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23: Cracks in the Armor
Last Updated:
2024-11-30 21:45:50
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Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 24: Cracks in the Armor II
“My father was a mean drunk,” Alejandro began, his tone detached, as though recounting someone else’s life. His gaze was fixed on the chipped wall across from us. “The kind who didn’t stop at breaking bottles—he had to break people too. I don’t remember a time when my mother wasn’t covering up a bruise or an excuse for him.” I stayed silent, my chest tightening as his words unfolded like a wound reopening. “He was good at hiding it when people were watching,” he continued, his voice sharpening. “But behind closed doors, he didn’t hold back. My mother bore the brunt of it.” My chest tightened. “And you? Alejandro’s lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw twitching. “He had no problem turning it on me when I got old enough to ‘get in his way,’ as he’d put it. But mostly, I had to watch. I had to watch him destroy her, piece by piece.” I swallowed hard, unsure if I should speak, but the look on his face stopped me. He wasn’t done. “She tried to shield me from it, I guess she th
Last Updated : 2024-11-30Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 25: Graves and Ghosts
Ruth was still in the hospital, her condition stabilizing but far from ideal. The doctor insisted she stay under observation for a while longer. It had been a week since the stroke, and while she occasionally came around, the moments were fleeting. Her speech was slurred, limited to a few words at best, and her side was almost completely immobile. “She’s responding well to treatment, but recovery will take time,” the doctor had told me yesterday. “It’s crucial to keep her stress-free. Her Alzheimer’s complicates things, but the physiotherapy sessions we’ve started should help over time.” Alejandro visited with me a few times, staying quiet but present, his hand occasionally brushing mine when the silence grew too heavy. Now, I was standing in front of a mirror getting ready for Carl Whitman’s funeral. I felt the stares before I even stepped out of the car. The low hum of whispers as Alejandro held the door open for me. “They’re staring at you, not me,” he murmured, his hand b
Last Updated : 2024-11-30Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 26: Power Play
The bathroom door eased open, letting a warm wave of steam roll out into the bedroom. She stepped into the room, her bare feet silent against the cold tile floor. Droplets of water clung to her skin, catching the dim light from the bedside lamp. Her gaze settling on the figure sprawled on the bed, his chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of sleep. For a moment, she just watched him. The sheet barely clinging to his waist. A corner of her mouth lifted. Vulnerable was exactly how she liked him She untied the robe around her and let it slip to the floor without a sound. Barefoot, bare everything, she padded to the bed and climbed onto it, the mattress dipping under her weight Her knee pressed into his side as she straddled him, her hands trailing lightly over his chest. “Wake up,” she whispered, her tone sweet, almost affectionate. He stirred, his eyes blinking open, hazy and unfocused at first, but when they landed on her, they sharpened. A lazy smile spread across his
Last Updated : 2024-12-01Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 27: The GIA
I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my heart hammering against my ribs It was hard to keep up. The SUVs swerved through traffic like they owned the damn road. My foot pressed harder on the accelerator. “No way I’m losing you,” I muttered, weaving through cars and ignoring the angry honks behind me. As they made a sharp left turn, I jerked the wheel, tires screeching in protest. One of the SUVs slowed, and for a split second, I thought they might have noticed me. My stomach churned as I eased off the gas. But then it picked up speed again, and I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to focus. The license plate of the last SUV came into view. I read it aloud under my breath, committing it to memory: GIA-7546. “GIA,” I frowned. “Global Investigative Authority? What the hell is this?” The convoy finally pulled into a massive building that looked like it had been plucked straight out of a government conspiracy movie. I rolled to a stop at a safe distance and watched as the agents drag
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Stay out of this? Like hell, I would.I slipped into the estate through the hidden safety door Alejandro had shown me shortly after our fake engagement. He’d called it a precaution, just in case. “When you know your exits, no one can trap you,” he’d said.The safety door leads to the panic room was concealed behind an unassuming panel of ivy-covered wall, located at the rear of the property. From there, a narrow hallway led straight into the main house. He’d made me memorize the sequence to unlock it, “just in case.” Now, I was glad I’d paid attention.My steps echoed softly against the cold floor. The estate loomed silent and empty, wrapped in yellow tape and barricades like some distorted gift.No patrol cars. No techs combing the place. Just eerie quiet. If this was supposed to be an active investigation scene, it didn’t feel like oneI crouched by the edge of the patio, pulling off the disposable shoe covers I’d worn to avoid leaving tracks. They’d probably already dusted the plac
Last Updated : 2024-12-03Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 29: Shadows in the Frame
The cameras were no ordinary models. As their sleek website boasted, had thermal sensors, night vision, and a self-contained storage unit immune to tampering. If they’d been active during the timeline of the supposed murder, the footage was my best shot at proving Alejandro’s innocence. But there was a catch. A problem. I couldn’t just call SafeHouse Systems to extract the footage—not without alerting the GIA and making this whole thing blow up before I had concrete proof, before I get what I needed. I have to do it myself. But I needed someone who could tell me what to do. Alejandro always said you couldn’t fight fire with kindness; you needed a bigger flame. Right now, I was willing to burn everything to the ground if it meant saving him. I couldn’t do it alone. I pulled out my phone, hesitating before dialing. I hated making this call, but desperate times didn’t leave room for pride. “Ricky?” I whispered into the line once it connected. “Estella? It’s been years. What—” ” I
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She crossed her legs and leaned back in the plush couch , her perfectly pink manicured fingers cradling a glass of red wine. The screen before her cast a cold glow across her face as she tapped her phone screen. He had sent her a fresh batch of photos. “Even the best fall, don’t they?” she murmured, smirking as she swiped through the images. A man, his face obscured, walked into Alejandro’s estate carrying a duffel bag. Another photo showed the same man dragging a limp body toward the guest bedroom, staged by the bed. And finally, the pièce de résistance—a shot of Alejandro getting arrested. She chuckled softly, sipping her wine. “You’ve gotten yourself into quite the mess, haven’t you, Alejandro?” The irony was almost too delicious. She swiped back to the earlier photos, zooming in to appreciate every detail. The careful precision with which the evidence was staged—it was flawless. But it wasn’t the craftsmanship that brought a wicked smile to her lips. No, it was the re
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“Helena…” Chief Mark Parker sounded like he was pleading, though for what, he wasn’t sure.She watched him squirm, the corner of her mouth lifting into a wicked smirk. Manipulating men like him was second nature to her—she knew exactly when to push and when to pull back, when to tease and when to deliver.“Relax,” she cooed. She turned onto her stomach, lifting her hips slightly, her legs draped provocatively over the edge of the couch. “You’re so tense, Parker. I can practically hear your heart pounding from here.”Parker swallowed hard, his throat dry. “You shouldn’t be here. If anyone sees you—”“Then lock the door,” she interrupted.He hesitated but couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering, lingering on the curve of her legs, the dip of her waist.Helena tilted her head, a slow smile spreading across her face. “You look like a man about to explode. Come here, Chief. I won’t bite.”He crossed the room in two strides, not because he wanted to, but because he couldn’t stop himself. Her
Last Updated : 2024-12-04
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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
