferent to their situation. She was simply accepting reality.

When facing impossible choices, she'd always maintained a calm exterior, projecting invincibility.

"You told me not to lie to you. That even if I didn't love you, I should never deceive you." Elise met William's gaze, a faint, ambiguous smile touching her lips. "Yet from beginning to end, it was all one elaborate deception, wasn't it?"

"If I said it wasn't, would you believe me?" William's voice was uncharacteristically small, almost timid.

As if he were praying through the night for her trust.