My breath hitched in my throat, a sharp, ragged sound. The air in my lungs felt like shards of glass. Married? He was asking her to marry him? In front of me? My mind reeled, trying to process the sheer audacity, the brutal cruelty of his words. Frida's face lit up, a triumphant, sickeningly sweet smile spreading across her lips. "Oh, Bentley! Of course! Yes! A thousand times yes!" She flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.
Bentley' s gaze, cold and triumphant, found mine. "There, Adelle," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "Are you happy now? Is this finally enough for you?"
I stared at him, my heart a frozen lump in my chest. What could I say? What was there to say? "It has nothing to do with me," I finally managed, my voice a hollow whisper, devoid of all emotion.
His jaw clenched. He released Frida, his eyes still locked on mine, then, with a deliberate, agonizing slowness, he lowered his head and kissed Frida. A long, lingering kiss, right there, in front of me, in my hospital room. It was a kiss of triumph for her, of bitter retaliation for him, and of utter annihilation for me.
They pulled apart, Frida beaming, and Bentley, with one last cold, assessing look at me, led her out of the room. The door clicked shut, leaving me in a terrifying silence.
My hands, which had been clenched so tight they ached, released their death grip on the hospital sheets. My body felt heavy, numb, yet strangely light. It was done. Truly, irrevocably done. And in a bizarre way, a sense of perverse relief washed over me. This was what I needed. This public, brutal execution of our relationship. Now, there were no more illusions, no more 'what if's. He had made his choice. And it solidified mine.
Bentley did not return to my room. Not that night, not the next morning. My phone, still shattered from my outburst at the funeral, lay broken on the floor. No messages, no calls. Silence.
The next day, as I tried to make my way to the hospital bathroom, leaning heavily on crutches, I saw her. Frida. She emerged from her lavish suite, her hair gleaming, a silk scarf draped just so around her neck. She was talking animatedly on her phone, then noticed me. Her eyes narrowed into slits of malicious pleasure.
"Well, well, Adelle," she purred, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "Still here? I thought you'd have run away by now. Bentley and I are celebrating our engagement." She gestured around her with a flourish. "He's arranged for my entire family to stay on this floor. It's truly a celebration."
I ignored her, making my way towards the bathroom, my crutches awkward and slow.
She followed, her voice a low, taunting whisper. "You know, Bentley just told me all about your little attempts to expose me. He thinks it's hilarious. Said you're desperate. He's so sweet, constantly reassuring me. He says he'll take care of everything." She then thrust her wrist forward, displaying a delicate, intricately carved bracelet. "Look, Adelle. This was the first gift he ever gave you, wasn't it? The one you said was so special?"
My eyes widened. It was the bracelet. The one he' d given me on our first anniversary, a small silver charm of an artist's palette. He'd painstakingly chosen it, telling me it symbolized my dreams, our future. He' d told me it was unique, handcrafted just for me.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Unique, indeed. He had given it to her. The ultimate insult. He hadn't just moved on; he had desecrated our past, twisted our shared memories into a weapon against me.
We reached the end of the corridor, near a large, empty lounge area with a short, unguarded balcony. Frida's eyes, blazing with triumph, met mine. She had expected a reaction, tears, despair. My calm, blank stare infuriated her. Her smile vanished, replaced by a sneer. "You think you've won something, don't you? With your little recordings and your sad, pathetic revenge plot?" She took a step closer, her voice laced with pure venom. "You're nothing, Adelle. You always have been. And now, you have nothing." Her hand shot out, pushing me with unexpected force.
My crutches clattered to the ground, my injured leg buckled, and I felt myself falling, falling backwards, over the low railing, towards the hard tiles of the hospital's ground floor lobby. My mind went blank with terror, a primal scream caught in my throat.
The impact was brutal. A searing pain shot through my spine, my head cracking against the polished marble. I gasped, curling into a fetal position, every nerve screaming in agony. My vision swam, lights dancing before my eyes.
Through the haze of pain, I heard a familiar voice, sharp with anger. "What the hell was that, Frida?!" Bentley. He was here.
I looked up, my eyes barely focusing. Bentley stood over me, his face a mask of fury, but his arms were wrapped around Frida, who was sobbing uncontrollably. "She tried to push me, Bentley! I swear! She's crazy! She tried to hurt me!" Frida wailed, pointing a trembling finger at me.
Bentley's eyes, cold and hard, turned from Frida to me. He looked at my crumpled form, at the blood slowly seeping onto the white floor from a fresh cut on my forehead. His face was devoid of pity, only hardened resolve. He believed her.
"No, Bentley!" I gasped, my voice thin and reedy. "She pushed me! She did it on purpose!"
He scoffed, his lips curling with disdain. "Adelle, stop this. I saw what happened. Frida would never. You' re just trying to get attention." He tightened his grip on Frida, pulling her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry, angel. I'll make sure she never bothers you again."
Then, he simply turned his back on me, pulling Frida with him, disappearing into the chaos of the hospital lobby. They left me lying there, a broken heap on the cold floor, just like they had on the mountain, just like he had after my surgery, after the kidnapping.
A wave of crushing despair washed over me, so potent it stole my breath. I remembered his passionate declarations of love, his unwavering trust in me. "I'll always believe you, Adelle. Always." His words, once a comfort, now mocked me. He was gone. The man I loved was gone, replaced by a stranger, a cruel parody of his former self.
My chest constricted, a sharp, agonizing pain, as if my heart itself was tearing apart. Tears, hot and silent, streamed down my temples, pooling on the cold marble floor. The dream was over. The nightmare was real. It was time to wake up.
