lia

ted by flashes of white-hot agony. I heard muffled voices, frantic commands, the urgen

rities..." A male voice, calm but urgent, cut throu

, his voice closer now, sharper. "Chyna and the boys are paramou

physical wound, washing over me. Secondary. Keep her alive, if you

ed faintly, "her injuries are life-threat

cted above all else. She understood the risks. She brought this upon herself. The negative

The warmth of my body, the last flicker of hope, drained away, leaving behind an icy void. He didn't care. He

s consumed

but the sharp edges of pain had dulled to a throbbing ache. My head was bandaged, my body a tape

ffering a glass of water. "Easy, Amelia," a

ak

ly eclipsed the pain. He was sitting by my bedside, his face pale, a haunted look in his

. Water and shards of glass scattered across the sterile tiles. "Don'

re of shock and something I couldn't quite decipher. "Amelia Levine," he said, his voice low, using my full name, a

he dared to call me irrational? The memory of his command to the doctors, "Keep her al

oks like after your spiritual cleansing? After you left me for dead?" I pushed myself up, ignoring the searing pain, my eyes b

"Amelia, I understand you're upset, but you need to cal

ing from him. "I expect you to disappear, Blake. Just vanish. You lost me the moment you chose Chyna. You lost me th

blazed in my eyes. The woman who had once been so gentle, so compliant, was gone. Replaced by a shell of rage and brokenness. He seemed

absolute rejection, he seemed adrift. His carefully constructed world, built on prophecies and power, was suddenly shaking. He remembered the quiet, gen

his expression softening almost immediately. It was Chy

is Amelia? I'm so worried about her. I hope she's not too upset about the house arrangements. We're thin

another assertion of her dominance. Blake's face, a moment ago reflecting a flicker of something resembling confusion, now hardened into a

e my decision. I am moving forward with Chyna and our children. You will, of course, remain my wife, for propriety's sake. But our intimate life, our shared spaces, they are over. I

hing I had once held dear. My intimate life. Our shared spaces. Over. He had not only left me for dead, but he had also seal