Chapter 8
Chapter 8
When Cassidy opened her eyes again, the harsh white light made her instinctively squint.
The smell of antiseptic filled her nostrils, while the rhythmic “beep–beep” of the heart monitor sounded beside her.
“Finally awake?” A doctor approached to check her pupils. “Three broken ribs. Lucky you were brought in quickly, or you might not have made it.”
Cassidy stared blankly at the ceiling, her mind replaying the final scene before the elevator collapsed.
Gabriel unhesitatingly choosing to save Natalie, not even glancing back as the deformed elevator door crashed
down on her.
She tried to move, but intense pain immediately radiated from her chest throughout her body.
Strangely, she couldn’t shed a single tear. Perhaps she had reached a point where even her heart had gone numb.
Three days later, Gabriel came to take her home from the hospital.
He stood in the doorway, immaculately dressed, his gaze falling on her bandaged chest. After a long silence, he finally spoke: “Natalie needs to dance again. I couldn’t let her legs be injured.”
Cassidy slowly lifted her gaze to meet his.
‘So I had no choice but to sacrifice you.” His tone was matter–of–fact, as if discussing the weather. “You’re a housewife–even with limited mobility, the impact isn’t significant.”
Cassidy didn’t respond, seeing with perfect clarity for the first time the man she had loved for half her life.
His features remained godlike in their beauty, but those eyes had never held her reflection.
‘Gabriel,” her voice was hoarse, “if I had died that day, would you have cared?”
Gabriel’s frown deepened, offering no answer.
He pulled a black card from his inner suit pocket and placed it on the nightstand. “Stop asking meaningless questions. This is compensation. As long as you behave and raise the children properly, you’ll always be Mrs. Westbrook.”
Cassidy suddenly laughed.
In her previous life, she had carried the “Mrs. Westbrook” title until her dying day, but what good had it done her?
She was the one who died alone, forgotten, consumed by flames.
Chapter
So in this life, she refused to be his wife any longer.
She wanted to live better, shine brighter, to have someone who truly loved her…
She couldn’t hold back anymore, nearly blurting out that she was done with him.
“Gabriel, I
But his phone’s ringtone suddenly interrupted her.
Gabriel answered the call, and Natalie’s sweet voice came through the speaker: “Gabriel, the children and I are waiting at the restaurant. We have a surprise for you!“.
His expression instantly softened. “Be right there.”
Hanging up, Gabriel checked his watch, his tone becoming cold again: “I’ve got something to handle. The driver’s waiting downstairs for you.”
His retreating figure was tall and straight as he walked away. Cassidy unconsciously dug her fingertips into her palm, but ultimately didn’t call him back.
It didn’t matter. Soon he would learn from Natalie that the divorce agreement was in effect. She didn’t want him anymore, nor the children who treated her like a stranger.
“Martha,” Cassidy pressed the call button. “Please send my luggage to the airport.”
An hour later, she had deleted all contact information for Gabriel, leaving the black card in the hospital room
drawer.
As the plane took off, the clouds outside the window were dyed golden–red by the setting sun.
Cassidy gazed at this brilliant sky, smiling as she closed her eyes.
In this life, she would never again compromise herself for anyone.
Those days of humiliating herself for love would disappear with this plane, vanishing into the clouds forever.
What awaited her was a brand new future–one that belonged solely to her.
