After Rebirth, I Married My Ex-husband's Enemy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

**ATLAS**By the time I reached the edge of the pool, she was already gone, swallowed in the dull splash.I stopped thinking, adrenaline charging through my body as I flew through the air and into the pool.The numbness hit me first, curling my toes in the icy cold pool, and my head burst through the surface, eyes fixed on Calista's flailing body. “Calista!” My voice was hoarse, water filling my ears as I swam across to her. Her arm hit me square in the left eye, forcing me back underwater. I froze, blinding pain shooting through me as I forced the eye open and hooked an arm around her waist.My lungs ached for the sweet relief of oxygen, but I clung to her like an anchor, pinning her hands at her sides as I kicked back in the water with my feet and pulled her towards the edge.Her body felt weightless in my arms, yet my hands trembled violently as I laid her down on the cold stone floor. Her face was pale, hair stuck to her face, water seeping from her bluish lips.“Oh god—Calista

**MERRICK**Today, I woke up to silence, and if you thought that meant peace, you clearly did not know my house.A hand was sprawled under my chest, and I turned my neck to find Calista—no—Astrid sleeping beside me.Fuck…it was so hard to tell them apart, especially those perfect naked bodies…but Calista was a log, the kind that lay still while you did all the work. If only she was half as good as Astrid, maybe I would have been a bit more kind, but it was hard to look at her every morning and not even be able to touch her without going limp.I peeled the sleeping woman off me with a sigh and walked naked to the bathroom, telling myself that the lack of shuffling feet outside was just the servants having a late morning.Three days. That was how long my wife was gone for, and nobody had any answers. People did not just vanish—much less the ones who had no sense of direction. The water did not calm me today, and I was out of the shower in minutes, towel wrapped tightly around my waist

**ATLAS**The numbers on the screen blurred into meaningless lines, because for the first time in years, I found myself paying more attention to a silent phone than to a room full of men waiting for my decision.Still, I sat through the good news and bad news, and when it was over, my jaw ached from talking, and a dull throb had settled in my temples. If this was taking so much time, then Calista must really have Merrick by the neck. Or she failed and he's taking the upper hand…My gut churned at the latter thought, and I rose from my seat to leave the brightly lit boardroom when the glass door yawned open, and my assistant strode in with the usual grin plastered on his face.It faded when he saw the frown on mine.“If you're having a bad day, it's about to get worse.” he said, glancing furtively over his shoulder.“Hit me.”“Merrick is here. Merrick Fairfax…and he looks rather upset about something. He tried to get past security, said he wants to talk to you.” I hesitated, mind rac

**ATLAS**Calista still was not answering my calls, and now Merrick’s threat sat in my chest like a lit fuse I could not locate fast enough to cut.She was not in her office either, and I was starting to feel like something was very wrong. So I did the only logical thing—I tracked her phone. The last cell tower that picked up her location was on the outskirts of town, and as I stepped on the accelerator, I hoped to God that she was alright.I dialed her number again when I slowed at a red light, but not only was she not responding, but the line was dead.Dead. “FUCK!” my fists came down hard on my steering, and I gripped the wheel until my knuckles shone white.The second the lights turned green, I stepped on my accelerator and barrelled down the road, every second slipping by like sand in an hourglass.Goddamnit, Calista…This was all my idea in the first place. I pushed her to poke the bear, now she's—Relax, Atlas. Maybe she was just getting a drink, or seeking some much needed

**MERRICK**The nurse kept asking if I was in pain, and I almost laughed.They thought I was shaken because of the fight, because of the blood—but I’d seen worse…done worse. This was not that. For the first time in my life, something creeped up my spine and stayed there, refusing to leave no matter how hard I shook. The moment I watched the nurse shut the door behind her, I reached for my phone, cursing at the low battery.My eyes scanned the small grey room, and I found a makeshift charger attached to the wall. Plugged in, I lay back with a groan and fixed my eyes on the door, waiting for the moment he would walk in and finish what he started. One moment, Calista was threatening to burn my world to the ground. Next, she was lying on a table, fighting for the slimmest chance to live again.I also never imagined that I would be lying in a hospital bed with a busted lip and a purple eye, but here we were, and what an upgrade this was.Atlas Kane was a fragile man—if you knew where t