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115: The Public Execution
Last Updated:
2025-01-31 23:23:59
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The tension behind the scenes was electric. Producers whispered into headsets, camera operators adjusted their angles, and assistants scurried across the glossy studio floor like ants preparing for battle. The Rivera Report’s executive producer, Joel Carter, was already sweating bullets. Never in the show’s history had they extended a live broadcast. Never had they thrown in a last-minute guest, especially one who was about to challenge everything their current guest had just spewed on national television. But Estella De Luca had called directly. She hadn’t begged. She hadn’t pleaded. She’d simply said, “I have evidence. You’ll want to put me on.” And just like that, they’d made room. She had arrived silently, without any entourage or noise. She wore black. Not just any black—a tailored, razor-sharp Alexander McQueen suit, sculpted to her body like armor. Underneath, a sleek, silk camisole dipped just enough to hint at femininity, but the overall message was clear: Un
Last Updated : 2025-02-01Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 117 – The Fall of Camila I
Third Person POV The sound of laughter followed her everywhere she went. Camila clutched her purse, her heels clicking against the pavement as she practically ran down the street. Phones pointed at her. Her breath was ragged, her entire body trembling. “Camila Ramirez, exposed as a fraud!” “Damn, she really tried to fake a pregnancy?” “She looks like she’s about to cry—wait, is she crying?” This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. She shoved past people, ignoring their smirks, their stares. Her car wasn’t here. Her driver was gone. “Fuck,” she hissed under her breath. A paparazzi jumped in front of her, camera flashing. “Camila! Camila! Any comments on being exposed?” Her vision blurred with rage. “Get the fuck out of my face!” she snapped, shoving the camera away. A crowd had gathered. People were recording. She turned, frantic, feeling like a trapped animal. The whole world was laughing at her. Her face burned as she sprinted to the nearest cab, y
Last Updated : 2025-02-03Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 118 – The Fall of Camila II
“Mamá,” she forced a laugh, shaking her head. “You’re being dramatic—”“You have one week to vacate this hotel,” Lucia cut her off.Camila’s chest tightened painfully.“After that, the Ramirez family will no longer be responsible for your expenses.”The blood drained from her face. “What?” she whispered.Lucia tilted her head. “Did I stutter?”Camila’s entire body started shaking. “No. No, no, no—you can’t just throw me away,” she choked. “I’m your daughter! Your only daughter. ”Lucia sighed, like she was bored. “You are my daughter,” she corrected. “But that does not mean I wouldn’t have to punish you..”Camila’s breath hitched. Tears blurred her vision. “Mamá, please,” she begged.Lucia’s expression didn’t change. “You will publicly apologize,” she continued. “On live television. You will admit to every single one of your lies.”Camila gripped the edge of the couch.“You will confess to faking the pregnancy.”Lucia stepped closer, her voice lowering to a dangerous whisper.“You wil
Last Updated : 2025-02-03Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 119: Rebuilding Love
Estella POVThe soft glow of the bedroom lamp cast warm shadows on the walls as I lay against Alejandro’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His fingers lazily traced slow circles on my bare back, his other hand tangled in my hair.For the first time in weeks, there was no tension, no outside noise, no lingering ghosts from the past clawing at our peace. Just us.I felt his chest rise and fall beneath my cheek, steady and strong, like the man himself.It should have been easy to relax. To let go. To finally breathe.The past few weeks had been a whirlwind. The scandal, Camila’s downfall, the endless media storm—yet through it all, we had fought for each other. And we were still standing.Alejandro had changed. Not in the way that made me question if he was still the man I fell for, but in the way that told me he had learned. He let me in now. Into his world, his business, his thoughts. He no longer shut me out when things got messy.And I… I was learning too. To t
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Estella POVThe day started normal.I was on the edge of the bed, watching as Alejandro adjusted his cufflinks in the mirror. The crisp white shirt stretched over his shoulders.“You sure you don’t want to come in today?” he asked, catching my reflection in the glass.I shook my head. “Next week. I just need a few days.”A few more days to breathe. To process everything. To feel like myself again.His gaze softened as he turned, stepping between my legs, his hands sliding around my waist. “You deserve the break,” he murmured, pressing a kiss against my forehead. He smelled like cedar and expensive cologne, the scent of him wrapping around me as I slid my arms around his waist as he turned to leave.“Don’t go,” I murmured against his back.He chuckled, turning in my arms. “Tempting.” His hands found my hips, pulling me closer. “But if I stay, you won’t be getting any rest like you promised.”I smirked. “Who said I wanted to rest?”His eyes darkened, but he kissed me anyway. My fingers
Last Updated : 2025-02-05Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 121: The Clock is Ticking
Third Person POVHours EarlierMia had been patient. Too patient.She’d spent months in this house, biting her tongue, keeping her head down, playing the obedient maid while waiting for the perfect moment.Today was it.She moved through the kitchen methodically, her movements precise. A sprinkle of sedative in the guards’ late-night coffee last night. A few drops in Diane’s tea this morning. Nothing lethal, just enough to make her unconscious. The security doors? Left unlocked during one of her “cleaning rounds.” The alarm system? Temporarily disabled—a silent virus she’d slipped into their software weeks ago. It would appear as a random malfunction. By the time anyone noticed, it’d be too late.Everything was set.And then there was her.Estella.Mia’s grip tightened around the knife she was drying. She glanced toward the hallway where Estella had last been. The woman whose existence had stolen her brother’s life.Mia exhaled sharply to stop herself from reaching her and stabbing he
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Estella’s POVPain.It dragged me awake, sharp and radiating from my skull, pulsing down my spine. My head throbbed like someone had driven a nail into my skull. My body felt heavy, weak. My wrists were raw, tied behind me with something rough that dug into my skin.I blinked, my vision slow to clear.Darkness.Not complete, but close. A single flickering lightbulb buzzed above me, casting shadows across the damp concrete walls. The air was thick with the scent of mildew, rust, and something rotten.A bad fucking sign.My pulse hammered.The last thing I remembered—Diane. On the floor. A voice behind me. Mia.And then—blackness.I tried to move, but the ropes around my wrists burned. My ankles were tied too, the chair beneath me creaking with every shift of my weight. My breathing came fast, uneven.Where the hell am I?Memories slammed into me.Benjamin. The last time I was in this exact position—tied, helpless, the weight of a man’s body crushing me down while Alejandro watched, una
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Estella’s POV The blade hovered over my skin. Just a whisper away. Mia tilted her head, watching me like prey, the tip of the knife tracing slow, lazy circles against my collarbone. “You know,” she murmured, eyes gleaming, “I’ve never actually skinned a person before. But there’s a first time for everything, right?” She pressed down. A thin, sharp sting—just enough to make me flinch. I clenched my teeth. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of screaming. Instead, I forced out a shaky breath, locking my gaze onto the other threat in the room. Helena. She was leaning against an old rusted desk, legs crossed elegantly, watching like this was all a mild inconvenience. She had changed. Gone was the woman who once paraded herself as Valdez royalty, the untouchable queen. Now, she looked unhinged. Her dress was perfectly pressed, but the way she sat—the way her nails drummed against the desk, the wild amusement in her eyes—made her seem unpredictable. She was bored
Last Updated : 2025-02-08
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Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Epilogue: The Secrets We Keep
Five Years LaterEstella had insisted on having the windows open despite the doctors' protests—she needed to breathe something other than antiseptic and fear."Almost there," The matron encouraged from between her legs. "One more big push, Estella."Alejandro's hand was nearly crushed in her grip as another contraction seized her. The twins had decided to arrive three weeks early, sending them rushing to the hospital in the middle of the night."You're doing amazingly," Alejandro murmured against her temple. The entire pregnancy had been classified high-risk from the beginning.Estella bore down with a primal scream, feeling the first baby slide from her body."It's a boy!" The matron announced, lifting the wailing infant for them to see before placing him on Estella's chest.She touched her son's dark, wet hair. "Hello, little one,"The moment of joy was short-lived. The monitors beside her bed began beeping erratically."Blood pressure dropping," a nurse called out.The doctor in ch
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 216: Almost Home
The following weeks were filled with medical tests, therapy sessions, and small but significant milestones.Three weeks after waking, he took his first unassisted steps, gripping the parallel bars with so much intensity as he forced his atrophied muscles to cooperate. I watched from the sidelines, heart in my throat, as he pushed through pain that would have stopped a lesser man."Fuck," he growled through gritted teeth when his legs threatened to give out halfway through. "I'm not stopping."His physical therapist—a no-nonsense woman who'd quickly learned to match his intensity—nodded approvingly. "Two more steps. You can do two more."He did three before collapsing into the wheelchair afterward with sweat pouring down his face."Next time I'll do ten," he promised, breath coming in harsh pants.I handed him a towel, leaning in to whisper, "Watching you fight like this is incredibly sexy, you know."His exhausted laugh was all the reward I needed.By the six-week mark, he was walking
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 215: Two Months Later, Still Yours
When we broke apart, I rested my head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent beneath the antiseptic hospital smell. "Don't ever scare me like that again," I whispered."I'll try not to make a habit of getting stabbed in the heart," he replied dryly."This isn't funny, Alejandro." I lifted my head to meet his gaze. "I thought I'd lost you. I thought our daughter would grow up without her father."His expression sobered. "I know. I'm sorry." He squeezed my hand weakly. "How bad was it?""Bad," I admitted. "The knife nicked your heart. You lost so much blood... They weren't sure you'd make it through the first surgery." My voice caught. "And then you didn't wake up. Days turned into weeks, and you just... stayed asleep.""I'm sorry," he repeated. "For putting you through that. For not being there for you and Arielle.""You're here now," I said. The door opened quietly, and we both looked up to see Dr. Matthews returning, accompanied by a neurologist I recognized from previous consultat
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 214: The Sixty-Second Day
Two months laterThe hospital room had become my second home. The nurses knew my schedule better than I did—when I'd arrive each morning with fresh clothes for both of us, when I'd step out for coffee, which chair I preferred to sit in while reading aloud to Alejandro's unresponsive form.Sixty-one days of talking to someone who couldn't answer. Sixty-one days of watching for the slightest movement of an eyelid or the smallest twitch of a finger. Sixty-one days of hope slowly eroding into something that felt dangerously close to despair."The medical journal says coma patients show increased brain activity when family members speak to them," I said, turning the page of the medical text I'd been studying obsessively. "So I'm going to keep talking, even if I'm starting to repeat myself."Alejandro remained motionless. They'd removed his breathing tube last week when he started breathing on his own—a positive sign, Dr. Matthews had assured me. But his consciousness remained locked away,
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 213: One-Sided Conversations
"Aunt Eleanor," I gasped, shocked to see her. In the chaos, I'd almost forgotten she'd been injured in the initial car crash where Arielle was taken."You look worse than me," she said weakly, attempting a smile that turned into a wince.For some reason, it was the sight of her—battered but alive, just like the rest of us—that finally broke through the numbness I'd been hiding behind. The tears came suddenly and violently, sobs wrenching themselves from my chest as she wheeled herself closer, reaching out with her good arm to pull me against her."I was so scared," I admitted between sobs. "I thought we were all going to die. I was scared history was going to repeat itself self. And this time Arielle, Alejandro—""But you didn't," she reminded me. "You saved them both."I shook my head, glancing at Alejandro's still form. "I didn't save him. He's still—""Fighting," Eleanor cut in. "Just like he always has. Just like you have."I cried until I had no tears left, letting go of the fear
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 212: The Silence That Hurts Most
I must have dozed off despite my determination to stay awake, because the next thing I knew, someone was gently shaking my shoulder."Estella? Can you hear me?"I forced my heavy eyelids open to find Raul standing over me, his face lined with worry. Clara hovered behind him, her eyes red-rimmed."Raul," I croaked, my throat dry. "Alejandro?""He's out of surgery," Raul said. "It was touch and go for a while, but he made it through."Relief made me dizzy. "He's okay?"Raul and Clara exchanged glances."What aren't you telling me?" I demanded, suddenly fully awake.Raul sighed. "The damage was extensive. They repaired what they could, but... he's in a coma, Estella.""A coma? For how long?""They don't know," Clara said gently, stepping forward to take my hand. "All they said was the next 48 hours are critical."I struggled to sit up, ignoring the pain that shot through my body. "I need to see him.""You need to rest," Clara countered. "You're no good to him or Arielle if you collapse."
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 211: Between Life and Death
"BP's still dropping," one of the paramedics called as they loaded Alejandro into the ambulance. "We need to move!"I climbed in after them, collapsing onto the bench seat as the doors slammed shut."Arielle," I suddenly remembered, panic clawing at my throat. "My daughter—where is she?""Already en route to Memorial," one of the paramedics replied without looking up from Alejandro. "She's stable."That small mercy gave me the strength to stay upright as I watched them work frantically to keep my husband alive. They'd cut away his shirt completely now, revealing the full extent of his injuries. The wound in his abdomen wasn't as deep as I'd feared, but the chest wound—it was a different story altogether."Left hemothorax," the paramedic muttered. "Need to decompress."I watched in horror as they inserted a large needle between Alejandro's ribs. Blood gushed out immediately, filling a collection bag."What's happening?" I demanded."Blood's filling his chest cavity, compressing on his
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 210: To the Death
He yanked the makeshift blade free and shoved Alejandro toward me with such force that we both crashed onto the wooden planks of the dock. I barely registered the pain through my ankle as I caught Alejandro's limp body."No, no, no," I sobbed, cradling him against me. His eyes fluttered, struggling to focus on my face as blood bubbled from his lips."Est...ella," he managed, each syllable a battle."Don't talk," I begged, pressing one hand against the stomach wound while frantically trying to stem the bleeding from his chest with the other. It was too much—too much blood, too many wounds.Marco staggered to the boat, his own strength clearly waning. He tossed the bloodied metal shard into the water and began fumbling with the ropes that secured the craft to the dock. His movements were clumsy, his injuries making the simple task laborious."Pressure," Alejandro whispered, his voice so faint I barely heard it. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining his ashen lips crimso
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 209: Blood for Blood
We dove behind a heavy chest of drawers just as the explosion tore through the room. The blast was deafening, sending splinters of wood and plaster raining down on us. Dust filled up the air in the room.Through the ringing in my ears, I heard movement—Marco is making his escape in the confusion. I struggled to my feet, eyes stinging from the dust, and saw a shadow moving toward the far windows."Alejandro," I croaked, pointing.He was already up, blood trickling from another cut on his temple where debris had struck him. Together, we staggered through the devastated room toward the windows.Marco had reached what appeared to be a balcony beyond the shattered glass. As we emerged into the clean night air, I saw his plan—a rope, hastily secured to the balcony railing, leading down to the ground below. Near the edge of the property, barely visible in dark of the night was a small dock with what looked like a speedboat tied up."Stop!" Alejandro shouted, raising his gun.Marco turned, hi
