# Chapter 38: The Bird That Flew Away
Hello, dear listeners and readers! It's me again, your trusty storytelling companion. How are you all doing today? I hope you're ready for another deep dive into the tangled, heart-wrenching world of "The Untouchable Ex-Wife." Chapter 38 is a masterclass in simmering tension and whispered lies—where every glance out a window carries the weight of a broken past, and every sip of coffee hides a dagger of deception. So, settle in, grab your favorite drink, and let us walk together through this gripping chapter of secrets, suspicion, and the dangerous game of love.
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The sun was already waning in the afternoon sky, casting long shadows across the luxurious estate. Inside the penthouse, Stefan Hunt stood motionless behind the floor-to-ceiling window, his tall, sturdy frame perfectly hidden by the dark curtain's edge. His eyes never moved from the sleek black car that rolled down the winding driveway, carrying away the only woman who had ever made his heart feel both whole and fractured at the same time.
He watched. And watched. Even after the car shrank to a speck, then vanished entirely into the haze of the city—he still stared at the empty space where she'd been. His coffee had long since gone cold in his hand, forgotten. His mind, however, was burning with questions that refused to be ignored.
"Stefan, what are you looking at? You're so absorbed."
The voice cut through his reverie like a dull blade. Seraphina, lounging on the velvet chaise with a fashion magazine in her hands, had noticed his unusual stillness. She had been flipping through glossy pages without any real interest, but now her eyes sharpened with that familiar, gnawing anxiety that seemed to be her constant companion these days.
"A bird," Stefan replied lightly, letting the curtain fall back into place. He turned toward her, but his gaze remained distant, detached.
"A bird?" Seraphina found it odd. She stretched her neck and squinted at the window. Through the glass, there was nothing but blue sky and drifting clouds. "There's nothing outside. What bird?"
"A bird that flew away. But I think its wings aren't that strong. It won't fly far."
He averted his gaze, lifted the coffee cup to his lips, and took a slow, deliberate sip. There was a profound, almost cryptic weight to his words that made Seraphina's blood chill. The bad premonition in her heart grew darker, twisting like a thorny vine around her chest.
That bird—it wasn't a bird at all. That was Renee. Renee Everheart.
A surge of jealousy and fear flooded Seraphina's veins, but she kept her face carefully composed. After a moment of inner calculation, she pretended to ask casually, "Stefan, did you see Miss Everheart again these few days?"
His gaze snapped toward her, sharp enough to cut glass. "Didn't I tell you that I won't see her alone again?"
"I'm sorry. I just love you too much. It's why I'm overly fearful. I'm afraid that I'll lose you if I'm not careful," she said, her voice dripping with a practiced tenderness that had never quite made it to her eyes.
Stefan's jaw tightened. "We're so deeply in love with each other. Why do you always have such little confidence? Or... does it mean that our love isn't as unbreakable as I imagined?"
His imploring gaze turned fierce, piercing her defenses. He was not merely asking—he was testing her.
"Er... of course not!" Seraphina lowered her head in a slightly guilty manner, unable to bear the pressure of his eyes. A cold sweat began to form on her palms under the table.
Technically speaking, she was just a thief. A thief who had stolen Stefan's love—love that had once belonged entirely, hopelessly, to Renee Everheart. Every glance of adoration Stefan gave her, every tender word, every promise of forever—these were all embers stolen from the fire that had once burned between him and Renee. Seraphina had only gathered the ashes and pretended they were her own.
But she knew the terrible truth. If Stefan ever remembered the past—if the dam of his wounded memory ever broke—she would be swept into a hell of her own making. She was nothing but a despicable impostor wearing the crown of someone else's happiness.
She swallowed hard, trying to compose herself. "You said that I can ask you if I have any doubts. So, I'll do just that...," Stefan said suddenly, his countenance grim. He sighed long and deep, as if releasing a burden he had carried for far too long. "I'm indeed troubled by many things. If I don't make them clear, I'm afraid I can't marry you without any distractions. This is also the reason why I went to see her alone."
Seraphina's heart stopped for a fraction of a second. Then, slowly, she exhaled. "You finally said that. I've been waiting all this while."
She had known this day would come from the moment he first laid eyes on Renee again. It was written in the stars, inevitable as nightfall. She had always known that in order to keep her stolen happiness, she would have to become the villain of Renee's story. There was no going back now. After all, no one could remain righteous and kind once Pandora's box was opened.
Stefan turned to face her fully. "Go ahead and ask me. I'll tell you everything I know." She met his gaze calmly, but beneath that calm surface lay a swirling ocean of malice and desperation. She was prepared to repay Renee's kindness with evil—to push her all the way to utter ruin, if that was the price of her own survival.
Stefan set down his cup, leaned forward, and looked directly into her eyes. "What kind of past do I have with Renee? I don't believe that she's just a simple helper who changed my bandages or my cousin's wife. I have never heard of her." His voice was low, dangerous—like a man standing at the edge of a cliff, demanding to know what lies below.
Seraphina let a dramatic pause hang in the air. Then she sighed, as if she had been forced to reveal an unpleasant truth against her will. "It looks like I can't hide it from you any longer. You guys did have some kind of relationship with each other—but it only resembles the origin of pain. You completely forgot about it. Perhaps it's because God pities you, and He doesn't want you to suffer."
"Now I don't want to forget it," he replied, his voice vibrating with determination. "I'd rather suffer in silence than be numb to all this."
Seraphina felt the cold thrill of a spider about to weave the final thread of her web. She drew a deep breath, steeling herself. She would give him what he wanted—the truth, twisted and poisoned to serve her ends.
"Both of you were once lovers—but you guys are enemies now. She is Quinton's younger sister. He's the boss of Carmine Pawnshop. She plotted against you to avenge her brother. She made you blind and pushed you into a river that was full of rocks. You hurt your head afterward."
She paused, watching the storm gather in his eyes. "I was the one who risked my life to save you. After that, she hypocritically claimed that she wanted to make it up to you. Maybe it was because of her guilt, or she was afraid that the Hunt family might take revenge on her. But at last—" she lowered her voice with theatrical sorrow, "—she cruelly abandoned you for Jovan's sake."
The name hung in the air like a curse. Jovan. The man who was supposed to be Stefan's trusted ally, the man who had once been Renee's fiancé—and now, the man who had become everything to Renee.
Stefan's knuckles turned white as he clenched his hand around the armrest. A long, agonized silence stretched between them. His mind was a battlefield—scattered fragments of memories trying to piece themselves together, a phantom pain of betrayal that he could not quite grasp, and the face of a woman who looked at him with such sorrowful eyes every time they met.
Was Seraphina telling the truth?
He had no way to verify it. His memory was a fog-shrouded wasteland, peppered with holes he could not fill. Renee had always been gentle whenever he saw her—like she was carrying a broken heart of her own. But perhaps that was merely an act. Perhaps she was the wolf wearing the sheep's skin.
Seraphina watched his inner turmoil with a hidden, triumphant gleam. She was now irrevocably the wicked woman she had sworn she would never become. But there was no turning back. Once Pandora's box is opened, the hope inside may have been lost forever—but the darkness that escaped… that darkness now had a name, and it was hers.
And as Stefan stood up silently, his face carved from stone and his heart bleeding with a fresh, unspeakable agony, a single thought pulsed through his mind like a dark prophecy: The bird that flew away may not have strong wings—but Stefan was no longer sure if he wanted it to return.
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**Reader's Impressions & Star Rating**
Wow. Just… wow. This chapter was an emotional hurricane in a teacup. The subtle tension between Stefan and Seraphina is absolutely suffocating—you could cut the air with a knife. The way Seraphina so casually rewrites history, turning Renee from a victim into a villain, is chilling. And yet, you can't fully hate her because she knows she's only a thief holding stolen goods. But the real heartbreak lies in Stefan—the man who demands the truth but only receives a beautiful, poisonous lie. I loved how the bird metaphor wove through the entire scene, symbolizing Renee's fragile freedom and Seraphina's fear of her return. This chapter sets the stage for a catastrophic unraveling, and I am biting my nails.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.7 / 5 Stars
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**Next Chapter Prediction**
If Seraphina's lies take root in Stefan's mind, the next chapter is going to be pure emotional devastation! We're about to see Stefan confront Renee with cold accusations—perhaps even unleashing his wrath on her, believing she's the enemy who blinded him and tried to kill him. And what will Renee do when she realizes the man she still loves has been poisoned against her? Will she finally reveal the real truth, or will she retreat into silence and let him hate her? One thing is certain—Seraphina believes her web is secure, but the real truth has a way of ripping through every lie, and Jovan's interference might just be the spark that sets it all ablaze!
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