Chapter 24\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00c166D\u00a0<\/p>\n
86\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think this makes you a hero?\u201d I asked. \u201cAfter everything you did to her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He swallowed hard. \u201cNo. I know I\u2019m trash. I chose wrong every single time. I let her suffer. I let our son cry for a mother who was being destroyed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hands curled into fists. \u201cYou don\u2019t get forgiveness from me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want it,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want her to live. Please. Let me do one thing right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated him. God, I hated him. For every tear Nadia ever swallowed. For every night she survived alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she was dying. Bleeding out on my table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned away. \u201cLie down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He did not hesitate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they prepped him, Ryle was brought past the glass wall. The kid was crying, eyes swollen, fists clutching a nurse\u2019s uniform.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s my mom?\u201d he sobbed. \u201cI want my mom. Please, she promised she wouldn\u2019t leave me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My chest tightened hard enough to hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned down and pressed my forehead to the glass. \u201cShe\u2019s fighting,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cAnd she\u2019s winning. I swear to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The surgery started.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cut David open myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stayed awake just long enough to look at her across the room. His voice was thin, already fading.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was always the strongest one,\u201d he whispered. \u201cTell her\u2026 tell Isabella I loved her. Even if I was too stupid to show it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took his heart. Still warm. Still beating. Still full of regret.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I put it into Nadia\u2019s chest with hands that did not shake. I forced her body to accept it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I refused to let her die.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The machine steadied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:15 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0e0a\u0e23\u00a0<\/p>\n
86\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dropped to my knees beside her bed, gripping her hand like it was the only thing anchoring me to this world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going anywhere,\u201d I murmured. \u201cYou belong here. With me. With your son. Death doesn\u2019t get you. Not tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
David didn\u2019t make it. His body rejected the mechanical heart we tried to give him. Quiet. Fast. Final.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFreeze him,\u201d I told my men. \u201cAnd keep your mouths shut. If she asks, you say nothing.\u201d Hours later, her lashes fluttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked confused. Weak. Alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cColt,\u201d she whispered. \u201cMy chest feels\u2026 warm. Heavy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I brushed her hair back, keeping my face calm, my voice steady. \u201cThat\u2019s because you\u2019re alive. Focus on that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She searched my eyes like she always did, like she could see straight through me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t tell her the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because if she knew whose heart was beating inside her chest, it would break her. And I would rather burn the world than let that happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
ISABELLA\u2019S POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was healing. At least my body was. Every day I could breathe a little easier, walk a little farther, hold Ryle\u2019s hand without my knees shaking. The doctors said I was a miracle. I smiled and nodded, but inside I felt wrong. Heavy. Like my chest knew the truth before my mind did. Like the heart beating in me did not belong to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryle noticed it too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One morning he climbed onto my bed, curled against my side, his small hand resting right over my chest. He looked up at me, eyes too old for his age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom,\u201d he whispered, \u201cyour heartbeat feels different.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze, then kissed his hair. \u201cI\u2019m okay, baby. Just tired.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded, but he did not look convinced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, I heard voices outside my room. Low. Sharp. Tense. Ax and Colt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t keep lying to her,\u201d Ax said quietly, but there was panic under it. \u201cShe feels it. She knows something\u2019s wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colt\u2019s voice came back rough, dangerous. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t need the truth. The truth will destroy her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 24\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:15 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hand was already on the door. I stepped out before they could stop me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose heart is inside me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both of them went still.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked straight at Colt. \u201cDon\u2019t protect me. Don\u2019t control me. Tell me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened. He looked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
86\u00a0<\/p>\n
I asked again, slower this time, my voice shaking even though I hated that it was. \u201cColt. Whose heart is beating in my chest?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ax broke first. His shoulders sagged like he had been carrying this alone for too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was David,\u201d he said. \u201cHe gave it to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The world tilted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said, backing away. \u201cThat\u2019s not funny. That\u2019s not possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colt did not deny it. His silence hit harder than any scream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t remember how I got to the cold storage room. My chest burned, every breath sharp and useless. When I saw him, I dropped to my knees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still. Pale. Quiet. Like the storm had finally left him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed my forehead to his chest and sobbed like I hadn\u2019t allowed myself to since the day I almost died.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ruined me,\u201d I whispered. \u201cYou broke my life. You broke our family. And you still\u00a0<\/p>\n
saved me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hands shook as I clutched his shirt. \u201cYou idiot. You absolute idiot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice cracked. \u201cI forgive you. I hate that I forgive you, but I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed there until my legs went numb and my throat burned raw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I came back, Ryle was waiting. He ran to me and wrapped his arms around my\u00a0<\/p>\n
waist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom,\u201d he cried. \u201cI was scared. I thought you were gone again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dropped to my knees and hugged him tight. \u201cI\u2019m here. I promise. I\u2019m not leaving you.\u201d He pressed his ear to my chest again, listening. \u201cThat heart,\u201d he said softly, \u201cit feels sad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes burned. \u201cIt is,\u201d I whispered. \u201cBut it\u2019s strong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Weeks passed. My body healed fully. Ryle went back to laughing, back to being a kid. But at night, when he slept beside me, I felt the weight of everything pressing down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 24\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4 95.0%\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:15 Wed Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
86\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colt never left my side. He watched me like he was afraid I would disappear if he blinked. Sometimes I caught him staring at me like he wanted to devour me and protect me at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One day, I told him, \u201cI want to see Roxanne.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hated it. I saw it in his eyes. But he nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The prison was cold. When Roxanne saw me, she smiled like she still thought she had\u00a0<\/p>\n
power.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re hard to kill,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned forward, calm, deadly. \u201cDavid is dead.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her smile slipped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:15 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prepare the divorce and ruin your husband by Mark Twain 24 Chapter 24\u00a0 \u00c166D\u00a0 86\u00a0 \u201cYou think this makes you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-regret-my-victory-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23555\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}