Chapter 18-End of an era

Chapter 18: 18-End of an era

Long after Dylan and Sarah disappeared from sight, Aymara finished the rest of her shopping and crossed the road toward her next destination—a mechanic’s supply shop.

By then, the exhaustion was beginning to catch up with her. Her legs ached from hours of walking, her shoulders felt heavy, and her eyes burned from the lack of sleep.

For the past several days, she had been surviving on brief naps whenever she could steal them. Yet every time fatigue tried to drag her down, the image of the coming apocalypse pushed her forward again. She couldn’t rest yet, not when the countdown was still ticking.

Inside the mechanic’s supply shop, Aymara wasted no time. Repair tool kits, mechanical parts, replacement engines, welding equipment, spare components, electrical supplies, hydraulic equipment, pipes, cables, fasteners, and anything else that could potentially help repair or maintain a massive cruise ship went straight onto her order.

Once she had cleared out everything she considered useful, she paid and loaded the supplies into her vehicle before driving to a metal supplier.

This time, she didn’t even bother pretending she was making an ordinary purchase. She ordered metal sheets, steel beams, reinforcement plates, structural supports, heavy-duty bolts, industrial-grade materials, and anything else strong enough to reinforce the ship’s hull.

The supplier looked over the enormous order and then at Aymara.

"You’re building something big, aren’t you, lady?" he asked in his thick accent.

Aymara followed his gaze toward the towering stacks of metal. Her lips curved slightly. "Very big."

She paid for everything and arranged for the materials to be delivered to the warehouse. Once the delivery was complete and the workers had left, Aymara stood alone among the enormous piles of metal.

She placed her hand against the nearest stack and everything vanished into the storage. The system immediately began processing the materials.

DING!

The metal disappeared from the warehouse in waves. Far away, the cruise ship shuddered.

Deep beneath the waterline, its hull began transforming. Additional layers of reinforced metal formed over vulnerable sections, strengthening the ship’s outer structure. Internal supports thickened, structural beams multiplied and locked into place. Bulkheads became sturdier, doors were reinforced, windows strengthened, and critical systems were given additional protection.

The ship was no longer simply becoming bigger. It was becoming harder to destroy. When the transformation finally ended, another series of notifications appeared.

[Structural Reinforcement Complete.]

[Defense Capability Increased.]

[Repair Capability Increased.]

[Hull Durability Increased.]

Aymara stared at the ship’s updated status, a tired but satisfied smile slowly appearing on her face. Exactly what she wanted, a floating fortress.

She leaned against her car and rubbed her aching eyes. The clock was still ticking and she didn’t have much time left.

"I’ll make it," she whispered, as though reassuring herself. Then she straightened and gave herself a small nod. "I have to."

---

Aymara had barely driven halfway home when something suddenly cut across the road.

She slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched against the asphalt, and her body jerked forward against the seat belt.

"What the..."

A black vehicle had deliberately stopped across the road, completely blocking her path. Aymara’s tired eyes narrowed to look at it and she recognized it immediately.

It was the same vehicle that had driven away from the shopping center earlier. Her expression hardened.

Of all the people she wanted to encounter twice in one day, Dylan was at the very bottom of the list.

She remained inside her car for several seconds, staring through the windshield. She was exhausted and she wanted nothing more than to drive around him and continue home.

Unfortunately, Dylan had positioned his vehicle perfectly. There was no space to pass. With a resigned sigh, Aymara opened the door and stepped out.

"Fine." She shut the door behind her. "Let’s find out why he came back."

Dylan was already marching toward her. He looked furious and not merely angry. He looked like someone who had just discovered that his lifeline had been cut without warning.

"What were you thinking?"

Aymara stared at him. "Good afternoon to you too."

"You sold everything you own, Aymara!"

"Yes, I did," she replied, immediately understanding that he had found out. How he had discovered it wasn’t important. What mattered was the fury written all over his face.

And, strangely enough, seeing him this angry made her afternoon considerably more enjoyable.

"Without consulting me?" Dylan demanded. His voice was filled with accusation. "How could you do something like that without telling me?"

Aymara blinked. "Why would I consult you?" She questioned.

Dylan stared at her as though she had asked the most ridiculous question in the world. "Because we’re together and I should have a say in your life!"

Aymara looked at him for a long moment. Something inside her finally snapped into place. The entitlement in her voice brought back bitter memories of the past life.

"F*ck it!"

There was no reason to keep pretending anymore, no reason to call him babe or let him hold her hand and no reason to maintain the illusion that they were still a couple when, in her heart, their relationship had been dead for a long time.

"Were, Dylan."

Dylan’s expression changed. "What?"

"We were together," she repeated since he was pretending not to have heard her. "What I do with my life and MY properties has nothing to do with you."

The warmth he’d been pretending to have earlier vanished from his face. "You sold the company, the properties, the shares..." His voice rose with every word. "Everything!"

"And?"

"And you didn’t even tell me!" He acted like she had committed some sacrilege acting without his consent.

Aymara stared at him. For several seconds, she said nothing at how ridiculous he sounded. After a while, she laughed. It wasn’t a nervous laugh, it wasn’t the soft, apologetic laugh Dylan was accustomed to hearing but was genuine amusement.

Dylan’s face darkened. "What’s funny?"

"You are, Dylan."

He looked stunned.

The Aymara he knew wasn’t defiant. She listened to him. She adjusted her decisions according to his preferences. Whenever he became angry, she would immediately step back and try to comfort him, even when she was the one who had been hurt.

Whenever she wanted to make an important decision, she would come to him first and ask what he thought.

He had grown so accustomed to controlling her that he had mistaken her obedience for love. But the woman standing before him was different. She didn’t flinch, apologize or even look afraid of displeasing him.

"You’re acting like I stole something from you," Aymara said calmly. "In everything I sold, name one thing that belonged to you or you invested in."

"You’re being heartless, Aymara!" Dylan stepped closer. "You know I’m your boyfriend. You should have considered me before making such a huge decision."

Aymara studied his face. For one brief moment, nostalgia touched her. This was the man she had once loved, defended, sacrificed friendships for and had trusted with her heart.

Now? She could barely stand looking at him. All she saw in him was desperation, greed and emptiness. She couldn’t understand how she’d once believed this man could fill the loneliness inside her.

’He was never the cure to my illness,’ her gaze hardened. ’He was the disease that made it worse.’

She shook the thought away. There was no point dwelling on him anymore.

Dylan suddenly pulled out his phone. "Transfer one hundred million to me," he bravely demanded without any shame.

Silence swallowed the surrounding and Aymara was at a loss of what to say. She could only stare at him.

One hundred million? He had actually asked her for one hundred million as though she owed it to him.

For what? Gaslighting her for six years? Cheating on her? Using her to front his expenses and fund his love with Sarah? Manipulating to turn her back on everyone who genuinely loved her? Or for killing her in the first life?

Her disbelief lasted several seconds before she burst out laughing again.

This time, Dylan looked genuinely confused. "What’s wrong with you?"

Aymara walked toward him. She had barely slept for several days, she had spent days preparing for the end of the world, worked until her body ached. She had endured his lies, his manipulation, and his audacity and now he was standing in front of her demanding money.

Something inside her finally reached its limit.

SMACK!

Her palm struck his cheek. Hard.

Dylan froze. His head turned with the impact, and absolute silence settled over the road. Slowly, he turned back toward her. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

Aymara had hit him. The gentle, naive woman who cried whenever someone raised their voice at her, who apologized even when she wasn’t wrong, who had spent years allowing herself to be manipulated because she was terrified of hurting someone else’s feelings.

She had just slapped him. He shuddered, shock already forming in his mind.

Aymara looked at his stunned expression. She felt no regret. In fact, she felt she had room for one more.

SMACK!

Dylan staggered backward as his other cheek stung from the impact.

"You..." He touched his cheek in disbelief. "You slapped me?"

Aymara shook her hand as though she’d touched something unpleasant. "Unfortunately, yes."

Dylan stared at her. He couldn’t reconcile this woman with the Aymara he knew.

The old Aymara would have cried, apologized, begged him not to be angry and blamed herself. But this Aymara? She simply looked at him.

"Wake up, Dylan," her voice was cold. "The era of me running after you is over."

Dylan remained silent. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock.

"The era of me begging for your leftover affection is over." She stepped closer. "I don’t want your love, your excuses," she paused, held his gaze. "And I certainly don’t want you."