“Don’t talk, baby. You’re freezing.”
Then he turned to me, voice like ice.
“Since you like throwing people off cliffs, let’s see how you like it.”
Ruby cast a concerned glance toward me.
“Madam, will she be alright?”
“She’s a great swimmer,” Alaric said with a cold smile.
And just like that, my heart completely shattered.
He’d forgotten that I almost drowned once while saving him. Since then, I’d never gone near deep water.
He threw me off the cliff without a trace of hesitation.
Night fell. The freezing seawater slowly stole my warmth.
I screamed hoarsely for help, but only crashing waves answered me. My phone signal flickered in and out. Hope dimmed with every passing second.
Just as I began to lose consciousness, my phone rang.
With trembling hands, I answered. A low, familiar voice came through the receiver.
“What took you so long to answer?”
I used the last of my strength to whisper, “You once said that you wanted to have a child with me. Does that still count?”
The voice on the other end suddenly sharpened.
“Where are you? What happened?!”
Barely holding on, I answered, “I’m at the edge of a cliff. Can you come save me?”
Fifteen minutes later, the roar of helicopter blades grew louder.
As soon as it landed, a tall man jumped out and strode toward me with urgent, powerful steps.
He swept me into his arms.
“How did you end up like this?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the pain made me gasp sharply.
“Don’t talk,” he said, tightening his hold on me.
And in the next second, I sank into darkness.
When I woke up again, all I saw was white. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant.
Bernard sat at my bedside, his brows furrowed.
“Eleanor, what have you been through all these years?”
He handed me a thick stack of medical records.
“So many ovulation-stimulating injections and fertility meds. Were you that desperate for a child?”
I stayed silent as tears welled in my eyes.
Memories surged like a rising tide. All those years, I’d secretly taken medication and injections, foolishly believing that if I just tried hard enough, I could carry Alaric’s child.
How ridiculous. He had never even touched me.
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“I thought being with him would make you happy,” Bernard said softly, brushing away my tears. “But he hurt you this badly.”
“Eleanor, I meant what I said. I always will.”
We first met in high school. He was the rich kid everyone knew, the Bernard’s’ golden boy.