The winter rain that had pounded against the windows all night finally stopped by morning. I stood at the bedroom window, gazing at the sodden wurden. outside, watching water drops slide down bare branches like tears.
Henry hadn’t come home.
I wasn’t surprised. After Isabella’s desperate manipulation last night, Henry would undoubtedly push for our divorce as quickly as possible. The thought brought me unexpected relief.
After five years of emotional torment, I was finally approaching freedom.
As I dressed for work in a simple blouse and slacks, the house was unusually quiet. Billy had already left for school, and the staff moved silently around me. as if sensing my fragile mood.
“Mrs. Harding, would you like breakfast?‘ the housekeeper asked cautiously.
“Just coffee, thank you,” I replied, checking my watch. “I need to get to the hospital.”
Manhattan General Hospital.
The fluorescent lights in the regular ward cast a harsh glow on Mrs. Davis’s wrinkled face. The elderly woman’s eyes, clouded with cataracts, stared vacantly at the ceiling as I approached her bed.
“Mrs. Davis, I’m here to check your blood sugar,‘ I said gently, taking her chart from the foot of the bed. “Could you give me your left ring finger, please?
The old woman tilted her head slightly, her expression suddenly changing. “Sophia? Is that you, dear?”
My heart tightened. Mrs. Davis had been my friend when I lived in that small town.
“Yes, it’s me,” I admitted, carefully taking her fragile hand in mine.
“Sophia,” she whispered, her face lighting up with recognition. “Where’s Sam? Is he with you?”
The name hit me like a physical blow.
Sam. Just hearing it spoken aloud sent a sharp pain through my chest! For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. The blood glucose meter trembled slightly in my hands.
‘Mrs. Davis, I finally managed after a long pause, ‘don’t you remember what I told you last time? Sam got into the National Defense University. He’s graduated now and is on a classified mission. He can’t contact anyone, not even me. The money I’ve been sending you is from him.
One lie leading to another, and another.
Over the years, the web of deception I’d woven had become so complex that sometimes I even confused my own stories.
Mrs. Davis’s face fell slightly. “Oh, yes… I remember now. Such a good boy, serving his country.” She patted my hand with her bony fingers. “But tell him to call more often when he can. I miss him.”
“I will,” I promised, guilt gnawing at my insides. I wasn’t sure if lying to this elderly woman was right or wrong.
Her heart condition meant she couldn’t handle any significant shock. The truth would kill her.
As I recorded Mrs. Davis’s vitals in her chart, a sharp voice cut through the quiet ward.
“Well, well, look who it is! The woman who sold out my brother!”
I didn’t need to look up to recognize Ava Davis. Her distinctive style, reminiscent of a gang member, made her impossible to ignore.
1/2
Chapter 134
Ava stood at the foot of her grandmother’s bed, dressed in designer clothes, her makeup excessive for the early hour, Gold bangler clinked lovely
wrists as she crossed her arms.
“How much did you get for him, huh?” she demanded, not bothering to lower her voice despite the other patients nearby. ‘Don’t tell me just six hundred thousand! I heard that man is worth billions. What a pathetic price for selling out Sam!
I kept my focus on Mrs. Davis’s chart, refusing to engage.
My silence only fueled Ava’s aggression.
“Your new man is quite handsome, by the way,” she continued, her voice dripping with spite. “Found yourself a replacement, did you? Does he know what you did to Sam?”
Enough. I snapped the chart closed and faced her directly.
“Enough, Ava,” I hissed, keeping my voice low enough that Mrs. Davis couldn’t hear. “You agreed to everything back then, so don’t push all the responsibility onto me now!”
Ava’s red lips curved into a mocking smile. “Weren’t you the one begging me to sign those papers? You weren’t so confident then, were you? She leane closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “What if I tell your handsome husband everything? I wonder if he’d still want you.”
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