Faded love 19

Chapter 19 

He gave a low laugh. 

“Then so be it.” 

He dragged me into the living room. 

I fell onto the sofa, 

my elbow hitting the table- 

pain shot through my arm. 

He poured a glass of water, 

set it in front of me. 

“Drink.” 

I looked up at him. 

“What do you want?” 

“For you to calm down.” 

I laughed-shaking, bitter. 

“Rory, do you think I could ever be calm? 

You’ve ruined my life, 

my freedom- 

and now you want calm?” 

He was silent for a long moment, 

then lowered his head. 

His voice broke softly. 

“I just… want you to stay.” 

I froze. 

When he looked up, 

his eyes were too still- 

too quiet to be sane. 

“Wendy,” he whispered, 

“It’s a miracle I haven’t gone completely mad these three years.” 

“You should have,” I spat. 

“You killed my child.” 

The air went dead. 

Faded love I don’t want it anymore 

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His face went pale. 

“That wasn’t-” 

“Wasn’t an accident?” I laughed bitterly. 

“When you signed, did your hand tremble?” 

He suddenly reached out, 

covering my mouth. 

“Don’t say it.” 

I pushed him away, tears spilling. 

“Why? 

Afraid of the truth?” 

He stepped back, 

his throat working. 

“The doctors said if I didn’t sign, 

you’d die. 

I had no choice.” 

“I begged you not to sign,” I whispered. 

“And you did.” 

“I thought-” 

“You thought reason could save us.” 

I cut him off. 

“You were wrong. 

You saved yourself.” 

He closed his eyes, 

breathing deep. 

“Then now, I’ll save you.” 

“I don’t need it,” I said coldly. 

That night, I lay awake in the bedroom. 

Rain whispered against the windows. 

The house was suffocatingly quiet. 

I could hear footsteps outside the door. He was pacing the hall. 

Chapter 19 

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I turned away, eyes shut, 

but all I saw was that white light 

over the operating table- 

his silhouette, 

signing the form that ended me. 

Tears slid down my cheek. 

I whispered into the dark, 

“Save me? 

Rory, you were my damnation.” 

Morning. 

When I woke, 

a folder sat on the desk. 

It was his handwriting: 

Wendy, welcome home. 

From today, you resume all rights as Mrs. Zhou of Z Group. 

I’ll handle the media. You don’t need to go outside. 

-Rory 

I stared at the paper, 

feeling the cold seep into my bones. 

He hadn’t saved me. 

He’d just found a new way to cage me. 

The door opened. 

He stood there, calm as ever. 

“Did you sleep well?” 

I didn’t answer. 

“With you here,” I said quietly, 

“I can’t even breathe.” 

He smiled faintly, 

his tone gentle, coaxing. 

“You don’t need peace. 

You just need to stay.” 

Chapter 19 

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“This is imprisonment.” 

“Yes.” 

His voice was soft. 

“But I’ll keep you kindly imprisoned.” 

I stared at him. 

He smiled again, 

: 

tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. 

“Don’t be afraid. 

You can’t escape me- 

and you don’t need to.” 

Then he stepped back, 

his voice low and certain. 

“From today, we start over.” 

The door closed. 

I sat on the edge of the bed, 

fingers numb. 

Sunlight poured through the window- 

warm, almost blinding. 

I laughed softly. 

“Rory,” I whispered, 

“you want to start again? 

Then I’ll follow you- 

all the way down.” 

The windows had new locks now. 

Iron-grey frames, cold as winter. 

He no longer shouted. 

He was gentler, 

almost tender. 

Each morning, 

he’d knock on the door 

and leave breakfast outside- 

Chapter 10. 

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like a warden pretending to care 

for his favorite prisoner. 

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