The Billionaire Heiress's Radical Comeback

Donald

of a ventilator, then the soft, steady beep of a heart monitor beside my bed.

?" she asked gently. He

throat was raw, my mouth

ou gave us quite a scare. Welcome back." She reached out, her hand warm and

ting something in return. If only Derek had held me like that, just once, when my parents died. If only he had offered a single word of genui

djusted my pillow. "You've been through a lot, honey," she

ng, had sworn to cherish me, to protect me. "Through sickness and in health," he'd promised, his hand intertwined with mine. "Until dea

ted me independent. He wanted me to deal with it. And so I did. I dealt with the empty bed, the silent room, the gnawing lon

iousness, hearing snippets of conversation f

e chirped. "She hasn't left his side. Brings him

ove. My husband used to do that for me when I broke

they knew the woman lying in this bed, the one who looked like any other patient, was secretly the heir to an empire. If they knew the man who abando

to address the underlying issues," she said, her gaze unwavering. "The dep

that I was 'strong.' But now, after hearing Derek's words in the ER, after facing death and choosing t

ord a monumental surrender and a

, about the miscarriage, about the hollow ache of Derek's rejection. The medication slowly lifted the heaviest

Derek and me. How foolish I had been. The baby wasn't a bridge; it was a mirror, reflecting just how broken our marriage tr

as done. Done with the pity, done with the pain, done with Dere

eart, a number I' d called so many times in desperation, only to be met with Krystal's polite dism

he second ring,

ice was wary, a

ce flat, devoid of emot

ched giggle in the background. A loud clinking of glasses. The sound of a pa

ith annoyance. "Aspen, darling, have you looked at yo

my voice gaining strength. "And

Is this some kind of new tactic, Aspen? To get my attention? Be

I said, a cold edge entering my voice. "

t. "Fine. But can we discuss this when you're... not in a hosp

the perfect time. I want you to k

ng, laced with a familiar condescension. "You're probably still on th

tated, my eyes fixed on the blank wall. "And

mething else, a note of unease. "You're just lonely. Perhaps you'd like me to

woman he'd openly coddled while I lay dying. The woman who was

like that at all. Just send me the papers." I ended the cal

done. The first step. The hardest step. Now, the real fight would begin. And thi