Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Price of Hidden Sins: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

Josh blinked at her. His mouth opened, but no words came.“Sir, we’ll take care of her. Please stay calm. Someone will update you soon.”He slumped into the nearest chair, unable to move.Minutes stretched like hours. Every noise in the waiting room made his heart seize. Every time a doctor or nurse walked past, he sat up straighter, hoping they would speak to him.But nothing. Not yet.He stared at his hands. The dark red dried into the creases of his palms, the space under his fingernails. A sick wave passed through him.What if she didn’t wake up?What if—He flinched when a nurse finally called his name. “Are you family?”“I’m her husband.” The words felt strange coming out of his mouth.“She’s stable,” the nurse said with calm precision. “We managed to stop the bleeding. There’s a mild concussion, but the CT scan didn’t reveal anything life-threatening. She’s resting now. You can see her, but only briefly.”Josh's breath hitched. “But—there was so much blood. And she was unconsci

Josh slowly returned to the chair beside her bed. His anger hadn't disappeared—but it shifted. Now it mingled with something colder. Something more calculated.“Alright,” he said quietly. “We won’t tell them.”Ashley exhaled, her body sagging into the mattress.“But I will find out who’s doing this to you,” Josh added. “And I’ll end it. One way or another.”Ashley closed her eyes, her lips parting like she wanted to say thank you, but no words came.She just nodded.And Josh sat beside her again, this time with purpose behind his stillness.⨉⨉⨉Ashley stood near the hospital room window, her arms loosely crossed over her chest, her shoulder pressing against the cold glass as if it might anchor her back into the present moment. The late-morning sun glared down over the sprawl of Los Angeles, casting bright angles onto the polished floor tiles and the foot of her bed. Far below, the city pulsed with its usual rhythm: cars weaving in and out of lanes, pedestrians crossing streets with co

In the days that followed, while Ashley remained in the hospital recovering, Mark visited her often. Sometimes it was just for ten minutes during his lunch break; other times, he came after work, still in his shirt and tie, his hair slightly tousled from the rush of the day. No matter how short the visit, he always brought something—soup, magazines, a book, or just conversation to break the monotony. But as the days passed, something began to gnaw at him.He never once saw Josh.Not in the hallway. Not at the family waiting area near the nurses’ station. Not sitting in a chair beside Ashley’s bed. And for someone whose wife had just survived a deliberate hit-and-run, it felt disturbingly odd.Each time Mark hinted at it—"When does your husband usually drop by?"—Ashley would offer the same answer, a soft smile and an automatic response. "Soon," she’d say. "He usually comes around this time." Or, "He told me he had some things to take care of."And if Mark got bolder—"It’s strange, I’ve

The car hummed steadily down the freeway, the early afternoon sun casting long, golden streaks across the dashboard. Outside, the city blurred by—towers of glass, street signs, red lights flickering, everything moving too fast and yet feeling strangely still. Ashley sat in the passenger seat, her eyes distant. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, but the tension in her shoulders betrayed her calm exterior. She leaned slightly back into the seat, but her posture remained rigid—like her body hadn't quite left the hospital mindset.Beside her, Mark drove with practiced ease. One hand rested on the steering wheel, the other hovering near the gearshift. He glanced her way occasionally, not speaking, just checking. The silence between them was not the kind bred by comfort, nor was it stifling. It was... heavy. Suspended. The kind of silence that comes when two people have too much history and not enough clarity.And then, without warning, it happened.A loud, gurgling growl erupted from

Mark and Ashley sat in the farthest booth of the restaurant, tucked into a quiet corner that felt removed from the rest of the world. Mark had chosen it deliberately—a space with tall-backed seats and leafy partition plants that separated them from nearby tables. It was as close to privacy as one could get in a public place like this, and it was exactly what Ashley needed.He watched her subtly from across the table as she sipped from a steaming cup of tea. Her fingers were still trembling slightly as she held the cup, and her eyes stayed fixed on a distant point past Mark’s shoulder. She hadn’t said much since they sat down, but he didn’t rush her. There was no pressure in his posture, no expectation in his silence. Just presence. Just patience.Ashley shifted uncomfortably in her seat, fingers wrapped tightly around the ceramic cup in her hands. The tea inside had long since stopped steaming, but she hadn’t taken more than a sip. Mark knew better than to force words out of someone w