ing to retur

unconsciousness. Beep... beep... beep. It was the sterile sound of a ma

'd inhaled. When she finally managed to force her eyes open, a blinding white light made her squeeze the

at once. It crept back in l

, the deafening crunch of twisting metal, the

he fire. The f

re of the fluorescent lights above. She stared at the white ceiling, her breat

hattered window. She heard him

she had vowed to love, in sickness and in health, turned his ba

ps. It wasn't from the physical pain, thou

bbing pressure seized her chest with every inhale-fractured ribs. Her right arm and part of her shoulder were covered in thick white bandage

ters had ripped her from that metal hell j

ar-the submissive, patient, and devoted wife of Alexa

A middle-aged nurse with a kind, weary face entered ca

Thank God. We were so worried. You've been in an induced coma for nearly forty-eight hours to

. Two whole days

, once a wellspring of warmth, now

croaked, her vo

and helping her sip through a straw. The cool liquid slid down her raw throat, o

nurse said, straightening the sheets with a maternal care that m

r before she could stop them. A refl

read the micro-expressions of high society just to survive her mother-in-law's dinners, caug

f course," she began, her tone suddenly professional and evasive. "He

er voice gaining a thread of strengt

hed, clearly

l injuries since she was pulled out first, but she's had a severe nervous breakdown. She was admitted to the psychiatric recover

ute. The machines kept beeping, but

oken bones and burned skin, on the verge of death after he had abandoned her in a burning c

e; it was torn off, taking with it skin, flesh, and any

n't cry. There was no hysteria, no

nto a faint, humorless smile. It was an e

comments from his mother, Beatrice. The endless "busi

: she had never been his wife. She was just co

opping several degrees, stripped of all

y?" the nurse offered, her expression a mix of pi

n in her ribs. "But I need my personal phone. If it wasn't

voice, the nurse simply nodded. She pulled a cellphone from her

tethered to an IV line. Her fingers trembled slightly, not from weakn

ry. An international number s

deep male voice with a dist

el

soft tone of Mrs. Montenegro gone, replaced by th

on the other end. Then, a

The news here in Europe just reported a terrible acci

s wife didn't. Listen to me carefully, Bastien. I don't have much time before the media circus sta

ing. Anythi

ith a lethal light. "I want them to draft the divorce papers immediately. I'm renouncing every cent of the Montenegro fortune. N

? You're leaving bil

cing through the air. "And one more thing. Get everything ready in Paris. My old apartment, my grandfather's trust fund t

find you until you want to be found. W

you, Ba

set the phone on

he machines, but it no longer mattered. The fire had burned aw

absolute cruelty. Now, it was her turn to show hi