Chapter 82: I no longer belong to you

Laviana studied the face before her.

His mouth was covered by the air-filtration device. His fat cheeks sagged on either side of his face, while his stomach was so large that it nearly pressed against the edge of the electric cart. Every time he spoke, the layers of fat across his body trembled slightly.

A wave of nausea immediately rose within her.

Laviana unconsciously thought of Erik.

The comparison was far too cruel.

One was tall and powerfully built, capable of fighting, knew how to cook, and could even refuse one-fifth of her entire fortune simply because it violated his principles.

As for the man before her—

Laviana immediately stopped herself.

She was afraid that if she continued comparing them, she truly would vomit right there in the room.

How did I ever tolerate this before?

Perhaps she had never genuinely liked him.

The entire world had simply told her that this was what a Succubus ought to do, so year after year, she had forced herself to become that ideal.

Seeing Laviana stare at him in silence, the man misunderstood and assumed she was beginning to regret her decision. The corners of his lips curled smugly behind the air-filtration device.

"There is still time to kneel."

Laviana closed her eyes.

"Dissolve it."

A single command, completely devoid of emotion.

The man’s face immediately stiffened.

"Fine." He gritted his teeth and slowly took out a small device. "Don’t come begging me afterward."

The Contract between them was immediately activated. A faint light appeared around Laviana’s wrist before extending toward the man opposite her, forming a connection she knew all too well.

Laviana lowered her gaze toward it.

It had existed for far too long, yet it contained neither affection nor intimacy.

To her, it was nothing more than a lock.

The man looked at Laviana, malice gradually appearing in his eyes. He knew dissolving the Contract would cause a backlash, and he understood that a Succubus would suffer far more severely than a man. Therefore, he deliberately slowed the process, as though wishing to savor what was about to happen.

He wanted to watch her suffer.

He wanted to see Laviana collapse onto the floor.

He wanted the woman who had always stood so proudly before him to finally regret her choice, then crawl over and beg him to restore the Contract.

"Watch carefully." The man sneered. "This is the price of leaving a man."

Crack.

The thread of the Contract shattered.

A sharp pain instantly pierced Laviana’s chest, causing her to frown slightly as one hand instinctively rose to cover it.

The man opposite her immediately sat straighter.

His eyes were filled with anticipation.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Laviana slowly exhaled.

And then—

Nothing.

The man stared blankly.

"That’s it?"

Laviana also examined her body. Her already extremely weak aura had diminished a little further, but nothing else happened.

She was not surprised in the slightest.

The previous night, Laviana had burned through nearly every level she could sacrifice to suppress her thirst. There was hardly anything left for her to lose. Even if her level wanted to fall, there was almost nowhere lower for it to go.

The spiritual backlash still existed, but compared to what she had endured throughout the night, this small amount of pain was not even worth mentioning.

Laviana raised her head and looked at the man.

"Are we finished?"

He remained frozen.

"You..."

"If we’re finished, I’m leaving."

Laviana stood. The long skirt of her dress swayed gently around her legs. She did not spare the chest another glance, nor did she bother looking at the man behind her. She simply turned around and calmly walked toward the door.

"Laviana!"

The shout rang out behind her, but her steps did not slow.

"You will regret this!"

Laviana opened the door.

Behind her, the man gritted his teeth and screamed, "No other man will ever want you!"

Click.

The door closed.

Laviana paused in the hallway for exactly one second.

Then the corners of her lips slowly curved upward.

"I hope you’re right."

One of the maids following behind her stared blankly, clearly unable to understand what she meant.

Laviana continued walking, her voice becoming considerably lighter.

"Because I only need one."

...

The car door closed.

Laviana leaned back heavily against the seat. Her entire body was so exhausted that she could barely bring herself to move, yet the relief in her heart kept the corners of her lips raised.

She closed her eyes and quietly sensed her body.

That invisible thread had truly disappeared.

For the first time in many years, she was completely free.

Laviana opened her eyes and almost immediately took out her phone. One name sat at the top of her recent contacts.

Erik.

She called him.

The phone rang once, then a second and third time, but no one answered. Laviana began to frown. Just as she was about to hang up and call again, the other end finally connected.

"Laviana?"

Erik’s voice came through, carrying a trace of helplessness.

Several faint sounds could be heard in the background, followed by a familiar female voice.

"Master, pet me here too..."

Laviana stiffened.

Meira.

Immediately afterward, another voice joined in.

"Mother! You’re cutting in again!"

Elowen.

Laviana stared silently at her phone, her fingers slowly tightening around it.

The mother and daughter.

With him again.

Jealousy surged within her so quickly that even Laviana no longer wished to pretend she was calm.

"Erik."

"Hmm?"

"I want to be your woman."

The other end immediately fell silent.

Laviana did not beat around the bush. She continued bluntly, "I no longer want to offer only one-fifth. If you need it, my assets, companies, real estate, money... I can give you everything."

Erik immediately replied, "Laviana, I already told you that wasn’t—"

"I dissolved the Contract."

This time, the other end went completely silent.

Laviana laughed softly. Her smile carried exhaustion, but far more than that, it carried relief.

"I am a free Succubus now."

Meira’s voice immediately came from the other end.

"Who is it?"

Elowen also interjected, "Is it Laviana?"

Laviana lightly gritted her teeth.

Those two...

A moment later, Erik finally spoke.

"Where are you?"

"In the car."

"I’ll send you my location."

Laviana immediately sat upright.

"I’ll be there at once."

"Wait—"

Beep.

She had already ended the call.

The female assistant in the front seat turned around, her expression slightly confused.

"Madam?"

Laviana looked at the address that had just appeared on her phone. It was a hill located quite far from the city center.

She immediately ordered, "Prepare every document relating to my assets."

The assistant stared at her.

"All of them?"

"Mm."

"Are you truly planning to transfer everything?"

Laviana remained silent for several seconds before turning her head toward the window.

"I wasted far too many years trying to be a good Succubus in the eyes of someone who never needed me."

With that, she opened the car door.

"This time..."

A pair of Succubus wings unfurled behind her.

"...I don’t want to be late."

"Madam, the car—"

Boom!

Laviana shot into the sky.

The powerful wind sent her red hair and the back of her dress whipping violently through the air, but she did not even bother glancing back at the car below.

Laviana did not want to waste another half hour.

She no longer wanted to keep waiting.

She only wanted to reach him now.

...

Some time later, the hill finally appeared in the distance.

Laviana spotted the wooden villa nestled amid the grassy slope and immediately descended into the front yard. Her wings slowly folded behind her. Her red hair had become somewhat disheveled from the long flight, but she made no attempt to fix it as she walked straight toward the door.

Before she could knock, a voice came from inside.

"Master, the little dog wants more."

Meira.

The voice was so cheerful that merely hearing it was enough to make someone jealous.

Laviana immediately fell silent.

Elowen’s voice followed.

"Mother! You’ve already been petted longer than me."

"I’m a big dog."

"That has nothing to do with it!"

Laviana stood outside the door for several more seconds, her expression becoming increasingly strange.

A dog?

She reached out and tentatively pushed.

Click.

The door was unlocked.

Laviana walked straight through the living room, then stopped at the kitchen entrance.

The scene before her left her completely frozen.

Erik stood between two women. Meira wore a pair of golden dog ears, the multicolored necklace still resting around her neck, and had practically attached herself to one of his arms. Elowen stood on the other side with white cat ears atop her head, her cheeks bright red but one hand still lightly tugging on Erik’s sleeve, clearly unwilling to let her mother steal all his attention.

All three of them turned toward her at once.

The room immediately fell silent.

Laviana looked at Meira, then at Elowen, before finally settling her gaze upon Erik.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Her eyes slowly lit up.

So...

Laviana unconsciously licked her lips.

This is allowed too?

The instant Meira saw that expression, an ominous feeling arose within her. She leaned slightly toward her daughter and called quietly, "Elowen."

"Hmm?"

"Mother has a feeling..."

Meira watched Laviana grow increasingly intrigued, the corner of her eye twitching slightly.

"...our home is about to gain another source of trouble."