All Chapters of He Saved Lives, but Lost Her: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Through the small window in the door, Audrey saw Everett kneeling on one knee beside Brielle's bed, his ear pressed to her rounded belly."Has the baby been giving you a hard time?" he asked gently.Brielle laughed. "I'm just pregnant. Why are you so nervous? You've been there for everything, from my first prenatal appointment to every checkup and prenatal class. You haven't missed a thing. Anyone would think this was your full-time job."Audrey bit down hard on her lip. For the past six months, she had gone back and forth between the clinic, the hospital, and home all by herself.Whenever she felt especially sick, she would ask Everett if he could come to the hospital with her.His answer was always the same, his expression stern."My rescue work is too important. I can't afford to let my guard down for even a second. You knew what you were signing up for when you married me. As my wife, you need to be able to handle things on your own."So it wasn't that he didn't have time to take c

Brielle let out a delighted cheer and hooked her arm through Audrey's."This is perfect! With Audrey here to keep me company, I won't have to stare at your annoying face all day."She made an excuse to get Everett out of the room.The moment the two women were alone, her expression changed.Brielle folded her arms and sneered."I looked into you, Audrey Vance. Thirty-two years old. Both your parents died in an earthquake."Her voice turned mocking."You're just an orphan desperate for love. No wonder you come running like a dog the second someone throws you a scrap of affection, then cling to them for dear life. I wonder if your parents know how shameless you've become."Her gaze dropped to Audrey's flat stomach, and her voice grew even sharper."Good thing you lost the baby. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. A homewrecker like you would've only had another homewrecker. She would've grown up just like her shameless mother, seducing men who were already taken."Audrey couldn't l

Audrey froze. All the fight drained out of her, and she sank weakly to her knees at the hospital entrance.The sun beat down overhead. Gravel dug into her knees, and within minutes, they were throbbing with pain. Her vision began to dim.A flicker of pity crossed Everett's eyes. But then he thought of the newborn baby and forced it down.He was about to question Audrey again when his phone buzzed."Everett, we found Teddy! A nurse had taken him for his bath.""What?"Everett's eyes widened.He looked down at Audrey and only then noticed how deathly pale she was. There wasn't a trace of color in her face.What had he done?Panic flashed across his face.Everett scooped Audrey into his arms."I'm sorry. This is all my fault."Audrey was a mess. Still holding her in his arms, Everett rushed back to her hospital room.When he saw Brielle standing nearby, he confronted her for the first time."Didn't you say you saw Audrey take the baby?"Brielle had seen everything. She immediately squeeze

The words hit Everett like a blow.His mind went blank, and his legs nearly gave out."Audrey!"He cried out hoarsely and charged back up the mountain without a second thought.A flash of resentment crossed Brielle's eyes.She grabbed his sleeve, her voice catching."Honey, I'm so scared."Tears spilled down her cheeks. That helpless vulnerability had always been what Everett liked most about her.But this time, he tore his arm free and kept running up the mountain.Aftershocks rolled through one after another. The ground heaved beneath his feet as loose rocks tumbled down from above.A large rock came crashing down the slope and clipped his lower leg, scraping the skin raw.He seemed not to feel the pain. He struggled back to his feet and stared at the devastated mountainside."Audrey!"His desperate shout was swallowed by the roar of the quake and the screams rising from the crowd below.It felt as though his heart had shattered along with the mountain, broken into pieces that could

The last page of the diary was wrinkled, as though tears had fallen on it over and over again.Through those entries, Everett saw how Audrey had gone from loving him with all her heart to slowly growing cold. In the end, without him even realizing it, she had stopped loving him altogether.He gently ran his fingers over the date of her final entry.What had he been doing that day?Going with Brielle to a prenatal appointment?Cooking for her himself?Or sleeping with her?Everett raised a hand and slapped himself hard across the face.What a bastard he was.He had betrayed Audrey.He blinked his dry, aching eyes.A fresh tear fell onto the diary, spreading across the paper and mingling with Audrey's old tear stains.Everett shut himself in the bedroom, barely eating and drinking nothing but alcohol.Time lost all meaning to him.Every day, all he did was drink himself into a stupor and hope he might see Audrey in his dreams.Bang. Bang. Bang.One day, as he lay there hungover, someone