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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-SEVEN: THE PRICE PAID.

Penulis: Blu
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-20 01:23:16

AVERY'S POV:

"I love you, Axel," I sobbed, crumpling to my knees beside his lifeless body. "And I forgive you. For everything."

The words spilled from me, aching, but true. My tears wouldn’t stop—they poured freely, blinding my vision, soaking into the stones beneath us like a final offering. Each drop felt heavier than the last.

"I know you've done terrible things. Your hands… they’ve taken lives. You've made enemies. Burned bridges. But you’ve also given so much. Hope. Love. A second chance. You’ve held me when no one else would. Fought for me when I couldn’t even fight for myself."

My voice broke. "You saved me. Over and over."

I kept talking. Maybe to him. Maybe to myself. Recounting how he’d shown up when the world gave up on me. How he made me believe I was more than what they said. More than a woman discarded, disgraced.

And then—something changed.

One of my tears, sliding down my cheek, suddenly shimmered. A faint glow—cerulean blue—and then it hardened the instant it hit my
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  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-EIGHT: HAUNTED BY MY SINS.

    AXEL'S POV:I woke to suffocating blackness.No ceiling. No walls. No floor. Just an endless void of shadow pressing in from every angle. The silence was unnatural—like even time itself had forgotten how to move here. There was no scent, no breeze, no sound of breathing, not even mine.My body jerked upright, muscles instinctively coiling as I snapped into defense mode. “Hello?” I called. It echoed—but not outward. It rebounded inwards, through my skull, vibrating against bone like it was mocking me.Nothing answered. The silence wasn’t just still—it was cruel. The kind that watches. The kind that waits. I stayed crouched, straining to hear anything. A footstep. A breath. A whisper. Anything.But there was nothing. I don’t know how long I stayed like that—seconds, minutes, hours. Time didn’t exist here. All I had were my thoughts, and they came quickly, too loud in the nothingness. "Where the hell am I? Am I dead? Did someone drug me? Is this real?"I paced in a circle I couldn't e

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-20
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-NINE: I'M HUMAN.

    AVERY’S POV:I couldn’t even cry anymore.I lay in the dirt, drenched in my own blood—my own grief. My throat was hoarse from screaming, yet the silence around me mocked the pain I could no longer voice. I stared up at the colorless sky, where the early morning had slowly started rising. Yet, it was dark.Even the sun had seemed to abandon me. There was no warmth. No light. Just the sting of loss crawling across my skin like frost.All I did was sob. Broken, breathless sobs that echoed out into nothing.My heart... it didn’t just ache. It bled. Heavily. Loudly. But no one could hear it.“Forgive me,” I whispered to the gods, the sky, the unseen forces that ruled this cursed world. “Forgive me because I’m human.”My voice betrayed me at the last word.“I have emotions. I make mistakes. I feel too much and understand too little. I’m not like you—these mighty beings carved from perfection and absolutes. You were made to be faultless. But I was made to be redeemed.”My fingers dug into th

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-20
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY: AN ANSWER.

    AVERY’S POV: Swallowing hard and exhaling, my body felt like brittle glass. “If anyone should be punished... it should be me. Yes, it should. I—” I staggered, stammering, my chest tightening as guilt tore through me. “I brought all this... on them. I cursed. I lashed out. I lost control. Take my life, just bring them back. Please—please!”My hands shook as I looked down at the blood still clinging to my skin. “The child... the child was innocent,” I mentioned, then screamed, “Do you hear me?! They didn’t do anything! This baby has never done a single wicked thing in their entire life! What about Akira that lived a pure life? And Axel—he didn’t even know about the baby! He never got to know!”I choked on my own sob, clenching my fists. “Oman!" I shouted, lifting my head. “Kore! Where are you?! If I am yours—if I carry even a drop of your blood—then show up! Do something! Show me mercy! Please! I’m not begging as a warrior or a vessel. I’m begging as your child. I’m just a daughter ask

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-20
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY-ONE: THE IMPOSSIBLE.

    AXEL’S POV:I came back like I was clawing my way through layers of nothingness. Everything was silent—then not. It was like drowning in an ocean without water, suffocating on something I couldn’t see until I burst through some invisible surface and inhaled like I hadn’t breathed in centuries.My eyes shot open.Bright. Too bright.I blinked, once—twice. The light didn’t burn. I could see. Both eyes. Clear, like someone had lifted a veil from the world.The realization slammed into me harder than the bullet had: I was alive.No. No, that wasn’t possible.I tried to move and found myself tightly bound from neck to ankles. The rough texture of cloth wrapped around every inch of me—like a preserved relic, like something meant to stay buried.I’d been dead.The memory returned like lightning. The sound of gunshots. The searing heat in my chest. Blood. So much of it. And then the dark."Avery," I rasped, voice hoarse like it hadn’t been used in weeks—or ever.Her eyes widened like she’d se

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY-TWO: SECRETS OF THE DIVINE.

    AXEL’S POV:An invisible force surged through me like a pressure wave, ripping the air out of my lungs. Before I could blink, I was flung backward—lifted off my feet like a ragdoll and hurled through the air. The floor caught me with a punishing thud, pain ricocheting up my spine as the breath whooshed from my chest.I groaned, sprawled across the cold earth, my limbs momentarily useless.“Axel, quit it!” the woman snapped. “You’ve done enough already to piss off everyone. Just sit and wait.”I sat up slowly, dust clinging to my skin and frustration burning in my gut.“Do you think you care more about her than I do?”I didn’t reply. I didn’t have to.Because she didn’t love Avery as much as I did to care. So I thought. I didn’t need to hear it from her mouth to know I’d been screwing up left and right. Every time I acted on impulse, people paid the price. The burden of my mistakes stared back at me, and I reflected on the catastrophic consequences of my errors. If only I had been mo

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY-THREE:NEVER BEEN HAPPIER TO SEE THE MOON.

    AXEL’S POV:"You can’t mention any of this to anyone," Akira stated. "The last time we tried to be inclusive, half of us were wiped out, and the rest were exploited. Once this is over, we’d prefer to be left in peace. Our existence must remain a secret. We have so much to rebuild. Our land… it was ripped in two."That was my doing. I meaning the ripping the land into two part.And I swore, right then, to rebuild it for them. Every stone, every torn root, every inch of earth that had felt the weight of destruction—I would give it back.I understood her fear. People destroy what they don’t understand. And this place—this divine, terrifying place—was a miracle the outside world would dissect like a corpse. They wouldn’t see wonder; they’d see something to own. Something to use."I’ll respect your wish," I said quietly."Thank you."But my curiosity wasn’t done with me yet. "Tell me about this place. How was it founded? Who rules here—do you have a president? Prime minister? Or is this mo

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-22
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY-FOUR: THE KICK THAT GAVE HOPE.

    AVERY’S POV:Apparently, I might not get everything back.But I have Axel. I have Akira. And for now, that was enough.Nothing’s been the same since I woke up seven days ago. Not even the way the air feels in my lungs. It’s lighter—but heavier, somehow. Akira had waited until the second morning to tell me.“There’s no heartbeat,” she said.Just like that.Axel looked just as stunned as I felt. His grip on my hand didn’t loosen, though. If anything, he held tighter.Later that night, while I stared up at the cracked ceiling, unable to stop the tears from creeping into my ears, he pulled me against him and said, “I’d rather let a child I’ve never met go than lose you. We’ll make another one, Avery. Don’t be too sad.”He’s been like that ever since.Solid. Ridiculous. Unshakable.When my sadness slips in, he trains with me. When I get too quiet, he cracks a joke—sometimes awful enough to make me roll my eyes, but it works.What surprised us both was how different we were. I took time to

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-23
  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY-FIVE: IT'S TIME.

    AVERY’S POV:“What?” Axel blinked. “That has to be a joke.”Akira gave him a look. “When have you ever known me to joke?”“But—seven years?”She nodded. “It started counting differently once our spirits left the House of Judgment. One day in this temple equals one year in the human world.”I stared at her, trying to process. “So... when I was yelling at you two to wake up, that was normal time. But once we began the process—”“Time shifted,” she said. “You experienced four normal days and seven spiritual days. In the human world, it’s been over seven years.”Axel let out a breath. “So technically, I’m fifty-two now? Avery’s thirty-one? And Sea—” He paused. “She’d be thirteen.”“Not quite,” Akira replied calmly. “You didn’t age. None of us did. We still look, feel, and are the same age as when we first entered. But the world we’re going back to… it moved on.”I looked at my hands, then at Axel’s face. He hadn’t changed. Neither had I.“But everyone we left behind…” I whispered. “They c

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-23

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  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTY-SIX: FILL ME IN.

    AVERY’S POV:When I finally woke up, my body groaned in protest.Sleeping on the ottoman had twisted my spine like a corkscrew. I shifted and stretched, every joint aching as I planted my bare feet on the cold marble floor—only to feel a tight, stabbing pressure in my left leg.I looked down.It was swollen. Badly.Puffy from the ankle to the knee, tender and discolored in some spots. My stomach dropped.“I need to go to the hospital… or see Cedric,” I muttered.I peeled off the crumpled sleep clothes and changed into a flowing emerald gown that gathered around my legs and swept the floor. The fabric was light and loose—strategically chosen. No one would notice my limp, not right away.I paused at the closet door. My heart thudded against my ribs.Please don’t be outside. Please let him be gone.I unlocked it slowly, inching the door open. The room was still. Quiet.Axel wasn’t there.Relief flooded my chest like a tide.My eyes flicked to the clock on the nightstand.7:03 AM.A new d

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTY-FIVE: SILENT NIGHT.

    AVERY’S POV:Sleep had finally wrapped its arms around me, heavy and dreamless. The sheets tangled around my legs, and the weight of exhaustion from the day made my body sink deeper into the mattress. For once, I wasn't overthinking. I wasn't haunted by what I had seen on that balcony or the blood Axel had ordered spilled.But suddenly—I couldn’t breathe.My throat clamped shut as if someone shoved cotton down my windpipe. I jerked, trying to swallow, but there was no space for air. Only panic.I coughed. Thrashed. My lungs screamed for oxygen as my eyes flew open.And that’s when I saw him.Axel.Hovering above me like a shadow, his hand wrapped tight around my neck. His grip was brutal—his thumb pressed into my windpipe, fingers digging into the sides of my throat like he meant to snap it clean off. His body pressed over mine, pinning me down, suffocating me."A—Axel," I choked out, barely a whisper.His eyes were hollow. Not just blank—hollow. Like something had scooped the soul ou

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTY-FOUR: SETTING AN EXAMPLE.

    AVERY’S POV:I rested for a while, my head spinning with thoughts I couldn’t pin down. Something about Axel felt... off. Distant. Like he’d taken three steps back from a war he was the one who started. This was his world—his creation. So why did it feel like he was trying to unmake it?With a long breath, I sat up and forced myself to move. Each step toward the bathroom made me wince—an intimate reminder that he'd been inside me not long ago. Whatever storm was brewing in his head, one thing hadn't changed: his need for control. For me.After washing up and pulling on a soft robe over a tank and shorts, I padded down the hallway. I needed to check on Sea. That girl was tougher than she had any right to be. Just like her father. Resilient. Quietly fierce.I nudged her door open and heard her soft, even breathing. She was fast asleep, arms flung wide over the blanket, mouth parted, utterly at peace.But when I reached to close the door, I realized I was gripping the knob too tightly.I

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTY-THREE: HUNGRY FOR MORE.

    AXEL’S POV:“I would’ve followed you anywhere,” Avery whispered, her hands slipping around my neck, her body tightening beneath me. “I have died beside you, Axel. That should be enough proof.”I stilled inside her, the weight of her confession pressing down on my chest like a curse I couldn’t outrun.“Why now?” she asked, panting as she wrapped her arms tighter, pulling me toward her. “Why have this conversation now, Axel?”The urge to push myself all the way back in was infuriating, but I didn’t move an inch, savoring the way she begged with her eyes and her body.I tangled my hand in the back of her hair, holding her gaze. “Because it’s been eating at me.”Her eyes narrowed, suspicious. “What happened back there? Why did you miss the aim? One thing I know for certain—you’re a great shooter. If you wanted that man dead, he’d have dropped before I even arrived.”That was the thing. I was exceptional. Precise. Deadly.I slammed back inside her.“I don’t know,” I admitted, the words for

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTY-TWO: COUPLE'S TALK.

    AXEL’S POV:As Baron left, the room finally settled into silence. I leaned back, the material creaking beneath me, shadows from the light stretching across the floor. My mind wandered—first to Sea, and how she’d surprised me. There was no tantrum, no cold stares. Just quiet acceptance. A daughter who’d been confused for years but chose love over resentment. She was more like Avery than I realized.Speaking of her—Avery sauntered into the living room like a flame in the dark, barefoot, legs bare, wrapped in a blood-red satin nightie that clung to her body like it had been painted on. Thin straps kissed her shoulders, the silk dipping low enough to tease the soft weight of her breasts. Every sway of her hips pulled me to her. Desire pooled low in my stomach, uncoiling like a fuse waiting to be lit.She walked over without a word and slipped onto my lap, her legs curling around me. Her lips found mine in a soft kiss.“Sea’s asleep,” she mumbled against my mouth.I wrapped an arm around

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & SIXTY-ONE: RED IS RADIANT.

    AXEL’S POV:As Baron left, the room finally settled into silence. I leaned back, the material creaking beneath me, shadows from the light stretching across the floor. My mind wandered—first to Sea, and how she’d surprised me. There was no tantrum, no cold stares. Just quiet acceptance. A daughter who’d been confused for years but chose love over resentment. She was more like Avery than I realized.Speaking of her—Avery sauntered into the living room like a flame in the dark, barefoot, legs bare, wrapped in a blood-red satin nightie that clung to her body like it had been painted on. Thin straps kissed her shoulders, the silk dipping low enough to tease the soft weight of her breasts. Every sway of her hips pulled me to her. Desire pooled low in my stomach, uncoiling like a fuse waiting to be lit.She walked over without a word and slipped onto my lap, her legs curling around me. Her lips found mine in a soft kiss.“Sea’s asleep,” she mumbled against my mouth.I wrapped an arm around

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   REMIND THEM WHO THE DON IS.

    AXEL’S POV:Avery was bent over Sea, her brows tight with focus as she ran test after test to make sure our girl was okay. Her hands moved gently, like she was touching glass that might shatter. I stood close, arms crossed, jaw clenched, watching every emotion on Sea’s face.“Did anyone hurt you?” Avery asked softly, brushing a strand of hair from Sea’s forehead.“Did anyone ever touch you in a way you didn’t like?” I added, trying best to stay in control while waiting for her answer Sea looked up at us. Her eyes were bright but calm. She looked older than her years—seven years had done that.“No,” she said quietly. “Ryan never hurt me. He was always... kind. Protective. Present. He took care of me. Always made sure I had what I needed. He taught me things, helped me grow up. Like a father should.”I exchanged a glance with Avery. A bitter taste bloomed in the back of my throat.“And the marriage?” Avery asked gently. “Did he force you to marry that man?”Sea shook her head. “No. He

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FIFTY-NINE: WHOLE AGAIN.

    AVERY’S POV:All this time, Baron and the rest of the guards stood still—positioned with militant stillness, their eyes never drifting from Axel and Ryan. They weren’t statues, though. You could feel the readiness in their posture, in the way fingers hovered just near triggers, how Baron’s gaze scanned every shadow like he expected a war to break out.Me? I kept scanning too. Old habits. But I didn’t feel cornered. Not with Axel here—and not with the numbers we brought. He’d made sure we had enough men. If this turned bloody, it wouldn’t end well for Ryan.Still, something in the air told me we were far from done.Defensively, Ryan snapped, “Her father kept her a secret to shield her from attacks.”Axel’s brows narrowed. “If you found yourself a mafia princess, why couldn’t you stick with her? Build your alliances the right way instead of giving away my daughter?” His voice turned lethal. “If her father is truly who you claim, then why not use that leverage?”Ryan’s jaw flexed. “Becau

  • THE WIFE YOU LEFT   CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FIFTY-EIGHT: TRUE COL6.

    AVERY’S POV:“No peace is worth her dignity,” I snapped, my fists clenched so tightly they ached. “You sealed her fate to get yourself out of trouble.”Ryan shook his head violently. “Don’t twist this. You weren’t here. Enemies were striking from all sides. The Russians in Tampa. The East Coast Syndicates in Italy. Everyone thought Axel was dead and Miami was up for grabs. I was just a name. They smelled weakness.”“You were weak,” Axel snapped. “And stupid. You believed that dirty-bag wouldn't touch her? You believed some overweight, power-drunk animal wouldn’t lay hands on my daughter the second she was his?”Ryan’s lip curled. “You think I didn’t struggle with it? That I didn’t weigh every option? I was desperate, Axel. Desperate to hold together what was left of your kingdom while you were dead. I didn’t have the luxury of morals. I had to survive. We all did.”“And for that,” Axel said slowly, stepping toward him until they were nearly nose-to-nose, “you offered her like a gift o

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