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Home / Romance Maikling Kwento / Taking My Hope Away / Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Taking My Hope Away: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

8 Kabanata

Chapter 1

I lay on an icy operating table and waited in despair for death to take me. Meanwhile, my husband, Arthur Rothe, waited outside Shawna Green's operating theater.I had tubes plugged into my body, and the beeping of the instruments around me made me feel like bells were chiming. They were telling me it was time to leave.As my ECG turned into a straight line, news of Shawna's surgery being a success came from the other operating theater. The light outside the operating theater went off, and my eyes shut forever.To my surprise, I appeared by Arthur's side in the form of a soul. Perhaps it was because I'd been left with overwhelming resentment when I died.I watched as he held Shawna in his arms, his eyes red with agitation now that she'd escaped death. My heart sank at the sight.I wanted to ask him whether he'd worried about me for even a second when Shawna and I had been wheeled into different operating theaters at the same time, but I supposed the answer was no.After all, he'd

Chapter 2

After Arthur and Shawna disappeared into a hospital ward, Ian White ran into the hospital. He and Arthur missed each other.Ian held my hand tightly. Tears streamed down his face when his fingers brushed against my cold forehead as he tried to caress my hair. His voice shook as he said, "Think about how good things would've been if you'd married me back then, you idiot. You wouldn't have ended up with no one bothering about you, even after your death!"My nose prickled when I saw how windswept he looked. It seemed he'd just returned from out of town. He'd actually left this city after I'd married Arthur.At the time, he'd given me two reasons for his departure. Firstly, he claimed Arthur couldn't stand him. Secondly, he said we would both be better off if he left because he didn't want to cause me unnecessary trouble.I was an orphan, and the White family had adopted me when I was seven. Ian was my adoptive brother. Initially, he hadn't liked me, but he'd become much nicer to me

Chapter 3

Arthur picked Shawna up from the hospital when she was discharged a month later. Ian had been the only one by my side after my death, but things were different for Shawna. Her hospital ward was crammed full of friends and family. They were all excited when Arthur arrived."When are you going to marry Shawna, Mr. Rothe? She must be happy to see how much you treasure her," someone said.Shawna lowered her head shyly and said, "Don't say that. Art is already married, and I don't want Leona to get the wrong idea. I don't want to be a homewrecker, either. She'll make things hard for me again if she hears about this."One of her friends mocked, "I don't see what's so great about her when all she does is vie for attention out of jealousy. You're the one Arthur loves, not her. That makes her the third party in this relationship! All she's done so far is harm you! I would've divorced her ages ago if the choice was up to me!"I found those words laughable. So, it turned out I was the one i

Chapter 4

"Let's start over, Art. I'll act like you never married anyone else, and you can act like I never betrayed you. My love for you is genuine!" Shawna softened her tone when she saw how serious Arthur looked.She'd always been a dab hand at coaxing and appeasing him, and he fell for it each time. In comparison, nothing I did would make him smile at me when he was angry.There really was a vast difference when a person loved and didn't love someone. I couldn't believe I'd been dumb enough to only realize it after my death.Arthur was always stoic and severe with me, but he was gentle and tender when he was with Shawna. He could also change his bottom line for her time and time again.My heart ached at the realization. Then again, I no longer cared how Shawna framed me or how much Arthur hated me."You've just been discharged. You should rest." He pushed her away and avoided answering her question. Then, he left.Shawna stomped angrily once Arthur was gone.…Arthur returned to the

Chapter 5

With that, the nurse pushed past Arthur, leaving him alone.He remained rooted to the spot for a long time, unable to move. Perhaps he was finally remembering the last time I'd called him while lying on the operating table, overwhelmed by despair. Or maybe he was remembering Ian brushing past him with my body in his arms.He ran out of the hospital like a madman. To my surprise, he headed to Shawna's place.It was laughable. I thought he would at least feel guilty upon learning of my death, but it looked like I still couldn't compare to Shawna, even in death.The door to Shawna's apartment was ajar when Arthur arrived. He stopped and listened to the conversation inside."Haven't you guys had enough? I've already paid you! Continue like this, and I'll call the cops!" Shawna snapped.Arthur subconsciously wanted to enter the apartment to help, but he stopped with his hand on the doorknob when he heard a man sneer."Do you think you can get rid of us with just 20 thousand dollars?

Chapter 6

Arthur didn't show much of a reaction to Shawna's death. He merely grunted in acknowledgment after hearing about it from his men. He was too preoccupied with searching for my body, after all. But what was he going to do after finding it?He turned the apartment upside down before managing to find Ian's number. When the call connected, he asked anxiously, "Where is Leona?"Ian was a lot more solemn this time. He didn't snap at or question Arthur. All he did was laugh in resignation. "I thought you would never remember her because you were so busy with your true love. It looks like her death managed to awaken your conscience."Arthur didn't seem to hear any of that. He repeated his question.Ian said icily, "Look for her yourself since you're such a big shot. I don't think she'd want to see you, though."He was right. I didn't want to see Arthur. He hadn't cared about my life or death or even trusted me. Why would I want to have anything to do with him? He would only dirty my path

Chapter 7

Arthur spent the next two months in a drunken stupor. Then, he started leaving the house more often before returning home, looking exhausted.My soul was getting weaker, and I couldn't withstand direct sunlight. I had no idea what he did whenever he went out.Late one night, he suddenly left the house. I followed him to a gravestone in a cemetery. My photo was on it, and I saw the words engraved on it. "Here lies Leona Barton, wife to Ian White."Only then did I realize Arthur had been searching for my grave. He and I were equally stunned when we saw the engraving on the gravestone.Arthur was furious, but I only felt bitter. There hadn't been anything between Ian and I—we both knew there was no chance of us being together, so we'd buried our feelings for each other deep in our hearts.Arthur's appearance in my life had made me forget the feelings I'd developed for Ian, which had always made me feel guilty. I owed him plenty—he was one of the few people in this world who'd treated

Chapter 8

Ian sat up and laughed. "That's what I'd like to know. Why aren't you the one who died?"Before leaving, he warned Arthur to fix my grave, or he would use all his connections to ruin the Rothe family.I didn't know what Arthur was thinking. He lay there for a long time, allowing the night breeze to lift his fringe. It reminded me of a time we'd gone camping—the stars had been prettier that night than they were now.That was also the night that he'd asked, "Do you want to be my wife, Leona?"I'd gone from liking to loving him and from loving to hating him in five short years. Everything had happened so quickly.Arthur suddenly stood up. He bit his finger to draw blood from it before writing on my gravestone. "Here lies Leona and Arthur, a loving couple."Then, he lay in the hole he'd dug and smiled in relief as he slashed his wrist with a dagger. I frowned at the sight of the blood flowing from the wound.I didn't know whether I was imagining things, but his eyes suddenly lit up

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