Chapter 8
2880Vouchery
Kaiden’s entire body went rigid.
you mean
“Not breathing? What do not breathing?” Panic surged through him.
He jerked his head down, staring desperately at Elizabeth in his arms. Her face was ghostly pale, lashes resting quietly against her cheeks as if she were simply asleep.
But her chest was still no gentle rise or fall. The warmth that had always clung to her was slowly fading away.
“No… no, this can’t be…” he rasped, his voice shredded, his trembling fingers pressing against her neck. But there was nothing–no pulse at all.
“She’s dead? She really… died?”
His mind went blank, a ringing in his ears drowning out everything else.
“Eliza…” he called her name softly, his voice so broken it was barely recognizable.
“Eliza… don’t do this to me… You promised you’d stay with me forever…”
But there was no answer.
There would never be an answer again.
He sat there all night, unmoving, even when the doctors rushed in, anxious to tell him Natasha had woken up. He didn’t budge.
00%
258 Nouchers
Chapter 8
He just held Elizabeth tighter, feeling the warmth of her body—once so familiar–slipping away, until she was colder than any snowball they’d ever thrown at each other.
The nurses, seeing their plan about to fall apart, edged closer with
caution.
“Mr. Renard, please… You need to let her go. If you keep holding her like this, Ms. Elizabeth won’t look pretty anymore…”
Kaiden’s head shot up, his gaze so fierce it could kill. “What did you just say?!”
The nurse shrank back, but forced herself to continue, “Ms. Elizabeth always loved being pretty when she was little. She wouldn’t want to leave this world looking so disheveled. We should prepare her properly.”
She loved being pretty.
www
When they played house as kids, she insisted on being the most beautiful bride; even at bedtime, she’d brush her hair over and over, making sure it was perfectly neat so it wouldn’t be messy in the morning.
Kaiden’s hands trembled, but at last, he slowly loosened his hold.
He let her go, staggering to his feet, his eyes hollow, as if all the life had been drained from him.
“…Change her clothes,” he said quietly. “Make sure she’s wearing the prettiest dress.”
When everyone finally left the room and only Elizabeth’s body remained, a nurse slipped back inside.
She quickly checked Elizabeth’s pulse and, finding it faint but steady, released a silent sigh of relief.
26,70%
298 Vouches
Chapter 8
“Ms. Elizabeth, your father’s people are waiting at the back entrance,” she whispered. “We need to hurry.”
Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, cold clarity shining in their depths.
She and Viktor’s people had planned this fake death as her escape all along. She hadn’t expected to endure such hellish torment before they could put it into action.
Kaiden had drawn her cardiac blood with his own hands. Natasha had switched her painkillers, making her suffer beyond imagining.
They were both as ruthless as each other.
She struggled to sit up, swallowing the agony in her chest. Her voice was hoarse. ”
Let’s go.
Now
At the Stenson’s residence, she lifted her gaze to her father. “You want to ask if I really don’t want him anymore, don’t you?”
Viktor looked at her and nodded, though he already knew the answer.
“I made up my mind a month ago,” she said softly, every word clear and
certain.
“I’ll give Kaiden to Natasha, once and for all.‘
She truly didn’t want him anymore. And honestly, she didn’t dare want him anymore.
Viktor closed his eyes and finally let out a long sigh. “Okay.”
He should have seen it sooner–his daughter was never meant to be treated this way.
“What will you do next?” Viktor asked.
Elizabeth looked out the window. “Go abroad.
“Several reclusive, top–tier artists have contacted me before, but…”
But because Kaiden was here, she couldn’t bear to leave.
Now, it was time to go.
