Chapter 49: It's The Right Time

Isaac’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, his mind racing faster than the car speeding down the highway. The headlights of the other vehicles blurred into streaks of light, his focus narrowing on the road ahead—and on the hospital where Ava was.

Why didn’t Ralph tell me sooner? Isaac thought bitterly. I could have done something...

His chest tightened at the thought of her lying in a hospital bed because of him. As another word of guilt is echoed in his mind:

She’s in there because you never let up. You never gave her a moment of peace.

Isaac’s jaw clenched as memories flooded back—the cold glares, the endless tasks, the way he piled work on Ava just to see her struggle. He’d told himself she deserved it after everything she put him through. But now, it seemed that spite had pushed her to a breaking point.

“Damn it,” he muttered, the anger bubbling inside him. Not just anger at Ava—but at himself. He’d spent years hating her for abandoning him, and all that rage