SILLAGE

While I Was Bleeding Out, He Lit Lanterns For Her

Katie Oettgen

As I lay on the floor of our manor, bleeding out from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, I used my last ounce of strength to call my husband, Cole. I begged him for help, my vision blurring. But the only thing I heard was the clinking of champagne glasses and his mistress's giggle in the background. "Stop the drama, June," Cole snapped, his voice cold. "We're about to go on stage. Don't call again." He hung up, leaving me to die alone on the Persian rug while he accepted an award with another woman on his arm. I woke up in the hospital days later. My baby was gone. They had removed my fallopian tube. Cole finally arrived, smelling of expensive scotch and his mistress's perfume. He didn't hug me. He didn't cry. Instead, he leaned over my hospital bed, pressing his knee into the mattress until my fresh stitches tore open and bled. "You embarrassed me by calling an ambulance," he hissed. "My mistress, Alycia, says you're faking it. Clean yourself up." He left me bleeding again to go announce a $10 million donation to Alycia's "groundbreaking" medical research. I stared at the TV screen, numb. The research Alycia was taking credit for? It was mine. I wrote that patent years ago under a pseudonym. They thought I was just a poor, orphan housewife who needed Cole's money to survive. They had no idea I was actually a billionaire scientist hiding my identity. I pulled the IV needle out of my arm. A drop of blood fell onto the divorce papers I had been hiding. I didn't wipe it off. I signed my name right over it. Then I walked into the bank, reactivated my dormant account with $128 million, and bought the penthouse directly overlooking Cole's house. The mourning widow is dead. The avenger is born.

Romance Crime Revenge Pregnancy Enemies to Lovers Pregnancy Personal Growth

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Rocky Bai woke up in a sweat, confusion filling his wide eyes. It felt like he had just woken up from a nightmare. Gasping for air, he soon noticed something was amiss. His arms held him up at once. The scene coming into his eyes knocked him down like a feather.

He was greeted with the sight of a luxurious and splendid room decked with classic decoration. There were no lamps or lights in here, but it was as bright as day. He was lying in a comfortable bed with a golden silk quilt, white tulle encircling it on all sides. Rocky Bai felt like he was lying on an imperial bed. Through the white tulle, Rocky Bai could see plenty of gold and jade objects on a cabinet. He could tell that each of them was worth at least a million.

Everything Rocky Bai saw caught him by surprise, and then a sudden thought popped into his head: 'Where am I?" What he last remembered was being on the way to a meeting. He had been invited by the International Animal Genome Center to deliver a keynote speech. Rocky Bai, a young and talented scholar in the field of gene study, ranked number one among his peers. No one in the whole world could surpass him in the field of gene study until now. While he was on the flight heading for the venue, an aircraft accident occurred right before he passed out. Now, he was in a strange room.

It was impossible that this was hell. But if this was heaven, how could everything around him feel so real? Wasn't it said that only the soul could go to heaven when someone died? Souls couldn't feel anything physically, right? But his senses were so real and substantial. He could feel not only the softness and comfort of the bed, but also the warmth coming from someone under the quilt next to him.

Rocky was shocked to find someone lying next to him. Cautiously, he slowly opened the quilt, hoping not to awaken his companion. He was greeted with the sight of an elegant female body. She was lying in his arms. From where Rocky was, he could only see half of her face. Despite that, he could tell the girl in his arms was only about sixteen.

He observed her for a while. She was dressed in a white night robe and wore golden ornaments on her head, wrists and feet. She looked imperial, like she had been born into the lap of luxury.

Rocky could not help but swallow nervously. He thought he was really in heaven. Otherwise, how could he have such a beauty be sleeping in his arms? A smile crept over his lips as he was wondering what other benefits he would get in heaven.

Dirty thoughts came into his head. All of a sudden, the girl groaned faintly in her sleep and shifted her position. Her face left Rocky's shoulder as she turned to the other side. Rocky froze as he saw her features. Her face was like a masterpiece of God.

Without any makeup, her features were as delicate as a porcelain doll. Her eyelashes, long and curly, fluttered as she breathed. She had an incredibly cute upturned nose, and her rosebud lips looked as sweet as candies, alluring Rocky to have a taste. Although she was young, she carried an enchanting air with mature femininity. He could tell thousands of men would pursue her when she grew up.

'Stop Rocky! Stop staring at her! She is only a young girl! What the hell are you thinking about her?' Rocky shook his head and quit looking at her right away. His face flushed as his heart pounded. He was a man in his thirties after all. He still could control himself even with such a beauty next to him. He tried to calm down by reminding himself that she was only a little girl for his age, and guilt flooded his chest.

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