After a while, the door to the hospital room swung open.
Caleb walked in. The sharpness in his expression had been carefully tucked away, replaced with something that almost looked gentle. His presence instantly drained the warmth from the air.
“Julia, I know you’re still angry about what happened yesterday, but I truly had no choice. Heidi was badly hurt. And your own wounds haven’t healed yet. Please, don’t make things harder for me, alright?”
His voice was soft enough to drip with sweetness, the tone a man uses when coaxing a child who doesn’t know any better.
That gentleness was something he offered to everyone.
Everyone except me.
His act made me laugh, a cold, hollow sound.
“Relax. I won’t delay tomorrow’s press conference.”
The sarcasm in my voice wiped the softness from his face at once.
“Julia,” he snapped, “stop being childish. You’re the one at fault. If you hadn’t harmed the baby in Heidi’s stomach, I wouldn’t have laid a finger on you. Everything that happened to you was your own doing.”
He shoved every sin onto me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
That kind of cruelty chilled the bones.
I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him about the child I had lost, but someone interrupted.
Heidi burst in like a frightened little rabbit, throwing herself into his arms.
“Caleb, where did you go? I woke up and didn’t see you, I thought you didn’t want me anymore. I dreamed about yesterday… I dreamed those people came after me again…”
Her voice trembled with every word, tears streaming nonstop.
Caleb bent over her protectively, soothing her as if she were the most precious treasure in existence.
When she finally calmed down a little, his eyes turned sharp and vicious as he glared at me.
“Look at what you did! Heidi nearly died because of you!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound slicing through the room like a blade.
Seeing that I didn’t respond, Heidi suddenly let out a shrill scream.
“Julia, is it not enough that I’m leaving? Please don’t hurt me or the baby anymore… I never should have made you angry…”
She even tried to kneel by my bed, her pitiful act almost enough to make Caleb crumble.
I remained expressionless.
I simply watched their performance with icy amusement.
Caleb finally lost his patience.
“Julia, you still refuse to admit your mistakes. Stay here and reflect. After the press conference, I’ll reconsider our marriage. My family does not need a heartless woman.”
With that, he guided Heidi out without looking back.
Just before disappearing from view, Heidi cast a glance over her shoulder. Her eyes gleamed with arrogance and triumph, the clear declaration lingering in her gaze.
This time, I won.
I didn’t even bother looking at them as I reached out and shut the door.
The next morning, I began executing my plan.
There were three hours left until the Caleb family’s press conference.
In three hours, his family’s business would begin its freefall.
Every resource, every share, every partnership I had once placed into his hands, I would take back without hesitation.
For every wound they gave me, I would repay them with what they valued most.
I blocked both Caleb and Heidi’s numbers, then boarded the plane with Karl.
I could hardly wait to watch the grand celebration they ignited with their own hands turn into the very fire that devoured them.
Their fall was only the beginning.
