Empire 188

In Chapter 188, Yancey overhears whispers suggesting Halcyon is upset and that the wine is reserved for whoever brought the toys. Feeling uneasy, he enters the room alone and immediately notices Wisteria being pressured to drink alcohol despite her allergy. Yancey intervenes, catching some of the wine when Wisteria coughs violently. He firmly supports her and questions why she is drinking, showing his concern and protective nature.

Halcyon challenges Yancey for defending Wisteria at her own birthday party, accusing him of ignoring their engagement. Yancey insists there is nothing between him and Wisteria anymore and questions Halcyon’s harsh treatment of her. The tension escalates as Halcyon accuses Wisteria of trampling over Yancey, while Wisteria urges Yancey to stop pretending and focus on the conflict between her and Halcyon.

During their struggle, Wisteria nearly gets hurt by a cabinet, but Yancey shields her, injuring his arm. Wisteria uses this moment to break free, and Yancey coldly announces that their engagement is over, shocking Halcyon. He declares his decision to end the engagement and pulls Wisteria out of the room despite her resistance, ignoring Halcyon’s angry threats.

Outside, Yancey tries to get Wisteria into his car, but she pushes him away, questioning his behavior and warning about Halcyon’s potential complaint against her. Yancey forcefully puts her in the car and secures her seatbelt, showing a rare display of anger and determination. When Wisteria asks why he has changed, Yancey questions her acceptance of humiliation and hints at deeper emotional wounds. The chapter ends with Wisteria bitterly telling Yancey she hates him, revealing the complex and painful emotions between them.

Faint murmurs drifted to Yancey’s ears—whispers that Halcyon was upset, that the wine was reserved for whoever had brought the toys. A creeping unease settled in his chest, prickling at his senses. Without waiting for anyone beside him to take the lead, he pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside alone.

The moment he crossed the threshold, he caught Halcyon’s sharp words and immediately spotted Wisteria being pressured to drink. Without a second thought, Yancey stepped forward to intervene.

Wisteria coughed violently, the wine splattering from her mouth in a sudden burst—right onto Yancey’s pristine, expensive shirt.

Though the fabric was instantly stained and ruined, Yancey didn’t flinch. Instead, he wrapped an arm firmly around Wisteria’s waist from behind, steadying her trembling form.

“Why are you drinking? You’re allergic to alcohol. Are you trying to hurt yourself?” he demanded, his voice taut with concern.

“Cough… Yancey… why are you interfering?” Wisteria croaked, looking up at him with surprise. She instinctively tried to pull away from his hold, but Yancey’s grip remained unyielding. His gaze hardened, shooting a sharp look toward Halcyon. For more chapters visit find[ɴ]ovel.net

For a moment, Halcyon’s composure faltered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. But she quickly recovered, straightening her posture.

“Yancey, what exactly are you doing? Am I invisible to you, your fiancée?” she challenged, her tone icy.

“Why are you treating her like this?” Yancey’s voice dropped low, controlled but simmering with restrained anger. “I’ve told you before—there’s nothing between Wisteria and me. She’s no longer part of my life, and tonight, she hasn’t caused anyone any trouble. We settled everything. So why are you pulling this behind my back?”

Wisteria’s eyes widened in surprise at his words.

—

Halcyon let out a bitter laugh, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she watched Yancey defend Wisteria.

“Nothing between you two? I’m your fiancée, yet here you are—at my own birthday party, in front of all my friends—taking her side and defending her?”

“Nothing between you? But right now, you’re holding her, comforting her, and blaming me for it?” Her words struck like daggers.

Yancey’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously, as if Halcyon’s accusations had hit a raw nerve. The veins at his temple stood out sharply, and his face drained of color—a reaction Wisteria recognized all too well.

She understood Yancey. When he was furious but unwilling to lash out, he became tense and silent, unable even to defend himself. Raised with impeccable manners and endless politeness, he was the polar opposite of her. If she were in his place, no matter the reason, she would have argued fiercely, making a scene if necessary.

Growing up, Yancey had often been the target of bullying and exploitation. That was why, when they first met, the reverence in his eyes as he looked at her was almost worshipful—as if she were his savior.

“Yancey, stop pretending. You don’t have to act like the nice guy around me,” Wisteria snapped, struggling against his hold. She swallowed the burning sensation in her throat and shot a cold glare at Halcyon. “This is between me and Ms. Loring.”

Halcyon’s eyes were red-rimmed, her voice sharp. “Yancey, she doesn’t even care about you. She’s trampled all over you and still acts like she’s above it all. Are you really going to be her lapdog forever?”

“Let me go!” Wisteria pleaded, desperate to avoid being caught in the middle.

As they struggled, she stumbled backward dangerously close to the sharp corner of a standing cabinet.

—

Yancey reacted instantly, throwing his arm up to shield her. The cabinet shook with a heavy thud as it was nearly toppled.

His brow furrowed deeply, his face paling even more—clearly in pain.

Wisteria finally stopped, instinctively turning to check if his arm was hurt. But halfway through, she caught herself and seized the moment to slip free from his grasp.

“Ms. Loring, there really is nothing between Yancey and me, I—”

“Our engagement is over,” Yancey’s voice cut through her words, cold and resolute.

Halcyon’s eyes widened in shock, her lips trembling as she stared at him in disbelief. “Yancey, what did you say? You’re breaking off our engagement for a notorious foster girl?”

“This isn’t about anyone else. Ms. Loring, you don’t trust me—and maybe my past has made you feel this way—but I can’t change that. Regardless, I have no desire to continue this engagement. I’ll explain everything to both families. This decision is mine alone.”

Without another glance, Yancey grasped Wisteria’s arm and, despite her resistance, pulled her out of the room.

Frozen for a few seconds, Halcyon spun around and shouted after them, “Yancey! You’ll regret this!”

—

Outside the Loring house, Yancey half-dragged, half-led Wisteria to his car. When he opened the door and tried to usher her inside, she shoved him away.

“Yancey, what the hell is wrong with you? You hate me, so why are you meddling in my business? Don’t you realize Halcyon’s going to file a complaint against me? We’re strangers now. Let’s stop dragging each other down, okay?”

She turned to walk back, but Yancey, frustrated, yanked off his tie, strode over, and with barely contained impatience, lifted her into the car. He clicked her seatbelt firmly, locked the doors, and ignored her struggling.

—

“Yancey, when did you become like this?” Wisteria demanded, her voice trembling.

“What, do you think going back in there will make her forgive you?” Yancey’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, his face unreadable. “Since when did you, Wisteria, accept being humiliated like this? Or is this about some other man? Are you just looking to get hurt again?”

This was the first time Yancey had ever forced someone to do something against their will, and even he could feel the fierce anger burning inside him. He didn’t understand where this sudden intensity had come from.

“…Yancey, I hate you.”

Those words cut deep. Every time Wisteria had been heartbroken, Yancey was the one who helped her through the pain—he had seen her at her lowest, her most vulnerable.

But it wasn’t because of those men. She never imagined Yancey saw her that way.

Did he truly believe she was both hopelessly lovesick and utterly heartless? How could anyone be both at once?

The tension between Yancey, Wisteria, and Halcyon has reached a boiling point, leaving readers on edge about what will unfold next. As Yancey makes a decisive break from his engagement with Halcyon, his protective yet conflicted feelings toward Wisteria come into sharp focus. This unexpected shift promises to reveal deeper layers of their complicated pasts and the emotional scars that still bind them, raising questions about trust, loyalty, and the true nature of their connection.

Meanwhile, Wisteria’s defiant stance and raw emotions hint at unresolved pain and a fierce desire to reclaim her agency, even as she struggles with the tangled web of relationships around her. The next chapter is poised to explore the consequences of Yancey’s bold choices and the fallout from this explosive confrontation. Readers can anticipate a mix of vulnerability and strength as these characters navigate the fragile line between love and resentment, setting the stage for revelations that could change everything.