Chapter 30

Blood drained from Amelia. "Wh..at?"

"What?" Cullen shrugged. "Don't give me that look. Rather than long processes, why don't I just kill her so the company automatically becomes yours?"

Amelia blinked in disbelief and disapproval. How could he make such a comment with a blank face? Also, how could he make such a suggestion?

She met his gaze with her tear-filled ones. "Your thinking is so flawed," she shook her in disagreement and dragged her legs away from him.

Cullen smiled, "No, my thirst for revenge is so strong and intemperate. I can't control it," he corrected.

Amelia's expression turned cold. She scoffed, "The media believed her, right?"

Cullen leaned forward and relaxed his right elbow on his leg, staring deep into her eyes. "Of course they did. The truth is whatever the majority choose to believe,"

Amelia locked eyes with him, heavy tension filled the air. The emotions in Cullen's blue eyes were incomprehensible, and she made no effort to see through.

She scoffed, "Stupid, aren't they?"

Cullen shook his head in disapproval. "They aren't. The stupid person here is you. You cease being stupid whenever you decide to stand up for yourself." he said unapologetically.

Amelia's face turned red. She felt insulted but tried her honest best to look perfectly fine. She took the duvet off her body, to leave.

However, she paused when she saw her foot neatly bandaged. Amelia's heart shattered, and she slowly locked eyes with Cullen again.

In response to her surprised expression, Cullen smirked before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Thank_"

"You don't have to say thank you for every single thing," Cullen interrupted her, "I don't want to get married so soon, but without a woman by my side, my position would be taken away from me in fears I won't produce an heir." he opened up.

Amelia nodded. She raised a brow at him, "So keeping monthly lovers was your solution to your problem?"

"A perfect one," Cullen replied, zooming out.

He was scared of marriage, he couldn't imagine becoming his father.

A lot of emotions flashed through his snow-blue eyes, leaving Amelia confused when she tried to read him properly.

'Should I agree with him?' Amelia contemplated silently within herself.

Defending silence engulfed them. Cullen turned away from her and ran his fingers through his hairlocks.

"You seem troubled," Amelia muttered, concerned. It wasn't her place to ask, but his actions left her heart heavy with questions.

Cullen chuckled and faced her. He took a moment, assessing her mood and expression before thoughtfully parting his lips to speak.

"The only power we have on earth are our choices," he said. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he continued, "With the power to make choices, we have the whole power in the world."

Amelia frowned. She swallowed when she understood the meaning of his words after linking them with her life. He was probably trying to make fun of her for choosing the wrong marital partner.

Irritated, she countered, "We don't have choices. Fate takes the lead," the visible frown on her face did not wash away, rather they tightened.

Cullen raised a brow at her, utterly amused, "Fate did nothing. However, we humans love to blame fate when everything turns sour. When our choices turned out right, they came from our initiatives, they were our good choices. But when our choices turn out sour and damaging, it's fate…" he chuckled, "Fate does nothing, but continue to play itself out from the choices we made,"

Amelia blinked. The frown on her face slowly loosened in understanding. She wrapped her hands around her stomach and leaned on the headboard, staring at Cullen curiously.

Cullen went on softly, "And until we realize that our choices are the problem, we would continue to remain chained in self-pity and blame it on fate,"

Amelia's gaze left his eyes and dropped to her bandaged feet. She focused on them, and many thoughts ran through her mind.

'Why did I wait this long before deciding to live?'

'Why did I endure all I endured without standing up for myself?'

'How did I manage to carry the weight of an abusive home for far too long?'

All these questions swan in her mind. It was an uneasy moment. Cullen's words were self-explanatory.

She had always blamed fate. She had believed that fate wrote her story most brutally. Until this moment, she never realized she held the pen to write her own story.

Amelia wondered why Cullen decided to say those words to her. Tears began to stream down her cheeks like pouring rain, her heart heavy with questions.

Cullen stretched his legs and sat down properly. After seeing what she went through this morning, his only goal was to make sure she got what she deserved.

His heart clenched in pain, and he added. "Divorce is okay, breaking up is okay, starting over is okay, moving on is okay, and staying single is okay. What's not okay is staying somewhere you're not valued and appreciated,"

Amelia forced a nod. "I_"

"Well you can go back to your husband if you want," he cut her off, "I never said those words to buy you over. I said those words to make you feel better," he explained.

Not wasting a second more, he stood up from the bed and left the room without looking back at her. Long after he left, Amelia's eyes remained glued to the door.