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58– A Threatening Presence
Last Updated:
2024-12-20 17:44:46
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Alejandro POVEnrique met me by the door.“They’ve been making moves lately,” he said. “We need to strike back.”I clenched my fists, my gaze fixed on the door. “Not yet. Estella comes first. I need to make sure she’s safe.”“I get it. But we can’t let this go unanswered. They need to know they can’t touch us without consequences.”I didn’t look at him. My focus stayed on the silent closed door.“I know,” I said. “And they’ll pay for this. Every fucking one of them. But not yet. Not until I know she’s okay.”The doctor stepped out of Estella’s room, pulling the door closed behind him. His face was calm, but I could tell he wasn’t thrilled with what he had to say.“She’s sleeping now,” he said. “I gave her a sedative. The shock was too much for her.”I nodded, my jaw tight. The image of her shaking, screaming, scrambling onto the bed to escape the snakes was burned into my mind. She hadn’t even noticed when I held her. Her fear had taken over everything“She’ll be fine,” the doctor rea
Last Updated : 2024-12-22Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 60 – Our Room
Estella POVThe soft creak of the floorboards must have woken him.I looked up, startled to find Alejandro watching me, his dark eyes alert despite the dim light of the room. His voice, rough from sleep, broke the silence. “What are you doing?”He was stretched out on the couch, looking far too large and uncomfortable in the cramped space. I ignored him and knelt by his feet, opening the first aid kit I’d grabbed from the hall closet. “Stay still,” I said, reaching for his ankle.He shifted, pulling his foot away slightly. “Answer me first.”I grabbed the leg. “Let me,” I said, meeting his gaze briefly before returning my focus to the bite.His resistance faltered, and he leaned back, his eyes never leaving me.I opened the first aid kit beside me, the soft click of the latch the only sound between us.The wound was worse than I thought. The snake’s fangs had left two jagged punctures, the skin around them red and swollen. The faintest bruise was starting to form. I cleaned the area
Last Updated : 2024-12-22Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 61 – The Line Between Us
Estella POVThe bathroom door opening pulled my gaze from the sketches in my lap. Alejandro stepped out, a towel slung low around his hips, water trailing down his chest in teasing rivulets.My mouth went dry.He didn’t glance at me immediately, busy ruffling a hand through his damp hair. The movement flexed the muscles in his arm, and for a split second, I forgot how to breathe.When his gaze finally shifted to me, his lips curved.“Caught you staring.”“I wasn’t staring,” I shot back, though my voice lacked conviction.“Right,” he drawled, leaning casually against the doorframe. “You’re just sitting there, wide-eyed, admiring the ceiling?”I glared at him, hoping the heat rushing to my face wasn’t obvious. “Put some clothes on, Alejandro.”“Careful,” he said, his smirk deepening. “You couldn’t hold it in your first night here.”I rolled my eyes, but my stomach fluttered at the memory. “You were wearing shorts underneath.”“Doesn’t mean you weren’t tempted. He said as he grabbed a p
Last Updated : 2024-12-23Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 62 – Time to Play the Game
The warden escorted the woman in the plain trench coat and oversized scarf down a sterile hallway. Her heels echoed faintly against the cold, tiled floor.“Nurse Hartley,” he barked, stopping by a desk where a woman was flipping through a clipboard. “Visitor for Room 47.”Hartley frowned, her lips tightening. “Helena Valdez? I don’t know why anyone would want to see her.”The woman gave her a sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “She deserves visitors too, doesn’t she?”Hartley snorted. “That one doesn’t need visitors—she needs an exorcist.”The warden frowned at her but said nothing. He handed the woman a visitor’s badge, his gaze on her scarf for a moment before nodding for Hartley to proceed.“I still think this is a mistake,” Hartley muttered as she led the woman down a narrow corridor.When they reached the final door, Hartley paused, glancing at the reinforced glass window. Inside, Helena Valdez sat slouched in her chair, her hair hanging in greasy strands around her face. He
Last Updated : 2024-12-23Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 63 – The Dance Before the Fall
Estella POVMy designs glistened under the spotlights like stars against the night sky. Each piece had been meticulously crafted—not just to be beautiful, but to tell a story.My story.I stood behind the curtains, clutching the edges of my speech cards, though I knew every word by heart. The murmurs of the crowd buzzed like white noise, a reminder of the faces waiting for me on the other side.“Ready?” Alejandro’s voice broke through the noise.I turned to find him standing beside me, his hand resting lightly on my back. His touch warm.“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, giving him a tight smile.“You’re going to blow them away,” he said with quiet confidence.The crowd shifted as I stepped onto the stage, every eye drawn to the spotlight that followed me. My heart pounded so loudly it drowned out the faint notes of the jazz band playing in the background.“This collection,” I began, the microphone amplifying my voice across the grand hall, “isn’t just about jewelry. It’s a tribute
Last Updated : 2024-12-24Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 64 – Disappearing Act
Alejandro POVI’d been standing near the restroom door, glancing at my watch, debating whether to check on Estella. Ten minutes had passed since she’d gone in. Too long. I was about to knock when my phone buzzed in my pocket.“Boss, you need to get down here,” Enrique’s voice came through slightly annoyed. “There’s a woman causing a scene, trying to crash in without a pass. Says her name is Camila Ramirez.”Ah, shit. I muttered under my breath. “Just let her through.”He paused. “You sure? She’s—”“Let her through, Enrique.”I ended the call, glancing back at the bathroom door one last time before making my way toward the entrance. Camila and chaos were a package deal. If I didn’t handle her quickly, she’d take the whole night down with her.I found her at the main entrance, arms crossed and glaring daggers at Enrique, who stood as an unyielding wall between her and the event. She was in full dramatic mode, her foot tapping against the marble floor in exaggerated annoyance.When her e
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Alejandro POVI slammed the door behind me so hard the frame shuddered. I turned the lock with a sharp twist, pocketing the key as I stalked into the room.Estella’s head snapped up, her movements slow and disoriented. Her gaze darted around the room before it settled on me. Her hair was mussed and her eyes wide with confusion. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice shaky.She struggled to sit up, the covers slipping down her shoulders to reveal the curve of her bare cleavage. Her cheeks flushed, and she yanked the blanket back up, clutching it tightly against her chestI didn’t speak. My breaths came fast and uneven as I stared at her. Naked in bed.“What the hell are you doing here?” I finally growled, my voice low and dangerous. “And why the fuck are you naked?”“I-I don’t know,” she stammered, her brow furrowing like she was trying to piece together a puzzle.Before she could say more, the adjoining bathroom door creaked open.A man stepped out.Naked too except for a towel slun
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Estella POV“Estella, please, let me fucking focus!” Alejandro spat over the roar of the speeding engine in a furious tone.I was crying so hard my chest hurt, the seatbelt biting into me with every sharp turn he took. “I didn’t do anything!” I screamed back, tears streaming down my face. “You have to believe me, Alejandro! I don’t know how I—”He cut me off, his jaw tight as he gripped the wheel. “Was that why you insisted I leave you alone? So you could sneak him?”“Don’t you fucking dare!” I gasped, choking on my sobs. “I swear I didn’t!”“Then explain it to me, Estella!”“I don’t know! I woke up and he was there!”“I don’t want to hear it!” His knuckles were white, veins bulging as he swerved around a delivery truck, the tires screeching against the asphalt.My explanation wasn’t enough. His eyes burned, anger simmering beneath the surface. The speedometer climbed higher, the numbers glowing like a countdown to disaster.My stomach lurched as the car veered dangerously close to t
Last Updated : 2024-12-26
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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
