His Regret, My Unbought Freedom

e, choosing to save his mistress w

his lover then tried to poison me, swapping

ed a car crash that shattered my leg

ched as his mistress framed me, then locked me in

night, choosing the cold, dark wa

nd a man who cherished my broken p

d destroyed his mistress and was giving me his entire fo

that some things can

pte

ie

even know existed. But the deepest wound was the hollow space inside, where a heartbeat should have been. It had been just days since the lake house fire, days since

e would see the devastation in my eyes, remember the years of our life together, and pull me back from t

o me, his shoulders hunched. The way he answered, his voice dropping to a low, urgent tone, told me everything I needed t

felt like a physical blow. The words were a bitter pill, confirming my worst fears

ghtened, a burning ache spreading through my ribs. It wasn't the physical pain from the fi

l. The doctor wants her to rest," he explained, his voice flat, devoid of the earlier urgency he' d shown f

hing I need, ever matter to you, August?" The words tasted like ash. My wor

t in front of him. Not anymore. My hand clenched on the thin hospital sheet,

ne switching to a businesslike command. "It's for Harper. You agreed." He d

t she's quite fragile." He was talking about Harper, who was in the same hospital, under observation for an entire

frenzy, demanding the best care, his eyes full of genuine worry. Now, I was facing a life-threatening procedure, and he spoke of Har

league, her voice carrying clearly through the thin hospital do

the door. "Apparently, a small fall, but he insisted she get the best room, the softest pillows, a parade

chest constricted, a suffocating band of pain. My vision blurred, spots dancing before my eyes. My head poun

present. I gasped, a strangled sound escaping my lips. My hand flew to my abdomen, clutc

of them asked, rushing to my bedsi

er gaze fixed on the monitor. "Her vitals

me. "She's bleeding internally," the first nurse whispered, her voice

body screamed, a primal agony that threatened to rip me apart. T

of confusion, his eyes scanning the chaotic scene. "What's going o