77 Severing the Final Tie
The crash of medical equipment against the wall echoed through the hospital room Ivy’s tantrunt had escalated from screams to violence, her face contorted with rage as she hurled anything within reach at Alistair
“You promised!” she shrieked, grabbing a water pitcher. “You said you’d stay with me
forever
Alistam dodged the projectile with practiced ease. His expression remained eerily calm almost detached, as if he were observing a stranger’s meltdown rather than tus
wife’s
“I said I’d stay until the end.” he corrected, his voice devoid of emotion. “I never promised forever.”
Ivy’s chest heaved with exertion. “You can’t leave me now. I’m dying!
A cold smile crossed Alistair’s face. “Are you? The doctors seem to think otherwise.
I stood by the door, watching this final act unfold. The revelation that Ivy had been faking her terminal diagnosis had shattered whatever obligation Alistair felt toward her. Three months had passed since our wedding day, and her miraculous “remission had fooled no one
“You know what your problem is, Ivy?” Alistair continued, straightening his suit jacket
You never understood the difference between pity and love:
Ivy’s face crumpled, “Don’t you dare walk out that door!”
Alistair turned toward me, his eyes meeting mine briefly before addressing ivy one final time “Goodbye Ivy suggest you learn to stand on your own two feet won’t be there to catch you when you fall anymore?
He walked toward me, his steps measured and deliberate. Behind him. Ivy’s screains intensified
You’ll regret this! Both of you will!
We stepped into the ballway together closing the door on her hysteria. Through the wood; we could hear anya’s pans Red voice calling for a doctor as Ivy began retching
violently
“She s vomiting blood! Someone help!
Neither of us looked back
The hospital corridor stretched before us, sterile and quiet compared to the chaos we’d left behind. Alistair walked beside me, keeping a respectful distance
“I’m sorry” he said finally, breaking the silence “For everything.”
I kept my eyes forward, watching the floor numbers light up above the elevator ahead
“It doesn’t matter anymore.
“It matters to me, he insisted. “I should never have left you.
No, you shouldn’t have,” I agreed calmly. “But I’m glad you did.
This caught him off guard. “Glad?”
If you hadn’t betrayed me, I never would have discovered my own strength.” I pressed the elevator button: “I never would have known what I’m capable of”
Alistair studied my face. “You’ve changed:
“People tend to do that when their world collapses.”
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime. Alistair held his arm out to stop them from closing
I still love you, Hazel His voice had taken on that familiar persuasive tone he’d used countless times before. I know I made an unforgivable mistake, but
“I don’t hate you anymore. Linterrupted.
His expression flickered between hope and confusion “You don’t?”
No: I met his gaze directly. “I feel nothing for you at all. That’s far worse than hatred,
The color dramed from his face. My indifference clearly hurt him more than any anger could have
We have Instory” he tried again. Six years together
And it’s exactly that I cut in “History Past tense Finished.
The elevator doors attempted to close again, and once more Alistair held them open desperation creeping into his eyes
“Can we at least talk? Maybe over coffee sometime?”
I shook my head “We’re strangers now. Alistair Strangers shouldn’t travel together”! stepped back from the elevator Tll wait for the next one
The finality in my voice left no room for argument. His hand slowly dropped from the door allowing it to lose between us. Through the narrowing gap, I watched his face crumple with the realization that he had truly lost me forever
As the elevator carried him away, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. Six years of memories, both sweet and bitter, no longer had power over me
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Grandmother’s name flashed on the screen
“Hello, Grandma. I answered, walking toward the hospital garden for privacy
Bazel, dear. How are you holding up?”
settled onto a bench beneath a flowering dogwood. “I’m fine. Just left Ivy’s room. It’s officially over
“Good riddance, she huffed. “That girl has been poison since the day she entered your life!
The breeze rustled the tree’s pink blossoms Grandma, there’s something I need to ask you
Whout your mother?
Her perception always surprised me. “Yes. Ivy said something about Dad having planned to marry Mom for her money even before they met
A heavy sigh rame through the line I wondered when we’d have this conversation
So it’s true?
Your father was a aleulated man, Hazel The and that woman. Tanya had been involved for years before he met your mother
My grip tightened on the phone. But he seemed to love her remember them being
happy
“Your mother was a beautiful, wealthy heiress with a heart too generous for her own good. Harold played his part well.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Why are you telling me this now
“Because you’re strong enough to hear it now Her voice softened. “Your mother loved you more than anything in this world. That was real, Hazel. That was always real.
Twiped away a tear “Thank you for telling me
After saying goodbye I sat in the garden a while longer, processing everything. My pour mother had died believing my father had once loved her, that their marriage had at least started with genuine affection before he strayed. Learning it had all been a
alculated deception from the beginning twisted the knife deeper
The sky had darkened by the time I returned to my car. Several missed calls from Sebastian lit up my phone screen but I couldn’t bring myself to return them. My feelings for him were growing more complicated by the day, and I wasn’t ready to confront them.
Instead texted Vera: “Coming to the studio. Need to lose myself in work
manipulate
Work had always been my sanctuary. Fabric and thread didn’t he Designs didn’t betray or abandon In my workshop, surrounded by mannequins and sketches Yeould pretend that the intimidating emotions Sebastian Sinclair stirred in me didnt exist
At least for a little while longer
