Chapter 8
Asher instructed the nurses to keep an eye on Ruben before personally retrieving the envelope.
But when he returned, he found an unexpected scene in the hospital room. A woman was there, along with two children.
She was crying out, “Even if you don’t care about anything else, at least think about your own flesh and blood!”
Asher frowned as his hand paused on the door handle.
What was going on? As far as he knew, Ruben and Estelle never had children. So where did this so–called own flesh and blood come from? Did he cheat on Estelle?
Inside, Louisa’s voice trembled with emotion. “If you die, I’ll take our children with me! I have no reason to live without you!”
For a moment, Ruben seemed moved. He reached up to gently stroke Louisa’s hair. “Why put yourself through this?”
Without a word, Asher stepped inside and tossed the envelope onto Ruben’s lap.
“Here’s what you asked for.”
Ruben opened it to pull out the documents. Meanwhile, Louisa was still holding onto his hand, pouring out her emotions.
“Ruben, I never liked Estelle, but even I was sad when she… when she passed. But the dead are gone, and the living have to move forward.
“Please, stop doing this to yourself. Let me stay by your side from now on, okay?”
She had waited so long for Estelle to finally be gone. From now on, Ruben would be hers and hers alone.
As she envisioned their future together, she fought to suppress the victorious smile threatening to curl her lips. She was so caught up in her fantasy that she didn’t notice the way Ruben’s face darkened with every passing second.
The next moment, Ruben hurled the papers at her. His face was livid as he shot to his feet and seized her throat.
“I warned you about this! You could have had anything you wanted, but you were never to let Estelle find out. And yet, you dared to provoke her again and again!”
“I–I didn’t!” Louisa gasped as she struggled to explain herself. Then, her eyes flickered to the scattered papers on the floor.
It was Estelle’s abortion records and screenshots of her final conversations with Louisa. Her pupils immediately shrank.
She had assumed that someone as proud as Estelle would either divorce Ruben or leave without a word.
She never expected her to leave this behind before she died. That wretched woman!
Ruben’s grip tightened even further. For the first time in his life, he truly regretted not killing Louisa when he had the chance. Just as he was about to squeeze the life out of her, Asher yanked him away. “Enough! Are you trying to commit murder now?” Louisa collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. Terror gripped her for the first time–true, visceral fear.
Tears streamed down her face as she shrank away from Ruben. Her voice was shaking with rage as she lamented, “I stayed by your side for two years without a title! I bore your children! And you actually tried to kill me!”
you had any control over
Yes, she loved Ruben’s wealth and power, but she also genuinely loved him. Now, all that love had turned to pure hatred. “Do you really think I’m the only one to blame for all of this?” she shrieked. “If you hadn’t kept crawling back to me, yourself, would I have had the chance to provoke Estelle at all? And now you want to pin everything on me? Keep dreaming! “Do you think Estelle’s plane actually crashed? Maybe she killed herself! And do you know who drove her to it? It was you!” and if
Ruben froze at her words as the room fell into absolute silence. And then–like pieces of a puzzle snapping into place–every strange detail from the past few days flashed through his mind.
A thought struck him before he started laughing loudly. “Estelle isn’t dead! She must be hiding somewhere!”
He knew her too well. She was like wild grass, unyielding and impossible to kill. Even if she found out about his betrayal, she would never take her own life.
She would simply disappear into a place where he could never find her. That was because she knew him just as well. She knew that he would never agree to a divorce
Someone get in here! Right now!
Find out who Estelle has been in contact with these past few days! Now!”
Estelle had been abroad for three months. During this time, she kept the curtains tightly drawn and spent entire days staring blankly into space.
