BookToReadChapter 504 Ailie glanced from Victoria to McNeil, lying motionless in the hospital bed. "Vicky Victoria's expression remained calm, with not a trace of blfor Ailie.
"I'm divorced from him. But he's still the father of my three kids." Ailie's frustration flared. "So what, you plan to stay single forever? Just hang around him for life?" Victoria shook her head. "It's not about hanging around. After the divorce, I never planned to remarry. Honestly, I'm fine on my own. You know me-I'm not the kind of woman who needs a man as skind of accessory." She meant every word.
She'd married McNeil out of love, given up every passion she had and thrown herself into the fire, only to end up burned to ashes.
She'd had Gwyneth for love, too. As for Chris and Celia, she simply couldn't abandon her own children. She'd brought them into the world-there was no way she could ever destroy them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThat's just a mother's instinct.
Ailie had never experienced that head-over-heels kind of love, never loved anyone so deeply it left a mark. She didn't understand.
Victoria understood all too well. And maybe that's why, now, she seemed so at ease.
She didn't want to shy away from the pain McNeil's accident brought her. That pain was part of her—part of being a woman who'd loved. But after everything he'd done, the pain didn't even cut that deep anymore. "Ailie, stop worrying about me. I'm not staying single for McNeil's sake. I just like the freedom. Really." But Ailie had stopped listening. For a split second, she almost wished McNeil hadn't made it out of the ER at all. "All right, just be honest with me-if McNeil wakes up and asks you to take him back, what will you do?" Victoria didn't answer. Ailie looked like she could bash her head against the wall, pressing her forehead with a groan of frustration.
"Forget it. Don't tell me. I don't even want to know." Ailie stormed out, bracing herself against the wall. Victoria watched her go, feeling a tangle of emotions and, for once, unable to find the right words to comfort her friend.
Whether McNeil would wake up and ask for another chance suddenly seemed beside the point. She wasn't even sure he'd wake up at all.
After all she'd been through, Victoria wasn't sure she even knew how to love anymore. McNeil could choose to keep sleeping, never to wake. But she didn't have that luxury.
She still had two little ones who needed her-two little mouths to feed, two lives depending on her.
"McNeil-" For the first tsince the divorce, she looked at him without bitterness, without anger, without even love.
All she felt was a deep, aching emptiness, as if a piece of her chest had been carved out and left hollow.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmOnly now did she realize that, after six years of marriage, love wasn't the only thing binding them. They'd becso deeply ingrained in each other' lives, so tangled in each other's habits, that it was impossible to unravel.
That messy, indescribable connection-something far more complicated than love -was what left them both torn. McNeil would always be the father of her children. She could live vel
without a husband, but losing a father was something her kids should never have to face. No matter what Ailte Said, the question of whether she'd take McNeil back couldn't be answered with a simple yes or no. Victoria took his hand, her voice steady and filled with resolve.
"McNeil, you've been selfish for six years. You leftto worry, to carry the load. Just this lonce, can you think ofinstead? Think of your three kids. Please, don't just slip away." Tears slid down her cheeks. She didn't let herself break down, but she couldn't stop them from falling.
How was she supposed to explain all this to Gwyneth?
Violet's knife had terrified Gwyn, left her not just shaken, but betrayed A six-year old shouldn't have to bear a wound like that. Victoria let herself grieve for a while, her eyes rimmed red.
Violet-she would make sure Violet spent the rest of her life paying for what she'd done.
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
