His Favorite Killed His Saviour Chapter 01

His Favorite Killed His Saviour Chapter 01

My childhood rival, Blaine Whitmore, lost a dare and had to marry me at City Hall. I agreed because I knew it would get under his skin.

We had spent our entire childhood competing, arguing, and finding new ways to irritate each other.

Saying yes was my way of turning his ridiculous punishment back on him, and the look on his face made it worth it.

After the wedding, he traveled the world with Brielle Sutton, the woman he adored. I spent my time drinking with Elliot Hart, the man I had loved for years.

Blaine and I had agreed to an open marriage. We would live separate romantic lives and stay out of each other’s way.

There had been no tender promises between us, only a clear arrangement.

He could chase Brielle across the world, and I could spend my nights beside Elliot without answering to him.

Then Elliot was given three months to live.

I spent millions and made a punishing hike to Dr. Malcolm Rhodes’s secluded Vermont retreat.

After I waited outside for days, the world-renowned specialist finally agreed to come out of retirement.

By the time Dr. Rhodes agreed, my legs were bruised, my hands were scraped, and exhaustion had settled into my bones.

None of it mattered because I believed I had bought Elliot one last chance.

But Blaine used our shared household access and his family’s influence to change the schedule.

He lied that I had approved it, then took Dr. Rhodes to see Brielle for a bad cold.

He took the only appointment I had fought for and wasted it on a fever that any urgent-care doctor could have treated.

Dr. Rhodes saw the insult for what it was and refused to stay.

By the time I found out, the insulted doctor had already left the country. I called Blaine immediately.

He gave a mocking laugh. “You slapped Brielle.

“So what if she made trouble for you? You don’t love me, so why do you care about being Mrs. Whitmore?”

The call ended. At that same moment, Elliot’s cardiac monitor flatlined.

As the alarm screamed through the room, I finally understood something I should have known years ago. Blaine and I would never recover from this.

…

I watched Elliot’s body disappear into the crematory.

Later, I held his urn against my chest and buried him beneath a headstone engraved with his bright, beautiful smile.

I stood there while the last physical trace of the gentlest man I had ever known was reduced to ashes.

When the funeral director placed the urn in my arms, its small weight felt impossible to carry.

The grief I had held back finally broke loose. I collapsed beside his grave and cried until every breath hurt.

Tears struck the stone one after another while my shoulders shook, and every attempt to breathe only opened the pain wider.

The cemetery emptied around me, but I could not make myself move.

I traced his photograph with one trembling hand and stayed there from sunrise until the cemetery lights came on.

“I have to go now, Elliot,” I whispered. “Someone has to pay for your death.

“Don’t cross over yet. Wait for me on the other side.”

I could barely force myself to leave Cedarhaven Memorial Park. I would avenge him, even if the price was my own life.

The grief inside me hardened into rage.

I floored the accelerator and raced toward downtown Cedarhaven like I had nothing left to lose. Then I called Blaine.

He answered at once. “Avery Monroe, are you finally ready to come crawling back?

“Beg properly, and I might forgive everything you’ve done to me.”

The men around him laughed as if my grief were entertainment prepared for their private party.

Their voices overlapped, each one eager to humiliate me before I could speak.

His voice turned crueler. “Maybe I’ll even help that worthless bastard of yours.”

Laughter erupted behind him.

“Looks like Avery finally cracked,” a man called. “Why do women always have to act so tough?

“Come apologize. We’ll all be witnesses.”

Another voice added, “Bring a case of good whiskey if you’re serious. And don’t forget a present for Brielle, or Elliot can forget about getting Blaine’s help.”

At Elliot’s name, the last thread of my self-control burned away.

“Fine. Give me the address.”

My voice sounded scraped raw.

I ended the call and drove toward the Cedarhaven Club, the roar of the engine matching the violent beat of my heart.

I stopped hard outside the entrance, snatched an expandable baton from the security booth, and headed for the private upstairs lounge.

I crossed the lobby without slowing, climbed toward the eleventh-floor lounge, and ignored every startled employee who tried to stop me.

Rage had narrowed the world to one door and the people waiting behind it.

I kicked open the door and met Blaine’s lazy, indifferent stare.

“Avery, where’s Brielle’s present?” Derek Lawson asked with a grin as he came toward me.

He was the same man who had mocked Elliot on the phone.

I swung the baton into his head. Blood poured down his face before anyone understood what had happened.

“Avery, have you lost your mind?”