Chapter 272 - 271: Soulmates
Even though neither of them said much after that, the silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt like something sacred... two people sitting with their truths, not needing to explain everything just yet. Monica’s fingers absentmindedly traced patterns on his arm, as if searching for the right words or maybe the courage to say them. Then she slowly leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder.
Her gaze wandered upward, soft and unfocused, like she wasn’t seeing the ceiling but something far beyond it, something distant only she could see.
"I used to look at that kind of life... the picket fences, the happily ever afters, the his-and-hers... and feel nothing but disgust," she began, her voice low and steady, like she was reading from a page written long ago. "Not even fear. Just indifference. I knew early on that I wasn’t made for that kind of comfort. It never tempted me.
I didn’t want a ’man’ to complete me. I didn’t believe in that fairy tale crap. Soulmates. Monogamy. Forever and ever," she scoffed faintly, though without malice. "I always thought... if I give myself fully to someone, they’d only use it as a leash."
There was no anger in her tone, just a tired kind of honesty. She glanced at him, not to see his reaction, but as if offering a piece of herself and waiting to see if he would flinch.
"So I made a choice. No white picket fences. No walking down aisles, no fake smiles in white dresses, no shallow promises to love someone forever when I don’t even know who I’ll be next year, or next week. I didn’t want to be the woman standing beside a man. I wanted to be the storm they warned him about."
Her lips curled into a soft smile, one that carried both pride and something more fragile beneath it.
"I have big dreams, Rex. I want to rule this industry. I want power. Not the borrowed kind that comes from some husband’s name, or a pretty face trending for a moment—but power that’s mine. Real. I want to own every room I walk into. I want to be remembered. I want to outlast them all."
Her voice softened, slowing as if each word took effort now.
"And for a long time, I thought that meant I had to walk alone. That was the price. I accepted that. Embraced it, even. I didn’t want anyone close enough to make me choose between who I am and who they needed me to be."