Semua Bab After My Last Breath: Bab 51 - Bab 60

[Damon]Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been if Hannah hadn’t run away on the day of our wedding. If she were my wife. If this morning were just like any other day—instead of me feeling guilty as hell for sleeping with her.I don’t know how to describe this feeling in my chest. It’s as heavy as a mountain, as bitter as betrayal, and as disgusting as a memory I want to scrub out of my skin.Fuck. I still cannot believe it. That I’m capable of doing something so horrendous.What was I even thinking?“Silence is not the solution here, Damon,” Mom says, right after she storms into my bedroom and witnesses Hannah naked on my bed.Not that I’m wearing a single piece of clothing myself.But there’s something about embarrassment that makes you want to disappear from the face of the earth—exactly how I feel right now. And exactly what I try to do as I rush to grab my pants from the floor and haphazardly pull them on.My whole body feels like it’s on fire, and my heart—my heart is bea

[Elara]During the ride back home, my mind keeps replaying the events of the day—the words of Damon, the eyes of the onlookers, and the judgment in Dr Wolfe’s eyes.I don’t want to admit it, but I’m shaken to the core. I’ve never been humiliated like that. Sure, Damon’s mother and siblings never respected me and always mocked and bullied me for taking my sister’s place. But I got used to their behavior, telling myself it was impossible to please everyone or make everyone happy. That the only person who mattered was Damon, and as long as he was on my side, I could take on anything.But the truth is, Damon was never on my side. Sure, he didn’t join them in bullying me, but he never stopped them either. I used to think he did it to maintain peace in the family. Being his wife, he expected me to be the bigger person and ignore their cruel words.But who am I kidding? The real reason he never stood up for me is that he never thought of me as anything more than a convenient companion—someon

[Elara]The next morning, I get a call from Jordan—Damon’s assistant.“Mrs. Blackwood. Sir wants you to prepare his lunch and bring it to the office today.”“What?” Damon has never taken lunch to the office before. What is he trying to do now? Why the sudden change of heart?“Sir wants you to prepare and bring lunch for him to the office today,” he repeats.I take a deep breath. “I heard you, but why? He never wanted to have home-cooked lunch before.”“Actually, sir’s health hasn’t been great for the past few days. The doctors advised him to have home-cooked meals only.”“Fine. I’ll ask the chef to prepare something and take it to him.”“No. That won’t do. He specifically asked for you to cook and personally deliver it to the office.”What the hell is wrong with him today? Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed?Either way, it would be pointless to argue with his assistant—especially when I know he’s only following orders. Besides, didn’t Damon want to talk about something yester

[Damon]I watch Elara walk out of the office.And the moment she’s out of sight, I scowl and kick the desk with all I have.“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”I hiss through my teeth, hopping back and clutching my foot like an idiot.“Damn it,” I mutter, sinking into the chair behind my desk.I can’t believe she said those things to me.And the worst part is that I can’t even tell whether her criticisms were genuine—or just another carefully spun lie, thrown in my face to make me feel guilty.I’m not oblivious to the time I’ve missed with Cora. I know I haven’t always been there. But it can’t be that bad—can it? I work every day to keep this company running. I do whatever it takes to make sure the Blackwoods never have to face hard times. Yes, I’m busy. Yes, I spend more time at the office than at home. But did she really have to paint it as something so unforgivable?Couldn’t she have been more understanding of what I deal with every day as the one in charge? Where is the Elara who used to support

[Elara]“No. This isn’t right.” I shake my head, lifting my phone to call Dr. Wolfe again.It was wrong to call him in the first place. What was I even expecting him to do?Come running and help me with my situation?What a joke.My problems aren’t his responsibility to solve. If anything, Damon should be the one here. We might be getting divorced, but I’m still his wife. And if I’m expected to bear his unpredictable and unreasonable behavior all this time, he should have no problem handling mine.Once my mind is made up, I call him instead.At first, he doesn’t pick up. I almost give up on the idea that he would ever take my calls or messages seriously.But stubborn as I am, I call again. And again. And again—until he finally answers.“Will you stop being so annoying?” he snaps, keeping his voice low. “What’s the matter?”“There’s a car outside my place,” I say. “It’s been here for hours. I don’t feel very comfortable.”“Then call the bloody cops!”“Cops?” Doesn’t he know I can’t cal