LOGINShare
148: The Survivor
Last Updated:
2025-02-22 23:22:03
Related chapters
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 149: A Life Erased
"Female, late twenties to early thirties, severe trauma, possible internal injuries." The paramedic's voice cut through the activity of Ospedale San Giovanni's emergency department. "Pregnant, approximately six weeks. Found at sea, suspected plane crash survivor."Dr. Isabella Rossetti's hands moved with practiced efficiency as they transferred the unconscious woman from the rescue boat's stretcher. "Core temperature?""Stabilized during the transport. But she's been unconscious since retrieval.""Any form of ID?""Nothing." The paramedic handed over a sodden envelope. "Just this. The fisherman's wife who found her insisted we save it."Isabella tucked the envelope into her coat pocket, focusing on her patient. The woman's face was a map of bruises and lacerations, dark hair matted with salt and blood. But beneath the injuries, there was a striking beauty that even trauma couldn't hide."Get her to CT," Isabella ordered. "I want a full trauma workup. And page Dr. Marino from obstetri
Last Updated : 2025-02-22Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 150: Estella Becomes Someone Else
EstellaThe first thing I feel is pain. Not the sharp, acute kind that makes you scream, but a deep, bone-crushing ache that seems to have no beginning and no end.My eyelids weigh tons, and somewhere beyond the darkness, machines beep in steady rhythm. I try to move, but my body feels disconnected, floating in a haze of medication and confusion.Voices drift in and out. A woman speaking rapid Italian. Someone else answering in clipped, professional tones. The soft squeak of rubber soles on tile."—showing improved brain activity—""—still no matches in the system—""—remarkable she survived at all—"I drift, caught between sleep and the unconsciousness, trying to piece together how I got here. But there's nothing. No memories. No context. Just darkness and the steady beep of machines telling me I'm alive. Time has no meaning here, wherever here is. I float in darknessThen suddenly—fire. The memory hits with such force that my eyes snap open, my body jerking upright. Metal screaming.
Last Updated : 2025-02-23Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 151: Becoming Amelia
Estella/AmeliaThe marble tombstone gleams in the morning sun. Antonio Miguel Castellanos. Beloved husband. My fingers trace the carved letters, searching for any spark of recognition, any hint of grief. Nothing comes."He would have been an amazing father." Eleanor's voice is soft beside me. We stand in the private cemetery outside Madrid, surrounded by the graves of people who are supposed to be my family.My parents' graves flank Antonio's newer stone. Marina and Henry Alvarez. Both gone within a year of each other—Dad's heart attack, Mom following shortly after. "She couldn't bear to live without him," Eleanor told me.I stare at their names, trying to summon grief for the people who gave birth to me."His family?" I ask, still staring at Antonio's name. "Why haven't they visited?"Eleanor's hand finds mine, squeezing gently. "They moved to Australia years ago. It was... complicated. Antonio chose you over their plans for him. They never forgave him.""Tell me about him," I say. "
Last Updated : 2025-02-23Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 152: The Blind Date Set-Up
Estella / AmeliaFive years later4:02 PM.I drum my fingers against the polished mahogany table, staring at my phone. No missed calls. No texts. Nothing from Aunt Eleanor except radio silence.The café is nearly empty, most of the lunch crowd long gone. A few servers wipe down tables, shooting me sympathetic glances. I've been here long enough that they probably think I'm being stood up.They're not wrong.I check my schedule – one meeting pushed back, two client calls rescheduled, all because Aunt Eleanor insisted this lunch was "absolutely crucial." Now here I am, sitting alone like an idiot while my work piles up back at the office. Arielle's ballet recital is at seven, and I still need to pick up her costume from the cleaners.The waitress approaches again, her smile gentle. "Can I get you anything while you wait?""No, thank you." I gather my purse, done wasting time. "Actually, I was just—""Excuse me." A deep voice cuts through my words. "This is my table."I look up to find
Last Updated : 2025-02-24Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 153: An Ordinary Evening I
Estella / AmeliaIt's nearly closing time when I burst into Martinez Cleaners– I can see Mrs. Martinez already counting the register."I'm here for the Swan Lake costume," I say, slightly out of breath from my dash from the car. "Under Alvarez."Mrs. Martinez looks up, her weathered face crinkling into a warm smile. She's been handling our family's garments for decades, or so Eleanor tells me. "Ah, my little swan." She shuffles into the back room. "I just finished pressing it myself. Such beautiful work – French tulle, isn't it?"She emerges with a garment bag. The gossamer white fabric peeks through the plastic."Make sure la princesa doesn't get any more chocolate on this one, yes?" Mrs. Martinez's eyes twinkled. "Though I must say, the last time she had quite the artistic vision with those stains."I laugh, remembering Ari's last dress rehearsal when she decided her costume needed "improvements" via chocolate-covered fingers. "I'll try my best, but you know how four-year-olds are
Last Updated : 2025-02-24Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 154: An Ordinary Evening II
Amelia / Estella The drive home is quick at this hour, the road winding through the vineyards that have sustained and built the wealth owned by the Alvarez family for generations. The vines are heavy with fruit, some almost ready for harvest. Sometimes I walk through them early in the morning, before Arielle and the whole house wakes up, trying to jog loose some memory of doing this as a child. It never works. The gates of the villa swing open automatically as I approach, lights welcoming me home. It's a beautiful house – all warm stone and climbing roses, with a view of the mountains in the distance. The kind of place little girls dream of growing up in. The kind of place I must have grown up in, though I don't remember a single birthday or Christmas or ordinary Tuesday within these walls. Eleanor meets me at the door, dressed elegantly as always in her silk loungewear. Her silver hair catches the light from the chandelier, making her look like some sort of fairy godmother. W
Last Updated : 2025-02-25Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 155: Tiny Questions, Big Answers
Amelia / Estella "Higher, Mama! I want to touch the clouds!" I push Arielle's swing, watching her little legs kick at the sky. The playground is mostly empty this late afternoon, just a few kids wrapping up their play dates. We are here for ballet practice which ended early after Miss Carmen twisted her ankle, and I couldn't say no when Ari begged for "just five minutes" at the park. "Look how high I'm going!" She throws her head back, dark curls streaming behind her. "I'm flying!" "You sure are, baby." I give her another push, earning another delighted squeal from her. These are the moments I live for – just us, no complications, no missing memories pressing against my skull. "Sofia says I can't be a real swan." The words come out casual, but I catch the slight tremor in her voice. My hands tighten on the swing chains. "Why would she say that?" Arielle shrugs, her next kick less enthusiastic. "She says real swans have mamas and papas. And I only have a mama." Fuck.
Last Updated : 2025-02-25Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 156: Tiny Questions, Big Answers II
Arielle's in the stuffed animal section, curled up in the reading nook. Her eyes are red but defiant when I sit beside her."I'm not apologizing.""Yes, you are." I brush a tear from her cheek. "That was incredibly rude.""He deserved it." She hugs her legs tighter. "I don't want a new daddy."The words hit like a punch to the gut. "Baby...""Everyone at school has one. But I don't need one. I have you and Nana and that's enough."I pull her into my lap, swan and all. "You're right. We're enough, just us. But that doesn't mean you get to be mean to people.""He's going to keep coming around." She burrows into my neck. "And then you'll like him better than me.""Hey." I tilt her chin up. "No one in this world could ever be more important to me than you. You're my heart walking around outside my body.""Promise?""Cross my heart and hope to die."She considers this solemnly. "Stick a needle in your eye?""Obviously." I tickle her side, drawing out a reluctant giggle. "Now, about that ap
Last Updated : 2025-02-26
Latest chapter
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
