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CHAPTER SEVEN: SPRINT.

ผู้เขียน: Blu
last update ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2024-11-08 15:50:48

AVERY'S POV:

Sea's small voice, full of vulnerability, tugged at memories I hadn’t let myself touch in years. Hearing her admit she was afraid of the dark was like looking in a mirror back to my own childhood. I remembered lying in bed, hiding under covers, watching shadows stretch across the walls, and waiting for the sound of my father’s footsteps. He’d read me a story every night, staying until I drifted off. If he left even a second too soon, I’d call out for him, sure that the monsters would sneak in the moment he was gone.

I glanced down at Sea, curled up tightly, hugging her teddy bear. Her eyes peeked over its fuzzy head, watching me warily, not trusting but not sending me away either. Slowly, I stepped closer to her bed and lowered myself down, one hand gently resting on her back. Her shoulders were stiff, defensive, but she didn’t pull away.

My eyes locked onto the phone nestled next to her pillow, and I knew I had to act. I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts.

“Woul
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  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER EIGHT: FACE-TO-FACE WITH DIABLO.

    AVERY'S POV:The idea hit me like a spark, and suddenly, every cell in my body felt electrified. Could this be my chance? Instead of relaxing into this twisted arrangement, I’d rather be smart and run while I still could. I had no plans to settle into this deceitful life, to play the submissive wife. I had to get out.With my heart pounding, I bolted downstairs, keeping my steps light and quick. Every glance over my shoulder felt like Axel’s eyes might appear in the shadows, tracking my every move. But I didn’t stop. I reached a side door that led outside, and without hesitation, I slipped through, barely closing it behind me before breaking into a run.The night air was sharp and cool, but I barely felt it as I sprinted, following a path that led away from the house. The grounds were enormous, more like an estate than a simple backyard, with sprawling gardens and dense hedges lining the pathways. I thought I could see the edge, some glimpse of freedom, but as I rounded a corner, I st

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-11-08
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER NINE: NOWHERE.

    AVERY'S POV: I bolted from the thicket, leaving the gruesome scene behind me. My pulse thundered in my ears as my bare feet slapped against the damp, cold earth. The maze loomed, suffocating in its enormity, its hedges closing in like walls of an unending prison. I didn’t care about getting lost anymore—I just needed to keep moving. I didn’t think about Axel, bloodied and monstrous, or the guards, or even the possibility of being caught. Survival had taken over, and every breath burned as I pushed my body past exhaustion. The jagged edges of branches snagged at my arms and legs as I tore through the maze, leaving faint trails of blood on the leaves. My dress now shredded and caked with dirt, mostly torn. My feet stung with every step, the soft soles of my shoes long gone, leaving my skin exposed to the rough ground. A sharp stone tore through the arch of my foot, and I bit back a scream, my teeth sinking into my lip until I tasted copper. I couldn’t stop. If I stopped, I was as good

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-11-15
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER TEN: IN THE FIELD.

    AVERY'S POV:“Avery Grayson,” I whispered, gripping the receiver so tightly my knuckles ached. It was the last name my ID bore. It should give them a heads-up on finding me. “I was taken to a house… a big estate. There were guards—armed guards. I escaped through the woods, but I don’t know where I am now. Please, they’ll find me if I don’t get away.” The dispatcher’s tone shifted, becoming sharper. “Avery, can you see any street signs or landmarks? Anything that might help us locate you?” I looked around frantically, the faint glow of a nearby store sign catching my eye. “There’s… there’s a gas station down the road. I think it says ‘Jefferson Fuel.’” “Good. That’s a start. Stay there if you can. Officers are being dispatched to your location now.” “No!” I blurted out, panic taking over every nerve. “I can’t stay here. What if they find me first? I can’t be taken back to him. I won’t survive.” “Okay, Avery,” the dispatcher said calmly, “do you know the address of where you’r

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-11-15
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE STING.

    AVERY’S POV:"Mum, I was kidnapped by a stranger," I began, my eyes scanning every shadowy corner, my gaze darting back and forth to ensure we were truly alone. "I barely managed to escape. Please, we need to call the police. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m so scared," I begged, my voice shaking as I clung to the last shred of hope I had. Their reaction caught me off guard. I had braced myself for concern, for sympathetic hands reaching for phones to call for help, for warm arms enveloping me in comfort. But instead, they stood frozen, their faces impassive, their eyes unyielding. My mother's icy blue eyes bore into me with a look so detached it hurt more than my bruises. "What nonsense are you talking about?" she asked, her voice clipped and dripping with disbelief. "Mum, I’m not joking." I took a shaky step back, my voice cracking as I narrated the entire incident. My disheveled appearance, the bruises and cuts on my skin, and my bloodshot eyes should have been enough

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-15
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER TWELVE: MAYBE THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.

    AVERY’S POV:"Avery..." my mother called out. I gnored her and continued."When I was helping you with contracts, bringing in clients, and doing everything you asked, you always had a new task for me. I'm in trouble again, and you're turning your back on me. Please, I need you until the police figure out what's going on." I blurted out, my emotions boiling over.My mother's face crumpled, and she dissolved into sobs. Seeing her like that shattered me. I loved her so much, and knowing I'd caused her pain was unbearable. The weight of my regret crushed me. I shouldn't have spoken those words; they'd tumbled out before I could stop them."Mum, I’m..." I tried to apologize, but she wouldn't let me get the words out."Shut up, Avery!" Her face twisted with rage as she stormed back toward me. The slap landed before I even registered her movement. My cheek stung, the sound echoing in the room. "How dare you!" she spat, her voice venomous and low. "You think you can manipulate me with guilt

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-15
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE KNOCK.

    AXEL’S POV:I was fuming. My pulse thundered as I stood in the center of the room, glaring at the team that had failed me. "How can you all lose one tiny woman?" I roared, my voice reverberating through the stone walls. Avery was gone. She’d slipped through the cracks of my fortress—my fortress, built to be impenetrable. Now it felt like a mockery, a hollow shell of what it was supposed to be.Ryan stood beside me, maddeningly calm, his hands buried in his pockets. His silence only stoked the fire burning in my chest. They said they'd been combing through every inch of the surrounding area all night, and not one man could give me an answer that made sense. How had she slipped past them? Past me?Brady, head of my security patrol, finally worked up the courage and stepped forward. His massive frame shrank under my gaze, his hands shaking as he began, "It... it appears there was a tiny exit in the dilapidated—" his anxiety got the better of him, and his words poured out in a jumbled, in

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-17
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MY ANGEL.

    AXEL’S POV:Before the door opened, Ryan moved with practiced precision, shrugging off his suit jacket and draping it over Brady’s lifeless body to hide the blood. Without needing instruction, the four guards standing nearby followed suit, layering their jackets to cover the crimson-stained mess. The room now looked less like a crime scene and more like a chaotic office momentarily interrupted.The sharp tapping of little feet echoed on the wooden floor, a cheerful rhythm that clashed with the tension in the room. "Uncle Ryan!" Sea’s bright voice called out as she rushed in, her small frame being enveloped by Ryan’s massive body.Sea looked darling in her white gown, which featured a flowing, floor-length skirt that twirled around her legs every move. A sweet bow tie belt cinched at her waist, adding a touch of playfulness to her overall look. Her host, a beautiful, skin-toned hue, complemented her complexion perfectly. On her feet, she wore comfortable flat shoes. Finally, a black ja

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-18
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE INFORMANT.

    AXEL’S POV:Sea clung to me as Ryan trailed behind us, heading outside.The patio was drenched in golden sunlight, making the pool glisten. The air smelled faintly of freshly cut grass and chlorine, cool. Sea wriggled in my arms until I had no choice but to set her down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she stepped back, her face scrunched up in a frown. She crossed her tiny arms over her stomach, her Barbie doll dangling awkwardly from one hand. “Why did I think any differently?” she muttered. “They always leave.” The words struck me. My daughter rarely displayed such frustration, especially over people leaving. She barely batted an eye when her nannies quit one after another, declaring her “too much to handle.” But now, there was a new disappointing tone to her words that made me freeze. “Sea,” I started, but before I could say another word, she turned sharply on her heel, walking away with as much purpose as her little legs could muster. Sea marched past Ryan without

    ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-18

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  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-TWO: ALWAYS A STEP AHEAD.

    AVERY’S POV:"If I could, I'd kill London a second time," Axel growled, his voice gravel-coated and bitter. "She was a traitor. A whore. Imagine the woman I loved, bent over for the Don of a rival cartel like a common street slut. Not just once—but again and again, even when she was carrying my child."He wasn’t yelling. That made it worse. His voice was calm, even fond in a twisted way, as if the memory had hardened into something precious—just not in the way love is supposed to be.His lip curled, disgust tightening every word. “She didn’t just betray me. She betrayed her father. Our family.”I stood frozen, every inch of me recoiling. My mouth went dry. Axel’s rage was volcanic—rising, spilling, burning everything in its path.“At first, I had my suspicions,” he said, almost too calmly. “But I dismissed them. Turned a blind eye. You know why?” He scoffed and looked away, his jaw twitching. “Because I loved that loose hole.”He laughed, but there was no joy in it—only the sound of a

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-ONE: I TOOK MY OWN LIFE.

    AVERY’S POV:Axel coughed violently, blood splattering the stone beneath him. His limbs were twitching now—shock setting in. His breaths were ragged like each one hurt more than the last. The kind of pain that looks more animal than human. Still, he tried to speak."Devon…” he managed, gasping between words. “How… did I ruin your life? You… you pledged allegiance to me. Swore on your mother’s life. You said I saved you. You—”“Oh, please,” Devon cut him off, sneering. “I told you what you wanted to hear. You’re so arrogant. So hungry to be worshipped. That story about the boy you saved? It was real. I just found him. Killed him. Took his place.”The courtyard stilled.Devon’s voice turned cold. “He was a drunk, anyway. I did the world a favor.”My blood chilled. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.Axel’s face twitched. Whether from pain or betrayal, I didn’t know. His hands were slick with blood now, trying weakly to press down on his wounds. His lips quivered, mumbling words I could

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY: THE SHOTS OF BETRAYAL.

    AVERY’S POV:I was drenched in blood. It had soaked into the white of my temple robe, turned my hands sticky, and clung to my skin like guilt. Akira’s body—now wrapped in linen, still and pale—lay in front of me. Her death had left a hollow in my chest that no scream could fill. I cried until I couldn’t anymore, until the pain became dry and raw like my throat. She had just begun to teach me how to live through this pregnancy, how to breathe again in a world that felt so suffocating. And just like that, she was gone. Snatched from me as quickly as she'd come.The others sat quietly around her body. No chants. No songs. Just silence thick enough to choke on.Then came the chaos.Gunshots. Screams. The kind of terror that twists reality in half. My head jerked toward the sound, and my heart thudded in my throat. I scrambled to my feet, wiping at my tears, suddenly alert."What’s happening?" I asked the nearest person—a small Orion boy, no older than eight, trembling beside a pillar."T

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED &TWENTY-NINE: THE LIGHT THAT FADED.

    AVERY’S POV:I stopped counting the days. Time moved like molasses, thick and slow, as we lived under the constant shadow of fear. We were caged like animals—patrolled, watched, starved of dignity. Devon wasn’t the man I remembered. Whatever light used to be in his eyes had long been smothered by something cruel and cold. The once-easy smile he wore like a badge was now replaced by a stone-hard jaw and the hollow stare of a man long lost to the dark.He used to be kind.Now, he hit my brothers for speaking too loud.But I didn’t hate Devon.I hated the man who turned him into this. The one who gave the orders. Who turned my protector into a monster.Axel.I couldn’t fight back. I didn’t have the strength. And worse—I’d brought this ruin to my people. The earth was ransacked, torn apart by metal and greed. The same land that once glistened under the sun was now a wounded body, bled dry by machines. They dug up every corner, searching for a 'precious mineral' as I overheard one of the g

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-EIGHT: LONDON'S BACK.

    AXEL’S POV:From where the car stopped, a jet was already waiting on the tarmac, beneath the pale morning sky. Less than two hours later, I was in our new location—a fortress tucked deep into the outskirts, reinforced and brimming with security. I showered, shaved, trimmed the unruly beard. Cedric stitched the gash on my brow and reset two of my ribs without a complaint. My knuckles were still bruised, but the fresh set of clothes—black shirt, tactical trousers, leather boots—made me feel human again. Strange how luxury used to feel normal. Now, even clean water felt sacred.Cedric didn’t speak much, but I could tell from his eyes that he knew we were standing in the middle of a long war—and that everything, even moments like this, had consequences. He’d been brought by Baron, apparently to save Ryan. Since then, he hadn’t stopped working. He patched, treated, and kept morale up without asking for thanks. That alone earned him more of my respect.Ryan had updated me as soon as we lan

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-SEVEN: THEY WANTED HIM DEAD.

    AXEL’S POV:A cold pressure squeezed my chest, but I forced it down. I couldn’t afford to think. Not now.I looked at him—his blood pooling beneath him, face a mess of terror and agony. He was nearly gone, and I was already losing interest.With one swift motion, I sliced off his dick.Then, without hesitation, I pried open his jaw and hacked off his tongue.His legs came next—each cut as clean as the last, each one a punishment, a lesson, a warning. I left him writhing in his own blood and filth, a hollowed-out shell of the man who once smirked in my face."You call those torture games?" I said, stepping over him. "Come learn from me."Then I drove the blade into his right eye. A sickening squelch echoed through the stillness.The men around me flinched. Some looked away. Others stared in stunned silence."Take me to my daughter," I said, my voice flat, final.Ryan stepped forward, nodding once, his expression unreadable. He gestured toward a blacked-out SUV idling nearby."You need

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-SIX: GETTING THE INFORMATION.

    AXEL’S POV:"She's fine," Baron said, steady and sure. "She's with Katie and our men at the safe house."Relief punched through me like cold air after drowning."Where the hell have you been, Baron? How did they even escape?"He exhaled, like he’d been holding the memory in too long. "Boss, it wasn’t easy. When the first explosion hit, I went straight for Sea. Found her curled up in a corner of her room, shaking. Wrapped her in a blanket, threw her over my shoulder, and ran. On the way out, we ran into Ryan—he was barely hanging on, bleeding like hell, but still breathing. He pushed us toward the escape tunnel. We managed to gather Katie and a few others. But before we could get back for the last group..." He paused. "The whole place went up in flames."My heart staggered in my chest. Sea was alive. That was all I needed to hear. That was enough to breathe again, enough to fight again.We’d made it outside now. Armed, masked men formed a silent wall around the perimeter. I stayed aler

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-FIVE: COULD ONLY BE ONE MAN.

    AXEL’S POV:When thoughts went to the people that mattered in life, I tried to brace myself for that clean slice that would end it all. Or worse—he might do it messy, on purpose. Just to draw it out. Just to hear me scream.My mind found my mother first. I hoped she was in a better place, waiting for me, arms open. Maybe death wasn’t an end. Maybe it was our reunion. And maybe, just maybe, I'd recognize my father too. But guilt didn't let me rest there. It crawled up my throat, settled in my chest. Laurent. I should’ve made time for him. I should’ve asked questions, cared more, listened better. And what about the others—the lives I took? Would they be waiting on the other side too, not with open arms, but fists and rage?"Forgive me, Sea," I whispered in my head. "Wherever you are."I breathed in deep, slow. Vaughan was taking his damn time, drawing out the moment like it was some kind of art. That was the thing about death. Sometimes, the silence before it was louder than the act it

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-FOUR: IT WAS NEVER RYAN.

    AXEL’S POV:"Not only did I think you were stupid," I began, the taste of blood already pooling at the edge of my tongue, "you're archaic." I kept my eye away from Vaughan. "What’s this? The 1980s?""Seal his mouth. We're about to start filming," he snapped without missing a beat.They pushed me to my knees, the cold bite of concrete pressing into my skin. My hands were tied behind me, and my neck was bared like an offering. An execution. The kind you only read about or see in cartel footage—until it's your turn."Axel, let me tell you before I end you," Vaughan sneered, circling me like a wolf. "You were powerful. But you were also blinded—by pride, by selfishness. You were so easy to manipulate. Infiltrating your organization? Child’s play. Turning you against your second-in-command? A masterpiece."My jaw tightened. What was he driving at?"It was never Ryan, Axel." He crouched down to my level, voice low like a lullaby laced with poison. "This entire game was engineered to divide

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