Semua Bab Twelve Years Gone, Like The Wind: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The doorway was dead silent. The door was not fully closed. Miles’ two friends, who had sent him home, stood there looking uncomfortable and tried to calm things down.“Jenna, Miles is truly not himself today because of the fever. He didn’t mean to snap at you.“Besides, you spray him with alcohol every single day. Nobody would put up with that. Just let it go.“Yeah, he broke it off entirely with that drunk hookup a long time ago.”Just the mention of the incident made my stomach lurch with a violent surge of nausea.At sixteen, I was dragged into a dark back alley by my stepbrother and his group of friends.While my clothes were being torn apart, eighteen-year-old Miles had rushed over with teary eyes and chased them off with a brick.He had taken off his school jacket and wrapped it around my shaking body.He had held me and cried even louder than I did. He had comforted me and said that he would beat up anyone who dared to touch me.Because of that nightmare, I was extre

The next day, I requested time off from work. I stayed home to pack my luggage.There was not much to take. A few changes of clothes and my identification documents were enough.Just then, the doorbell rang.I thought it was the courier delivering the divorce agreement via local same-day service. When I opened the door, I was stunned to see Wendy.She wore a pure white cashmere coat, holding the little boy from the video by the hand.I gripped the door handle so tightly that my knuckles turned white from the pressure.“Jenna, aren’t you going to invite me in?”She studied my pale face with undisguised smugness.“I don’t think I made myself clear enough in our previous video call. So I brought Harry here specially to see you.”She deliberately pushed the child forward as if she were showing off.“Harry is about to start kindergarten. Miles is always feeling bad that his son doesn’t have a complete family.“He said that since Harry is the Lumb family’s firstborn grandson, he

His eyes locked on the blood spreading through the bathtub. Then he finally managed to speak, as if he was shaking off a daze.“Blood... Jenna, why is there blood?”Miles stumbled toward the bathtub with shaky hands.He frantically tried to undo the leather belt around my wrist. The metal buckle was stuck tight.He tried several times but could not get it undone. His voice trembled with desperation.His panic and fumbling triggered a sharp pain in my lower abdomen that radiated through my entire body.“Get lost...” I said weakly. Even breathing hurt at that moment. As my consciousness began to fade, I felt him finally pull the belt free.He lifted me out of the ice-cold water and held me tightly against his chest.His body shuddered when his hand touched the warm blood between my legs.“Jenna, don’t scare me like that. I’m getting you to the hospital right now!”He grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it around me. He carried me out of the house.He trembled the entire way the

Miles closed the hospital room door and walked back to my bedside.“Jenna, I’m sorry. I didn’t know my mom would say that. I won’t let them bother you anymore. Let’s start over. I’ll do whatever you say from now on. Okay?” he pleaded.I calmly lowered my gaze. I did not look up at him again.“Miles, sign the divorce papers.”He stifled his breathing and refused with a trembling voice. “I’m not signing it.“I won’t agree to a divorce. What happened to the baby is my fault. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. You’re not well right now. You need someone to take care of you.”“I don’t need you.”I reached under my pillow and found my phone. I called a nursing agency to hire a full-time caregiver for myself.Miles just stood there watching the whole time.After I hung up, he said in a hoarse voice, “Fine. I won’t upset you. I’ll be right outside the door. Call me if you need anything.”With that, he stepped out.During that week in the hospital, he truly never lef

It was Wendy.She wore an old, washed-out coat. Her hair was a mess, and her skin looked sickly. Gone was that put-together, glamorous look she had six months ago.She dropped to her knees right in public with a thud the moment she spotted me.People leaving work and people just passing by stopped and stared with curiosity.“Jenna! Please, save me!” She cried out loudly as she reached out to grab my pant leg. I stepped back and avoided her.“Miles wants nothing to do with us anymore. He gave you every penny he had! Ruth’s kidney failure got worse. She’s in the ICU right now. It costs a fortune every single day!”She cried with snot and tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiful.“Harry is sick, too. Jenna, I know you have all that money. You’re a good person. Even if it’s just for the sake of how Ruth used to take care of you, please spare me some money. Otherwise, we’re not going to make it!”The onlookers started whispering among themselves.“Wendy,” I said in a