MasukShare
91: The Proposal
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-01-14 20:09:04
Bab terkait
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 92: The Real Proposal
Estella POV“Let’s just go home,” I said. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day, and I’m just… done.”Alejandro shot me a sidelong glance. “When was the last time you let yourself just stop and breathe?”I huffed out a small laugh. “I’ll stop and breathe as soon as we get home.”“Then it’s my job to make sure you get it,” he said firmly, wrapping an arm around my waist.As we neared the corner where Clara stood, I spotted her slouched against the wall, arms crossed.“Hey Clara?” I asked, stepping closer. “Are you okay?”She straightened immediately, plastering on a forced smile. “Yeah, fine.”I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t look fine.”“I’m fine,” she insisted, waving me off.I hesitated, my concern growing, but before I could press further, she shook her head and chirped, “ Are you going? Just go and have a rest. I’ll handle everything.”I studied her, then gave a small nod. I will make sure to find out what is up with her. “Make sure everyone leaves safely, okay? And… I will get Raul stay
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-15Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 93: Abrupt Call
Estella“She just collapsed, Alejandro! One minute she was fine, and the next—oh my God, what do I do? I called an ambulance, but they’re taking so long. She’s just lying there!”Alejandro pinched the bridge of his nose, his jaw clenched as he paced. “Camila, just take a deep breath. Did you check her pulse? Is she still breathing?”“I-I didn’t want to touch her,” she stammered. “What if I make it worse? I don’t know what to do, Alejandro. I’m scared. She hasn’t even opened her eyes! Please what should I do?”“Stay with her,” he ordered, his voice firm. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.”Alejandro’s expression was unreadable as he slid his phone into his pocket, but I could feel the tension radiating off him. I know what he is feeling. He told Lucia is like a mother to him. Losing her is like reliving the lost of his mother.“You’re going?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.“Yes,” he said shortly, grabbing his keys from his pocket.I stepped in front of him. “I’ll come
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-16Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 94: Blast from the Past
Estella Mia’s blank stare still stuck with me as I walked back into the house, locking the door behind me. The whole house was silent, the kind that made every creak of the floorboards echo louder than it should. What the hell was Mia doing out there? Sleepwalking? Spying? I couldn’t figure it out, but the way she just stood there, staring, still gave me chills. I tried to shake off the thought. She’d been weird since the moment she started working here. I sent Alejandro a quick message: Are you almost there? Is she okay? I sighed, heading to the bedroom. My dress clung to me uncomfortably after the long day, and I peeled it off, tossing it onto the chair. Sliding into the bathroom, I turned on the shower, letting the hot water soothe my tense muscles. The warm spray did little to calm my thoughts. My mind was a whirlwind of suspicion and unease. I had just been proposed to. I should be euphoric, floating on air, but instead, I felt restless. When I stepped out of the shower,
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-17Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 95: A Storm of Lies
Warning: This chapter contains graphic content, including self-harm, that may be triggering for some readers.If you're struggling with mental health issues, please take care of yourself and consider skipping this chapter.Alejandro POVThe snow started falling a few miles away from the estate, covering the road and slowing my progress. It hadn’t been snowing when I left home, but now it was heavy flakes covering the windshield and muffling the sound of my tires on the secluded drive.I cursed under my breath, gripping the steering wheel tighter as I turned into the long, winding driveway of the mansion. This place was old money through and through: a large plot of land in the middle of nowhere, towering oak trees lining the path, and a mansion that looked more like a fortress.The entire property’s lights were out, save for a faint glow coming from a single window on the second floor.When I reached the entrance, I slammed the car door shut and jogged to the grand stone front steps.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-18Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 96: Long Silence
Estella POVI didn’t sleep. Not a wink. Not for a single second.I spent the entire night staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment of the last twenty-four hours like a movie .The images were stamped into my memory. Camila’s hand on his cheek. Their lips meeting. The date scrawled on the back of each one. The same damn ring.My hand instinctively went to the ring. I traced the cool metal with trembling fingers. I couldn’t take it off. Not yet. My love for Alejandro was too tangled with my anger. And despite everything, I wanted him to walk through that door, to explain, to make me feel safe again. But it was almost noon, and he still hadn’t called.Each unanswered text, each unreturned call, was like a blade twisting in my chest. At first, I worried. Was he okay? Had something happened? Something in me tells me that Camila’s story about Lucia falling is all a sham. But as the hours dragged on, my concern changed into anger.He lied to me. He looked me in the eyes, kissed me, tol
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-19Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 97: Fraying Edges
Estella POVWhat if his car slipped on ice and crashed? What if he was lying out there, bleeding, freezing in the snow, waiting for help that wasn’t coming?Should I go after him? But I didn’t even know where he was.I dialed again. Straight to voicemail. Again.“Goddammit,” I muttered, gripping the phone tighter. Where the hell was he?”I dialed Enrique again instead.“Ms Estella,” he answered.“Enrique, have you found him yet? I’ve called him a dozen times. He’s not answering.” My voice cracked on the last word, betraying the panic I was trying so hard to suppress.“It’s strange,” Enrique admitted. “His phone isn’t reachable. I’m checking around.”“What if he’s… What if something happened to him?” I whispered. My throat tightened, the words catching. “What if he’s out there, hurt—or worse?”“I don’t know yet,” Enrique replied. “But I’m checking into it. I’ll find him.”My throat felt tight, and my voice cracked. “Please, Enrique. I don’t know what to do. Just tell me if—”He interru
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-21Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 98: All Hell Breaks Loose
Estella POV The red material slipped from my fingers and fell onto the floor like a grenade I had just detonated. I stared at it, my stomach churning, bile rising in my throat. Slowly, I raised my gaze to Alejandro, my heart pounding with equal parts pain and fury. The man I thought I knew looked back at me with panic written all over his face “Why, Alejandro?” My voice trembled, but I kept my head high, refusing to let the tears fall. “What does this even mean? His hands flew up defensively, his jaw clenching. “Estella, I don’t know how it got there. You have to believe me—“ “Liar!” The word escaped before I could stop it, the word ripping out of me like a scream. “So that’s why you were away all day, huh? Right after asking me to marry you, you ran straight to her? You couldn’t even wait a fucking day!” His face darkened, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. “Don’t you fucking do that,” he snapped “I’m warning you Estella. How can you accuse me of sleeping with her? I a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-22Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 99: The Broken Ring
Estella POVI stormed into the walk in closet, pulling clothes off hangers without looking at them. A pair of jeans. A random blouse. A jacket. It didn’t matter. I just wanted to leave. I shoved everything into a duffel bag, my movements frantic, the sound of my own ragged breathing filling the space.“Estella,” Alejandro’s voice came from the doorway, low and cautious, like he was trying not to spook a wild animal.I ignored him, yanking out more clothes.“Estella,” he repeated, firmer this time, stepping into the room. “Where are you going?”I zipped the bag with trembling hands and turned to face him. His expression stopped me in my tracks. His dark eyes weren’t just tired—they were haunted, rimmed red with exhaustion. His shoulders sagged like he was carrying a weight no one could see. But it was the way he looked at me—pleading, desperate—that made my throat tighten.“Where are you going?” he asked again.“Away,” I said, my tone colder than I intended.“Away where?” His jaw tight
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-23
Bab terbaru
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
