After Rebirth, I Married My Ex-husband's Enemy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

**MERRICK**Power was a fragile thing. You only realized that when you’re forced to kneel in front of someone who had more of it than you—and tonight, power was not me. There were only two kinds of men in my world—the ones who give orders, and the ones who bleed for disobeying them.You could already guess the man that I was tonight.Drip, drip, drip…A broken pipe leaked in the distance, and each breath I took was laced with the tinge of rusted iron.My knees were frozen against the hard , wet floor, but I dared not move, dared not look up at the men circling me in the darkness. Something close to fear shot up my spine, but I bit down on my lips and stayed silent. My palms were splayed out on the floor, goosebumps spreading on my skin when a cockroach crawled over it.My back ached for relief, and a headache built up in my temples, but I stayed put.I tried to remember how we got here, but I was put to sleep the moment I got in the car, leaving my consciousness for the moment I wa

**ATLAS**He was not wrong, and if Ledger had told me where we were going, I would have found another way—even if it killed me.But Ledger was a smart man, so he kept his mouth shut until we were on his jet, until Calista was strapped to a stretcher, and all I could do was sit there and watch the gentle rise and fall of her chest.For the first time in my life, I did not know what to do. Ledger sat quiet across from me, green eyes glued to his hands, vein ticking in his temple.I suppose I should be grateful for his help, for putting together the best trauma team for Calista's pain. By the time we got to the tarmac, she had vomited twice, and her breathing sounded eerily like a death rattle. I had watched with my fists clenched as they lifted her onto the stretcher. Her guttural scream was ingrained in my brain like a virus, and I wanted more than nothing to hold her hand, but Ledger promised that she would be fine…and he would keep that promise.Until we were thirty thousand feet

**MERRICK**I’ve had worse nights than this—none of them ended with me on the ground while another man drove away with what is mine.He got lucky. That was the only explanation I was willing to accept for why I was the one on my knees.My body jerked off the ground, and I swore under my breath as pressure built in my chest. The bastard broke my fucking rib, and for what? Calista?I coughed up a laugh and spat out crimson, wiping my jaw on my brow. A dull ringing lingered in my ears, eyes fixed on the mangled rear of the car I borrowed. The reasons for my death were piling up—and I needed to start cutting them down, no thanks to Atlas and his desperate need to save my own wife from me.…If only my body would move. I was just rear ended and flung five feet across the curb, but that would be nothing compared to what they would do to me when they heard of my failure. My heart formed an uneven beat and I clutched my wounded hand to my chest. Hot metallic air crawled up my nostrils, heavi

**ATLAS**I had faced death, betrayal, and war—but nothing prepared me for the moment my mother made Calista the price of my freedom.I should have walked out the moment she said it, but my feet stayed rooted, and that was my first mistake.Felicia held my gaze steady, unblinking and unflinching, like the decision was already made before we touched ground.“Does…Ledger know about this?” My voice was low, and she hesitated a moment, as if deciding whether or not to ruin me completely with her words. “He's your best friend, Atlas. If he didn't tell you, he probably didn't know.” “That is not an answer.” “I never promised you any—only that I would do my part if you do yours, so…what's it going to be, son?” “You want me to decide on the spot if I would give up my life for Calista's?” I kept my voice calm, like she did not just threaten everything I ran from.“I want you to decide if your…ambition outweighs your inheritance…with a possible casualty, of course.” “If you touch her, you

**ATLAS**Calista lay fragile in my arms.I did not trust my hands not to shake or my mind not to snap, but all I could think about was how close she had been to dying without me there—and how badly I wanted someone to pay for that gap in time.I sat in the backseat of the car Ledger ‘stole’, choking on the acrid traces of my mother that clung to the leather seats. Her words still rang in my ears like a warning bell, forcing my heart into an unconscious race with my mind. “Can this thing go any faster?” my voice gritted, eyes glaring holes into the back of Ledger's head.His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, brows drawn as he glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “We don't even know where we're going.” “Anywhere but here.”“You're not thinking clearly, Kane.”“No, I am the only one thinking clearly here.” He exhaled deeply, jaw tight. Silence filled the car, heavy with words that I did not let out…things that I might never take back. I leaned my head against the headre