Chapter 7
Cassie smiled to herself–a hollow, empty gesture that never reached her eyes. She’d heard enough of their
reminiscing.
Turning to leave, she nearly collided with Laurina emerging from the restroom, her aunt’s eyes widening in recognition.
Cassie’s pulse spiked as she instinctively pivoted toward the stairwell, desperate to avoid this unwanted encounter.
She’d barely managed three hasty steps when Laurina’s voice cut through the background noise.
“Cassie? Wait–is that you?”
Ignoring her completely, Cassie quickened her pace, focusing solely on the red exit sign glowing at the end of the hallway.
Just as she reached the corner, Laurina caught up, grabbing her wrist with surprising strength. “Hold on!”
Cassie tried wrenching free, but her aunt’s grip only tightened. “I know it’s you,” Laurina insisted, panic rising in her voice. “Whatever you overheard in there–it’s not what you think. Just let me explain, please.”
They struggled briefly as Cassie yanked her arm away with unexpected force, desperation giving her strength.
The sudden release threw her dangerously off–balance. For one terrifying moment, she teetered at the edge of the stairwell, gravity pulling her backward toward the steep drop.
Laurina’s expression transformed to horror as she lunged forward, managing to catch the edge of Cassie’s sleeve.
Cassie grabbed the railing, steadying herself just in time.
But Laurina’s momentum carried her forward. She tumbled down the concrete stairs, her body making sickening thuds against each step before crumpling at the bottom in a heap, blood quickly pooling beneath her motionless
form.
Cassie’s mind went blank with shock. She stumbled down toward her aunt, reaching out instinctively.
Before her fingers could make contact, a violent force slammed into her from the side.
Her forehead cracked against the sharp corner of the wall. Blood instantly gushed from the wound, streaming into her eyes and soaking her face within seconds.
Through the blinding pain, she forced her eyelids open to find Callum looming over her, his expression transformed into something she’d never seen before–pure, murderous rage that rendered him almost unrecognizable.
“If she dies,” he snarled through clenched teeth, his voice vibrating with barely controlled fury, “I will hunt you down and make you pay with your fucking life. You hear me? Your life for hers.”
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Chapter 7
Without another glance at his wife bleeding on the floor, he gathered Laurina into his arms with heartbreaking tenderness and bolted toward the exit.
His footsteps faded to silence, leaving Cassie alone in a growing pool of her own blood.
The bitter irony wasn’t lost on her–the legal wife left bleeding while her husband rushed to save his true love. Three years of marriage, and she couldn’t compete with a decade–old flame. She never stood a chance.
As her vision blurred and darkened around the edges, a strange sense of peace settled over her. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as a bizarre thought drifted through her mind: Maybe this is better. Maybe this is the easiest
way out.
The pressure inside her skull built with each heartbeat, throbbing in hypnotic rhythm. Her body felt oddly weightless, like she might float away at any moment. As consciousness began slipping away, she didn’t fight it
Darkness offered a kind of freedom that wakefulness couldn’t…
She had no concept of time passing when she finally resurfaced, blinking against harsh fluorescent lights. A doctor’s relieved face gradually came into focus above her.
“You’re incredibly lucky,” he said, checking her pupils with a penlight. “With head trauma of this severity, most patients don’t regain consciousness so quickly. You could have easily ended up in a permanent vegetative state.”
Cassie thanked him weakly, becoming aware of her phone vibrating incessantly on the bedside table.
When she finally answered, Callum’s frantic voice filled her ear.
“Cassie? Jesus Christ, where are you? I’ve been calling for hours!”
After a long, deliberate pause, she quietly provided the hospital name and room number, her voice devoid of
emotion.
Ten minutes later, the door burst open with enough force to bang against the wall.
Callum rushed to her bedside, his face etched with what appeared to be genuine panic. “How bad is it? Is the baby okay? God, I’m so sorry–Laurina told me everything when she woke up. I thought you’d pushed her down those stairs deliberately-”
“I should never have reacted like that,” he continued, words tumbling out in a rush. “It was inexcusable to leave you there. Please, you have to forgive me.”
From his frantic apology, Cassie realized Laurina must have regained consciousness and explained the accident. That’s why he was here now, drowning in remorse–not because she mattered, but because he’d mistakenly
threatened the wrong person.
She lowered her gaze, answering in a deliberately flat voice. “It’s fine. The doctor says I just need rest.”
Assuming “fine” included the nonexistent baby, relief washed over Callum’s face.
He knelt beside the bed, hand reaching toward her stomach in a gesture that had once seemed loving but now felt
To Dersim Mr Own Life
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Chapter 7
like the ultimate violation.
Cassie halted him with a single question.
“So you and Laurina were college classmates?”
This hand froze midair like he’d been electrically shocked, “Uh, yeah. Different departments, same school. Why do
you ask?”
Watching his hand retreat, Cassie noted the panic flickering behind his eyes. “No reason,” she replied tonelessly. “I just overheard you were both attending the same alumni event.”
Callum’s throat worked as he swallowed repeatedly, desperation evident as he clumsily changed subjects.
“You must be starving. I’ll grab you some breakfast from the cafeteria.”
As she watched him practically flee the room, Cassie opened the calendar app on her phone and counted the remaining days with clinical detachment.
Just ten more days until the mandatory divorce cooling–off period ended.
Ten days until she could finally, legally escape this marriage built entirely on manipulation and lies.
Ten days until Callum Reid became nothing but an unpleasant memory.
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