Chapter 5
Callum felt his heart slam against his ribcage as he spun around, Cassie’s face had gone chalk white, her eyes rolling back as she collapsed to the ground like a marionette with cut strings.
He bolted toward her, abandoning his conversation mid–sentence. In one fluid motion, he scooped her up and sprinted toward his car, barking orders for someone to call the hospital.
Through waves of scaring pain, Cassie drifted in and out of consciousness. She caught fragments of Callum’s panicked conversation with the ER doctor.
“My wife’s sixteen weeks pregnant,” he was saying, voice tight with worry. “Whatever pain meds you’re thinking about using–make sure they’re safe for the baby.”
Once inside the treatment room, a nurse lifted her blouse to assess the burn damage and gasped at the sight of
Cassie’s completely flat stomach.
“Sixteen weeks pregnant?” The nurse’s eyebrows shot up. “That can’t be right. She doesn’t look pregnant at all.”
As the confused nurse turned to double–check with a colleague, Cassie grabbed her wrist despite the excruciating
pain radiating up her leg.
“I lost the baby recently,” she whispered, her voice strained. “Please keep it confidential. I need to tell my husband
myself.”
Miscarriages were sensitive territory–the nurse nodded sympathetically and agreed to stay quiet.
Without proper anesthesia due to the supposed pregnancy, the wound debridement was pure torture. The nurse scrubbed away dead skin while another applied antimicrobial ointment, each touch sending lightning bolts of agony through Cassie’s entire body.
Her hospital gown was soaked with sweat, every second stretching into an eternity of white–hot pain.
After treatment, they wheeled her into a private room.
Callum hovered anxiously by her bedside, apologizing on loop. “God, Cassie, these burns are second–degree. Why didn’t you scream for me?”
Through teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached, Cassie forced out a response as fire consumed her legs. Her entire body radiated heat like an overworked engine. “You left… too fast.”
The simple truth landed with precision.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, genuine remorse darkening his eyes. “This is all my fault.”
He slid his hand into her tightly clenched fist, trying to offer comfort.
Her fingernails dug crescents into his skin, breaking through until tiny beads of blood appeared.
10:13
Addio To The Stand–In Past This Time I Chose To Reclaim My Own Life
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Chapter 5
She stared at their mingled blood with a strange detachment, her consciousness mercifully fading pulled her under.
When she resurfaced again, the room was dim with night shadows.
Through the fog of pain medication, Cassie made out Laurina’s showste standing near her bed, her vice
insistent.
“You’re injured too. Go get your hand treated now. I’ll stay with Castle until you get back.” The command in her we
was unmistakable.
“No way,” Callum refused. “She might wake up disoriented. I’ll deal with it tomoTION”
Laurina’s voice suddenly rose sharply. “Damn it, Callum! Stop being so stubborn about your bedat Gogeta bra looked at now before it gets infected!”
At her outburst, the tension in Callum’s expression melted away, replaced by someting the looked very the
triumph.
He grabbed Laurina’s hand, his voice dropping to an intimate whisper. “See? You will care what happens to me fa admit it already. The minute you do, I swear I’ll drop everything, We can start fresh, Laurina Ples
Laurina yanked her hand away, clearly flustered by her own reaction. “That’s not–I didn’t mean-
A slow smile spread across Callum’s face as he watched her struggle. “It’s okay. I won’t push. I’ve got all the time in the world to wait for you to stop fighting this. I’ll go get treated, just like you want
He left the room with an almost boyish spring in his step.
Cassie lay perfectly still, processing what she’d just witnessed. Throughout their three–year marriage, she’d only ever seen Callum as the composed alpha male–always in control, always measured. Even when she’d been furious or playful, he responded with that patient, condescending tone adults use with children.
He was perpetually rational, mature, collected–wearing an impenetrable mask of perfection.
She had assumed this was simply his nature.
But now she was seeing a completely different man. This Callum was raw, vulnerable, almost desperate. He lit up at the slightest hint of Laurina’s concern. He jumped to obey her without question, like a lovesick teenager hanging on his crush’s every word.
Even more jarring–this Callum showed genuine emotion. The mask had slipped, revealing the passionate, impulsive man beneath.
Cassie stared, unsettled by this transformation, until she suddenly found herself making direct eye
Laurina.
at with
Noticing the flash of panic in her aunt’s eyes, Cassie spoke first. “Where’s Callum?” she asked casually, as if she’d just
awakened.
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Chapter 5
Relief washed over Laurina’s face when she realized Cassie might not have overheard their exchange. “He went to get his burn treated. How are you feeling? Need anything for the pain?”
The agony in Cassie’s legs continued to pulse with every heartbeat, but she shook her head. “I’m okay. You should go
home and rest.”
Laurina ignored the suggestion and poured her a glass of water instead.
After a few more concerned questions about her comfort, Laurina’s expression grew more serious. “Cassie… yesterday, before you passed out at the restaurant entrance… did you happen to hear anything?”
Cassie’s hand froze momentarily on the water glass. She met her aunt’s probing gaze directly, her expression deliberately neutral. “No. Not a thing. Why?”
The lie came easily, her face betraying nothing.
Partly to ease Laurina’s obvious discomfort.
But mostly, it was Cassie telling herself to let it go. What was the point in confronting them now? She’d already signed the divorce papers. Already emptied her womb. Already begun the process of disappearing from their lives.
Soon enough, they could drop the charade and be together openly, while she rebuilt her life an ocean away.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
