Year Five The Perfect Goodbye Plan novel Chapter 169

In the end, Silvia left the expensive jewelry that Laurinda had given her untouched. She and Kent walked out of the restaurant together.

She trailed after him, noticing that his pace was picking up, almost as if he couldn’t wait to get away. His grip on her hand tightened, and Silvia found herself struggling to keep up.

She tried to pull her hand free, but Kent’s hold was unyielding, making it nearly impossible to break away.

“Slow down a little,” Silvia said, slightly out of breath. “I can’t keep up with you.”

At her words, Kent finally eased his stride. He turned and looked back at her, his eyes chillingly cold, a familiar iciness that reminded Silvia of the man he used to be.

It had been a long time since she’d seen this side of Kent.

Only now did she realize that, beneath the surface, he was still that same distant, emotionally detached man. Even recently, after their marriage, when he’d shown her a bit of gentleness, it was little more than polite courtesy.

The thought struck her all at once. Silvia abruptly pulled her hand from his and looked up, locking eyes with Kent.

After a moment, she let out a bitter little laugh. “Why did I meet with her? I just thought… you’re always so cold around your family. Your aunt is warm and outgoing—I figured maybe she could help you two get along…”

“I don’t need that,” Kent interrupted, his voice low and sharp, tinged with frost.

But he immediately noticed the flash of hurt in Silvia’s eyes. Kent’s expression softened, a hint of regret flickering across his face.

He took a breath and spoke quietly, “Silvia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. It’s just… things with the Parsons family aren’t nearly as simple as you think. I don’t want you getting involved.”

Don’t want her involved? Was he pushing her away, treating her as an outsider?

Old memories and past wounds weighed heavily on Kent, and he found himself apologizing again, his head bowed, messy hair falling over his face. For a moment, Silvia thought he looked like a remorseful wolfhound.

She didn’t know if that was the right way to describe him—but in that instant, it felt exactly right.

“I was wrong too,” Silvia said, choosing not to dwell on the argument. She smiled faintly, waving it off. “You told me yourself not to get too close to the rest of the Parsons family.”

With that, she dropped the subject and slid into the car, quietly scrolling through her phone.

Kent watched her, his lips pressed into a thin, tense line.

He hadn’t meant to blame Silvia. She had no idea what kind of person his aunt truly was.