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Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal
Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal
Author: Everwind

Chapter 1

Author: Everwind
Clara's POV

Rain poured outside the school gates. Ride share apps showed no drivers nearby.

I opened the app again.

The comment section was active.

[I always knew true love would win. Seven years of waiting, and you two are finally public!]

That comment came from Aaron Cole, my husband's childhood friend.

Just last month, he had smiled and told me I was a hundred times better than Ramsey's ex.

[Congratulations, Ramsey! Make sure I get an invitation to the wedding. I'll have to come up with a good excuse to take time off work.]

That was Chloe Johnson, my intern. When her family caused scenes at our medical clinic, I was the one who stood up for her.

[You better make it convincing. If Clara Collins finds out, she'll throw a fit.]

That was Sarah Hayes, my college roommate. When she was hospitalized last month, I brought her homemade meals every single day.

The page auto-refreshed with a new photo.

A carved jade pendant rested on top of a medical chart.

[Thank you for all the sweet messages. Tonight is my son's most critical heart surgery. No matter the outcome, I will forever be grateful that Ramsey fulfilled Noah's dream seven years ago.]

[Noah has worn this guardian pendant for seven years through seven surgeries. It brought us safety every time. Praying for one last miracle tonight.]

I recognized that pendant instantly.

Seven years ago, when my husband went on his first high-risk assignment, I gave him that exact charm. I had originally bought it for our unborn daughter.

He gave it away to another woman's child the very next day.

Lily tugged nervously at her oversized hospital gown, her head hanging low.

"Mommy... are you and Daddy not having a wedding again this year?"

Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm scared my little flower dress won't fit me next year either."

A sharp ache hit my chest.

When our daughter was four, Ramsey promised us a proper wedding as soon as his tour ended.

She was so excited. She dragged me to the store to pick out her very first dress.

“I want to be the flower girl at Mommy and Daddy's wedding!”

The next year, Ramsey claimed his assignment was extended. He asked for one more year.

I believed him. I waited year after year.

I waited until the dress no longer fit. I waited until Lily was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer.

Now, her life was measured in rounds of chemotherapy. The doctors couldn't tell us how many days she had left.

I swallowed the burn in my throat and gently patted her head.

"Don't worry, sweetie. You will always have beautiful dresses that fit.

"If a dress doesn't fit anymore, we throw it away."

And if a man doesn't belong to us, I leave him behind.

I refreshed the app again. The post was gone.

A second later, my phone vibrated. Ramsey Collins was calling.

"I'm sorry, Clara," Ramsey said, his voice rushed. "Command just informed us that the debriefing is taking longer than expected.

"If we host a public wedding right now, it might put you and Lily in danger from old targets. We need to postpone the announcement a little longer."

I had heard those exact words for seven years.

I had waited seven years.

Only to end up with a fake marriage license.

"Okay," I said quietly.

Hearing no anger in my voice, Ramsey let out a visible sigh of relief.

"I have some urgent matters to take care of tonight, so I won't be coming home," he added. "On my next leave, I'll make it up to you and Lily."

A cheap excuse.

One I had accepted time and time again.

Now, I was simply tired.

"Fine," I said, and hung up.

I took Lily's small hand and flagged down a passing cab.

In the photo, the medical file under the pendant belonged to St. Jude’s Children's Hospital, the top pediatric facility in the state.

I had begged Ramsey Collins countless times to use his connections to transfer Lily there.

Every single time, he turned me down cold.

"Clara, connections aren't meant to be abused. We only use them when it's absolutely critical.

"Relax. The local hospital is fine. Lily will get the same care anywhere."

He didn't refuse to use his power.

He just refused to waste it on me.

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  • Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal   Chapter 9

    My blood ran cold.I turned my head, meeting Ramsey Collins's eyes.Dark circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes, and his sharp features had grown gaunt and hollow."Clara... I've been searching everywhere for you," Ramsey rasped, his voice thick with unshed tears."I looked into the hospital records... I found out you weren't lying that day."I filed for divorce from Evelyn. I threw her and her son out of my life."Clara, since you left... I haven't slept a single night."Every word was the absolute truth.The woman he had taken for granted for seven years was gone, leaving a gaping void in his chest that bled a suffocating, unbearable ache.His focus at work had shattered, sending his company's revenue plummeting.Juliet Collins scolded him at first, but seeing her son reduced to a shell of himself broke her heart.In the end, she gave him a deadline of one month.If he found me and brought me home within thirty days, she would give her full blessing for us to marry imm

  • Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal   Chapter 8

    I buried myself in the research laboratory day and night.My compensation climbed rapidly alongside my progress.Professor Kent shifted from immense pride to deep concern, eventually pulling me aside to intervene."Clara, my dear, work ethic is commendable, but this goes too far. I am genuinely worried you are going to collapse from exhaustion."I offered a hasty nod and gently nudged him out of the way."Professor, do you mind stepping slightly to the left? You are blocking my light."Professor Kent exchanged a helpless look with Mia Jenkins standing behind him.Mia shook her head with a light sigh."I tried, Professor. I really did."I paid no mind to their whispers, plunging straight back into the diagnostic readouts.I had no choice.Only absolute, relentless exhaustion could keep the sharp ache in my chest at bay.I was the first to unlock the laboratory doors every morning and the last to lock them every night.Predictably, my body gave out.The morning I collapsed,

  • Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal   Chapter 7

    I stayed up late that night unpacking and organizing the house.Around midnight, I made myself a warm bowl of soup.Back at Ramsey’s house, Juliet went to sleep early every single night. No noise was allowed after nine.I used to hold my breath just walking past her bedroom to use the bathroom on the ground floor.Now, I sat at the kitchen counter, enjoying my late-night meal in peace.A sense of deep, settling warmth filled my stomach and my chest.From now on, I was living only for myself.I switched off the lights. Moonlight spilled softly through the broad window.For the first time in seven years, I slept soundly until morning.---Over the next few weeks, my work visa was finalized.I officially joined the research center, diving straight into my assigned projects.My clinical experience proved even more valuable than I had anticipated.Within seven days, I identified a critical flaw in our test models and proposed an alternate pathway.Professor Marcus Kent, a worl

  • Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal   Chapter 6

    Clara's POVI stepped off the plane into an unfamiliar city, surrounded by unfamiliar faces.A young woman walked up to me with a warm, gentle smile."Mrs. Collins? Clara Collins?"I'm Mia Jenkins from the Medical Research Institute," she said, extending a hand. "Our board actually sent you an offer seven years ago."Back then, you mentioned you were expecting and couldn't make the trip."I never imagined we would have the honor of inviting you again seven years later."I returned her smile softly."You're too kind, Mia. It's my honor that the institute is still willing to give me a chance."Seven years ago, when Ramsey Collins took on his classified deployment, I found out I was pregnant.Ramsey insisted it wasn't safe for me to go abroad alone. Juliet Collins flatly stated that if I left, the marriage would be off.With no other choice, I turned down the offer.Instead, I opened a small community clinic back home.For seven years, I immersed myself in medical literature

  • Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal   Chapter 5

    Ramsey Collins’s mind went blank.On the other end of the line, his mother’s voice continued to tremble through the speaker."I just came back from playing cards, and I realized half the house was completely cleared out."It hit me then, all of Clara and Lily’s clothes and things were gone."I got a terrible feeling in my gut, so I ran straight to the pediatric ward to find her."When I got there, the doctors told me... Lily passed away earlier today. Her body was already cremated..."Ramsey stood frozen in place.In his head, Clara's agonized, tear-streaked face flashed with terrifying clarity.“Ramsey Collins, I am begging you! Lily is dying in the room down the hall! If I don't pay right now, she won't make it!”His fingers twitched. The phone slipped from his hand and crashed onto the floor, the speaker cracking loud against the tile.He stumbled back two steps, bracing himself against the corridor wall just to stay upright.A wave of long-forgotten, suffocating agony ru

  • Years Of Devotion, Repaid With Betrayal   Chapter 4

    "Who told you that?"Mrs. Trey sneered."His real wife came by earlier. She even showed us their marriage certificate."I knew something was off. You've been here so long and the father never once showed his face."You kept saying he was busy with work. Turns out you're just a mistress without a ring."Your poor girl was probably so ashamed of having a mother like you that she swallowed those pills."My mind went completely blank. I stumbled blindly out into the hallway.I crashed straight into Dr. Mark Evans, Lily's attending physician. His face was pale with panic."Mrs. Clara Collins, your daughter is in critical condition. You need to pay her emergency surgery deposit immediately."I scrambled to follow him to the cashier, pulling out my credit card.The clerk swiped it, then paused with a frown."Mrs. Collins, this card has been frozen."My stomach dropped. I whipped out my phone and dialed Ramsey Collins.It rang three times before he sent it straight to voicemail. I

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