The Billionaire Heiress's Radical Comeback

my parents died and I miscarried our child, he told me

woke up in the hospital to see him h

, "You never have t

ited, blaming me for the miscarriage before destroying my mother's heirlooms. D

an he could easily discard. He thought

y funded by my billionaire family. Now, he's about to lea

pte

Donald

ears ago, he' d called me his princess, promised to shield me from every storm. Now, he was walking into a phone call, muttering about his

rning, holding his coffee mug, not my hand. "A fender bend

t even l

tering to the floor. Derek, ever the pragmatist, booked me a flight. "It's the fastest way there, Aspen," he said, h

-law," I whispered, te

screen. "And you are radically independent, my love. You

rek wasn't there. When I came back, hollowed out and barely functioning, he notic

rief, but I knew was a broken heart. This time, Derek didn't even book a flight. "Aspen, this is becoming melod

nd woman named Dr. Evans, diagnosed me with severe depression. Derek scoffed. "Depression is a luxury for those wi

a personal insult, a f

f in it. I found out I was pregnant. A small flicker of hope. Maybe this. Maybe a baby would bring us back. Bring

ne, clutching my stomach, watching the last shred of my hope drain away. I called Derek. No answer. I called again. Hi

the baby," I

him know when he's free." Her v

plan in my head. The weight of everything crushed me. I wanted it all to stop. I wanted the pain to s

s. A sterile white room. The insistent beeping of machines. I w

r face was tear-streaked, her breathing ragged. She was hyperventilating, a minor panic attack from a stressful meeting, I overhe

l of an affection I hadn't seen directed at me

s 'radical independence' for me wasn't a philosophy. It wasn't about principle. It was about her. It was about his pro

use he wouldn't be strong for me. But for Krystal, for her minor breakdown,

d regret everything. But would he? Would he regret losing the "princess" he destroyed, wh

's voice cut through the

heavy. The wor

rent voice, agitated, yelled. "Where's h

s. The phone ringing. Ringi

e line! His personal c

m St. Jude's. Your wife, Aspen Donaldson, was brought in several hours ago. She's in critic

d. I strained to hear, my he

d near my ear by the nurse. "Honestly, Dr. Chen, Aspen is far too dramatic for her own

. "Oh, Derek, honey, don't be so hard on her. She just

n being coddled. Aspen needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. This is precisely

phone away slightly, her voice barely a whisper to me. "I am absolutely su

"I can't just drop everything for another one of Aspen's melodramatic epis

belief. "She tried to kill herself. She's lost her child. T

f she truly wants to be independent, she needs to prove it. She needs to survive without me. If she can't even manage that, then she's not worthy of being my w

d. He hung up.

at me, her expression a mix of horr

s time. Get on with it. The room started to spin faster. The beeping of the machines became

pulled under a dark current. But then, somewhere deep inside, a tiny spark ignited. A defiant

ything, willing myself to f

e," a voic

every single word. I would live to show him what true independence

d muffled shouts. But I was already gone, swallowed by t