Semua Bab Dear husband I can live without you : Bab 171 - Bab 180

Vivian stared at her phone for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The screen stayed dark, cold, unforgiving. Erick had not called her since the day he stormed out of her hospital room. Every attempt she made to reach him had fallen flat, swallowed into silence like she no longer existed.He had iced her out completely. The sudden distance cut sharper than a blade."How easy it is for him to forget about me," she muttered, her lips twisting into a sad pout. She hugged her knees, feeling small. A playboy will always be a playboy. That was what she kept telling herself, even though the words stung her chest like salt on an open wound.If Erick could judge me this harshly because of one mistake, then maybe he never truly liked me at all.Her eyes drifted to the ring sitting on her finger. The thing that once made her heart flutter now felt heavy, meaningless. "This ring means nothing right now." She tugged it off and dropped it on the table with a soft clink that still felt loud

Anna flipped through the glossy pages of the birthday theme magazine the event planner had brought, her eyes widening as a bright, cheerful spread caught her attention. “I want a Mickey Mouse themed party,” she said, almost singing it as she turned the book around to show Celeste.“That will be lovely,” Celeste cooed, leaning forward with the kind of excitement only event planners and fairy godmothers usually possessed.“Yeah,” Anna added, smiling softly. “It’s Aiden’s favourite.”The conversation naturally stretched into every possible detail of Aiden’s party. Designs, colour schemes, cake flavours, decorations, food, drinks, entertainment, games, lighting, even the kind of confetti that would fall when everyone shouted surprise. They went on and on, talking with their hands, interrupting each other with new ideas, until the doorbell rang through the house.“Excuse me. I will go get the door.” Anna rose, smoothing down her skirt as she walked toward the entrance.She checked the came

The second the security dragged him back, Erick felt the fire in his chest turn into something colder. Something heavier. Something he didn’t want to name.His jaw throbbed where Tim’s punch landed. His lip tasted like metal. Sweat stung his eyes. The club lights flashed too bright, too loud, too damn intrusive. And all he could think about wasVivian walking out with him.Not Erick. Not the man she loved for years. Him. Tim.Erick wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, breathing hard, still half-ready to swing again.“Sir, you need to calm down,” one of the bouncers barked.Erick jerked his arm away. “Don’t tell me what the hell to do.”He scanned the entrance.Gone. Both of them.The music pulsed, but everything around him felt muffled, like he was underwater. His chest rose and fell too fast, adrenaline still pumping through him, heartbeat crashing in his ears.He told himself he was angry.He told himself he just didn’t like being challenged.He told himself Tim

The world was still ringing. Anna couldn’t tell if the noise came from the explosion or from the inside of her own skull. Everything around her trembled—walls groaning, glass crackling under boots, people screaming in voices that sounded far away, as though she were listening through water. Smoke curled into her throat, bitter and choking. Her lungs burned. Her eyes stung. Her heart pounded like it wanted to rip its way out of her chest. “Aiden…” The name scraped out of her, hoarse and broken. She stumbled forward, her shoes slipping on dust and plaster. “Aiden! Baby! Aiden!” Her voice was swallowed by chaos. Gerald caught her around the waist just as she lurched toward a fallen beam. His grip was strong, but her fear made her feel heavier than her own body. She pushed at him, hitting his chest with shaky hands. “Anna, stop—God, stop,” he said, breathless. “You’ll hurt yourself. The ceiling isn’t stable.” “I don’t— I don’t care!” she screamed, fighting him like a drowning perso

Vivian burst into Anna’s living room like the house itself had called her name. Her shoes barely hit the rug before she ran straight to Anna and folded her arms around her. The hug wasn’t gentle. It was frantic, the kind of hold someone gives when they’re holding on for dear life.“Oh my God… I’m so sorry I wasn’t around,” Vivian breathed out, her voice cracking against Anna’s ear.Anna didn’t say anything at first. She couldn’t. Her body trembled in Vivian’s arms, her breaths coming out uneven, her cheeks already wet with tears that felt endless. Her eyes were swollen, red, burning. She hadn’t stopped crying since the chaos began. Not for a second.Vivian smelled faintly of Erick’s cologne, the scent still clinging to her clothes from being in his car when they heard the news. The moment she heard Aiden’s name mixed with the words missing and fire, she almost passed out. She had lived through frightening moments before, but nothing had ever frozen her blood the way the thought of los