Chapter 5

Nora's POV

"Nora, I..."

"Just drop me off at the records building," I cut him off, my voice remarkably steady. "It’s only a couple of blocks away."

Julian’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white.

The phone rang again. Daisy, once more.

Julian hit accept, and her hysterical crying filled the cabin. "Julian, it hurts so bad... If you don't come, I’m going to end up dying alone in this house and nobody will even care—"

I watched Julian's features crumble, morphing from hesitation to raw panic and protective anguish.

A wave of bitter amusement washed over me.

See? It was always like this. The second Daisy shed a single tear, every boundary, promise, and principle he had vanished into thin air.

And I had never possessed that kind of power.

Julian pulled the car over to the curb at the intersection.

He turned to face me, an apologetic look plastered across his handsome face. "Nora, Daisy is..."

"I know." I reached down and popped the door open. "Go to her."

Julian hesitated, glancing toward the government plaza down the street. "Let me drop you at the entrance first. As soon as I make sure Daisy is stable, I’ll swing back to pick you up—"

"No need." I stepped out onto the sidewalk, closing the door behind me. "I can catch an Uber when I’m done."

Julian’s lips parted as if he wanted to reassure me, but the frantic buzzing of his console urged him otherwise.

He gave me one long, deeply conflicted look.

"Nora, wait for me. I’ll come get you as soon as I can."

With that, he slammed his foot on the accelerator. The black Maybach peeled away from the curb, quickly disappearing around the distant corner.

I stood on the sidewalk, watching the sleek luxury car shrink into a tiny dot before it dissolved completely into the flow of traffic.

I didn't move.

I simply stood there under the chilly wind, letting the gusts whip my hair across my face.

The municipal records office was less than three hundred yards away. A brief five-minute walk, and I would complete the final paperwork to erase every trace of "Nora Miller" from the system.

If Julian had possessed just an ounce more patience—if he had driven just two blocks further—he would have seen me walking into the identity termination department. He would have known that I was truly walking out of his life forever.

Yet he hadn't.

He couldn't even spare the patience for three hundred yards.

Because he had to rush to Daisy. His perpetually weeping, fragile, needy little princess who demanded the entire world revolve around her.

He honestly thought I was throwing a harmless bridezilla tantrum.

A quiet laugh escaped my throat.

The laughter shook my chest until hot tears finally spilled over my cheeks.

I wiped them away with the back of my hand, lifted my chin, and walked forward.

The clerk behind the counter was a woman in her late forties, peering through horn-rimmed glasses with bureaucratic detachment.

"What form are you filing today?"

"Voluntary expatriation and total civil registry cancellation."

The clerk paused, her eyes traveling up to scrutinize me from head to toe. "Where’s the certified death certificate?"

"I’m not dead," I replied evenly. "I am voluntarily relinquishing my domestic legal identity, closing all civil files, and transferring my status under an international private trust. As far as the system is concerned, Nora Miller will no longer exist."

The clerk’s brows shot up. "Complete identity dissolution? Do you understand the gravity of that? Without an active social profile, ID, or local registry, you won't be able to open bank accounts, board domestic transit, book hotels, or work standard employment..."

"I am fully aware."

The woman studied my face for several seconds, looking as though she wanted to offer a warning, but the sheer, unwavering stillness in my eyes made her sigh. She slid a thick stack of legal waivers across the counter. "Sign and initial every highlighted section."

I picked up the pen, carefully filling out the lines.

Name: Nora Miller.

Reason for Renunciation: Personal election.

My pen moved slowly, deliberate and steady. With every stroke of ink, it felt as though I was severing a thread tying me to my former self.

Once finished, I slid the signed documents back.

The clerk reviewed the paperwork, stamped the seals, and handed me the certified release confirmation. "It's done. As of this moment, your legal presence in this jurisdiction is formally deactivated. You hold zero domestic standing. Are you... entirely certain about this?"

I took the embossed certificate, staring at the finalized status. A faint, peaceful smile touched my lips.

"I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life."

Stepping out of the municipal building, the afternoon sunlight poured over the stone plaza.

I looked up at the vast blue sky, suddenly finding that my lungs could expand fully for the first time in years.

Starting today, I was no longer the unloved daughter of the Miller family. I was no longer a pawn in anyone’s social climbing game. I was no longer the quiet, self-sacrificing Nora who swallowed every injustice just to keep the peace.

I was heading to a place far away from here.

A place of shimmering auroras, endless snowfields, and a bespoke sanctuary tailored exclusively for me.

A place with parents and a fiancé I had paid for with cold, hard cash.

And that was perfectly fine.

Because they would give me warmth.

Unconditional, genuine warmth.

My phone chimed in my pocket. A message from my assigned "family" on the island lit up the screen: Nora, sweetie, your chartered flight itinerary is locked in. Day after tomorrow, 10:00 AM, JFK International.

I typed a single word in reply: Understood.

Flagging down a yellow cab, I gave the driver the address of my closest friend's apartment.

I needed a quiet couch to crash on for two days. On the morning of the wedding, I wouldn't be walking down an aisle; I would be at the terminal gate, boarding a flight bound for Aurora Island.

From that moment on, I would have nothing to do with any of them.

Julian Vance, you swore you’d turn the city upside down to find me.

Too bad. You will never find me.

Because this time, I am making sure I stay lost.