Looking at Noah with a cold indifference that was uncharacteristic of her, she declared, “Noah, whether you’re bleeding is entirely your own issue. You could bleed out for all I care; it wouldn’t matter to me one bit.”
Noah stared at her, eyes wide with shock. Sadie had never spoken to him with such disdain before.
Kyla’s brow furrowed in disapproval as she turned to Sadie, her tone laced with reproach. “Sadie, how can you be so indifferent? Noah cut himself while peeling that apple for you. Shouldn’t you show a little concern?”
Sadie scoffed, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Concern? Really, Kyla, let’s not be dramatic. How did Noah react when I was in that car accident? And now you expect me to fuss over his minor cut?”
She stared at Noah, her gaze icy and detached. “Noah, really, do you think you deserve my concern after all that?”
Noah averted his eyes, a flush of guilt washing over his face. He clenched his jaw, inhaled sharply, and stood up. His voice was firm, devoid of warmth as he addressed Kyla. “We should head to the trauma department.”
It was as if the vulnerability he briefly showed had been nothing but a fleeting shadow.
Sadie watched their retreating figures, a smirk playing on her lips as they approached the door. Her marriage seemed nothing more than a bitter joke. In her heart, she wished she could erase these two from her life completely.
Just as she relished the newfound calm, a familiar voice rang out. “Sadie, I’m here. It’s time for your IV. I’ll keep an eye on it so it doesn’t run dry-just like I promised.”
At the sound of that familiar voice, Sadie’s gaze darted toward the door where she spotted Noah, Kyla, and Alex in a standstill. Noah and Kyla seemed on the verge of departing as Alex made his attempt to enter.
The moment was charged with an uncomfortable silence, the tension almost tangible in the air. Sadie exhaled a weary sigh. Memories of yesterday’s clash between Noah and Alex flashed in her mind, fueling her concern that Noah might lose his composure once more.
“Come on in, Alex,” Sadie called out, her voice tinged with urgency, breaking the stillness.
Noah’s expression soured, his brows knitting together in clear annoyance. Despite everything, he was still her husband, and here he was, openly dismissed by Sadie! His ego bruised deeply.
Just as he opened his mouth to retort, Alex stepped inside and slammed the door with a resonant thud, narrowly missing Noah’s face. The sound echoed, marking the severity of the moment.
Noah’s anger flared, his usually calm demeanor crumbling as he felt the slight. He reached for the door handle, only to find it firmly locked from the inside.
The door was shut and secured, a deliberate move to keep him out. His frustration boiled over into rage.
Giving his sleeve a small tug, Kyla said in a quiet, concerned tone, “You’re hurt. Let’s get that wound looked at.”
Kyla said, her voice heavy with suggestion, “We’re in a hospital, crowded with people at all hours. Even if they were overwhelmed by their desires, they wouldn’t dare cross the line here.” She was subtly throwing shade at Sadie with her sly remarks. Noah’s expression darkened, his voice tinged with impatient disbelief. “Sadie isn’t the type to act inappropriately,” he said firmly.
He didn’t believe Sadie would behave immorally. What truly irked him was the sharp contrast in how Sadie treated him compared to Alex.
Kyla hadn’t anticipated Noah’s instinctive rush to defend Sadie. A flash of jealousy surged through her, her fingertips pressing into her palm hard enough to leave marks, though her face remained composed with a gentle, considerate smile.
“Perhaps I’m overthinking things. Sorry about that,” she murmured, her voice soft but strained.
Together, they continued walking toward the department of traumatology. With each step, Kyla’s resolve hardened. She shifted her strategy subtly. “Sadie might not be the concern, but Alex could be a different story. I’ve noticed the way he looks at her,” she noted quietly, planting seeds of doubt.
This time, Noah fell into a troubled silence. Kyla’s insinuations acted like thorns pricking at his heart. He recalled his confrontation with Alex just the day before, prompted by the very suspicions Kyla voiced now. The memory of Alex’s tender, longing gaze directed at Sadie flashed before his eyes. It was the look of a man irrevocably in love, a look all too familiar to Noah, echoing his own deepest fears.
Kyla observed Noah carefully, her eyes narrowing slightly as she went on, “When a man is truly in love, he’ll pull out all the stops. Sadie’s just been through a traumatic car accident. She’s fragile right now. Don’t you think Alex might seize this chance to deepen his bond with her?”
Noah brushed off the suggestion with a wave of his hand, his voice resolute. “That’s out of the question. Sadie’s heart has belonged to me for years. The idea of her turning to someone else is unthinkable.”
His conviction seemed unwavering, but a shadow of doubt flickered across his face.
However, Kyla’s calm demeanor masked the sharpness of her words as they pierced through his defenses. “But just yesterday, Sadie asked you to leave her hospital room and chose to keep Alex by her side. Earlier, you came with a present and she barely cracked a smile. But Alex? She welcomed him with open arms. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”
Noah’s response stalled, caught in his throat. Kyla’s words struck a nerve, cutting deeper than he expected. Sadie’s disregard for him and her attention on Alex felt like salt in an open wound, stinging with every moment.
As the antiseptic seeped into his skin, it drained the wound of its color, turning it a bleak, ghostly pale. The wound looked excruciating, but he didn’t make a sound, as if pain was nothing to him. The pain in his heart outweighed the one on his body. He looked distant, trapped in his own thoughts.
In the days that followed, Noah’s visits to Sadie became more frequent, each one marked by increasingly lavish gifts. From dazzling designer jewelry to one-of-a-kind antique artworks, the tables in the ward were adorned with opulence.
One day, he arrived with a jade-carved statue of the Virgin Mary in his hands.
“Sadie, I got this to keep you safe and at ease,” Noah murmured tenderly, setting the statue down beside Sadie.
Sadie cast a brief, indifferent glance at the statue, her eyes clouded with unspoken thoughts, and remained silent.
“Don’t you like it?” Noah probed cautiously, his eyes searching her face for any sign of affection.
She lowered her gaze, her voice steady but distant as she responded, “Thank you.”
A heavy weight settled in Noah’s chest. It was clear to him that Sadie was marking a boundary between them. The increasing feeling of detachment ate away at him, leaving him uneasy.
“Sadie, we need to talk,” Noah said, sitting close to her on the bed, desperate to close the emotional distance that had formed.
Sadie recoiled subtly, her body tensing as she sidestepped Noah’s reaching hand.
“There’s nothing left to discuss,” she stated flatly, her voice icy and detached, as if speaking to a distant acquaintance rather than her husband.
Noah’s features twisted, his brow furrowing deeply.
“Sadie, are you still blaming me? About that day…”
“That day?” Sadie cut in sharply, her tone laced with biting sarcasm. “The day you abandoned me to fend for myself, while I was barely clinging to life?”
Noah was speechless, his mouth agape. He had no comeback; her words struck a nerve.
With a heavy sigh, Sadie shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, gathering her composure. When she reopened them, a new clarity and determination shone through.
“Noah, I want a divorce,” she declared softly, her voice low yet carrying an undeniable ring of finality.
Noah was taken aback, the word “divorce” reverberating in his mind like a sudden clap of thunder. He was utterly unprepared for her resolute declaration.
“Sadie, you…”
“I’m beyond exhausted,” Sadie interjected, her voice tinged with fatigue. “I can’t keep living like this.”
Noah had more to say, his words poised on the brink of spilling out, but Sadie turned her back to him, her gaze defiantly averted. It was clear she had made her decision.
In the subsequent days, Noah’s presence remained steadfast. He visited her every day, each time with a new gift. Sadie no longer pushed his gifts aside in rejection. Instead, she collected them, listing each item on a popular online second-hand marketplace, selling them off one by one.
The money garnered from these sales found its way into Laura’s medical account. She harbored no guilt; in her mind, it was merely claiming what she deserved.
On the morning of her hospital discharge, Alex was already there when she woke up.
He had taken care of all the discharge formalities and was holding a bouquet of lilies, their fragrance subtly permeating the air.
“Congrats on getting out of the hospital,” Alex said, his voice tinged with relief as he extended the flowers toward Sadie.
Sadie accepted them, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“So, where are you staying now?” Alex asked, worry flickering in his eyes.
Sadie’s voice carried a trace of uncertainty. “With my apartment canceled by him, I’m left without a place for now.”
Alex paused, considering her situation. “Not far from here, a friend of mine has a lovely guesthouse. It’s cozy, and she offers reasonable rates. I can talk to her about giving you a discount if you’d like.”
The idea of staying somewhere less conspicuous, somewhere Noah might not think to look, seemed appealing to Sadie.
She nodded slowly. “Okay,” she said softly. “Could you tell me where it is? I’d prefer to get there on my own, to avoid any further trouble for you.”
Alex’s smile widened, radiating warmth as he spoke with his characteristic gentleness. “Don’t worry about it. It’s practically next door to me-we’re going the same direction anyway.”
Sadie hesitated, her lips parting slightly in uncertainty.
She had initially planned to decline, feeling uneasy about the proximity to Alex’s place. The idea of staying so close to him seemed fraught with complications. Yet, with nowhere else to go-every hotel or guesthouse she contacted seemed under Noah’s influence, ready to turn her away at his behest-she found herself without options.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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