LOGINAbout three days later, Petra slowly drifted back into consciousness.At first, everything felt unreal, like she was floating somewhere suspended between two entirely separate worlds. Her eyelids fluttered weakly before finally opening, and the first thing she saw was a white ceiling flooded with harsh white lights pouring down over her.The brightness made her squint against it.Her throat felt painfully dry. Her body felt heavy, as though it no longer belonged to her at all."Am I dead?" she whispered faintly, her voice barely louder than a breath escaping her lips. "Why does heaven look just like a hospital?"The words sounded strange even to her own ears, but nothing else made sense to her in that moment. She couldn't feel pain the way she expected to. She couldn't feel much of anything at all, if she was honest with herself.Slowly, she turned her head to the side, every small movement costing her real effort. Her eyes drifted across the unfamiliar room until they landed on tw
The studio lights glowed warm and steady overhead, casting a soft, professional sheen across the polished set where the evening's special segment was already underway. Seated at the center of the sleek anchor desk was a woman in her early forties, her expression showed a clean gravity of someone who had delivered a thousand headlines before this one. She folded her hands neatly atop the desk and looked directly into the camera, her voice calm but laced with unmistakable weight."Good evening, everyone. Tonight, we're bringing you a story that has taken the entire city by surprise, one that began quietly, almost invisibly, and has now exploded into something none of us saw coming."She paused, letting the words settle before continuing."As many of you have already heard, footage and eyewitness accounts from outside the Jordan Auction House have been circulating rapidly since this afternoon. At the heart of it all is a woman named Petra Chapman, a name that, until recently, meant ver
Petra was crying openly now, her tears soaking into Oscar's shirt as though she was trying to leave a part of herself with him before everything faded away completely. Her breathing came shallow and broken, every single inhale now a visible, painful effort."Oscar…" she whispered, her voice trembling like glass about to shatter into pieces. "I've lived a life of loneliness."Her words came slow and heavy, as if each one had to be dragged up laboriously from deep within her failing chest."People mocked me for being an orphan," she continued weakly, her voice barely above a whisper. "No parents… no real home… I was always the extra one, the unwanted one."Oscar shook his head frantically, tightening his hold around her as though his arms alone could somehow keep her alive against everything working against them."Don't say that," he said hoarsely, his voice thick with emotion. "You're not alone. You've never been alone."But Petra barely seemed to hear him at all.Her eyes brimmed wit
Oscar rushed to Petra's side the moment her body crumpled to the ground, his knees hitting the cold stone hard as he gathered her carefully into his arms.The heat of the day pressed down on them mercilessly, the bright afternoon sun illuminating every horrifying detail with unforgiving clarity, her lips stained red, her skin drained entirely of color, her chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven gasps that grew weaker with every passing second."Petra… Petra, look at me," he pleaded, panic clawing violently at his throat.Blood continued to trickle steadily from the corner of her mouth, warm against his trembling fingers. Her body felt frighteningly light in his arms, as though life itself was already slipping quietly away from her, drop by drop.She tried to breathe, but each inhale came accompanied by a faint, broken sound, as if her lungs could no longer manage to keep pace with what her body needed.Around them, chaos erupted instantly.Some people gasped audibly. Others step
"Pete, doesn't he look like a dog right now?" Zoe said mockingly, her laughter sharp and clear, ringing out across the open air with cruel amusement."It's not that he looks like one," Pete replied coldly, his gaze fixed steadily downward at the man still kneeling before him. "He is one."Oscar remained on his knees upon the red carpet that had been rolled out earlier for distinguished guests, the fabric now creased and dulled by dust and quiet humiliation.His spine remained straight, his palms resting calmly against his thighs, but the strain visible in his jaw betrayed the true weight he was carrying beneath that composed exterior."Oscar, get up!" Petra cried out. She stumbled forward and dropped to the ground beside him. "Please… get up. I don't want the medicine anymore."Her voice was hoarse, raw from begging, from fear, from pain she could no longer manage to hide. Her body leaned heavily against him, her breath coming uneven and shallow with every passing second.Oscar turne
Petra lifted her trembling gaze toward Oscar, her eyes red and glossy, silently pleading with him without a single word needing to be spoken. She shook her head slowly, a desperate refusal written plainly across every line of her face.Then she turned toward Pete, her lips pale and bloodless, her voice barely holding itself together under the strain."Pete, don't push it," she said weakly, each word costing her more than the last. "Please."Pete's brows slammed together instantly, his expression darkening. "Why are you so agitated?" Pete snapped fiercely, his voice echoing loudly across the open space between them.The words had barely left his mouth when Petra's strength finally gave out completely.Her knees buckled violently beneath her, and she bent forward, coughing uncontrollably, the sound tearing raw and painful through the surrounding silence, frightening everyone within earshot.Oscar reacted instantly, wrapping one arm firmly around her waist and pulling her against his c
Martins and Eric flinched at the same time, their bodies jerking backward as if someone had just fired a gun in the room.For a second, nobody moved.The dirty diaper had landed squarely on Zoe’s face. Brown stains smeared across her cheek and nose, sliding slowly downward.Her eyes widened in disb
The shareholders' meeting stretched well into the afternoon before it finally came to an end. The conference hall, which had been filled with probing questions, financial reports, and lengthy discussions about the future of eCloud Tech, gradually emptied as investors gathered their files and excha
Oscar arrived earlier than expected for dinner.The restaurant was one of the most luxurious establishments in the city, known for its elegant atmosphere, exceptional service, and breathtaking evening view. Oscar had intended to arrive before Petra so he could gather his thoughts and prepare himse
Petra caught another woman carelessly flirting with her own husband right in front of her eyes, barely forty eight hours of her postpartum recovery.The baby’s cry pierced through the house again, thin but stubborn, like a tiny alarm that refused to be ignored.Petra stood in the kitchen, exhausted







