I Saw Comments Saying I Would Die Alone After the Fourth Divorce Chapter 12

I Saw Comments Saying I Would Die Alone After the Fourth Divorce Chapter 12

I was terrified. It was real, bone-deep terror.

I was supposed to visit my dad after work – check on him, nag him about his meds. Now I couldn’t

bring myself to go.

Every time the thought came up – that I could die before him – my legs buckled. I could barely stand. There was no way I could run the shop like that.

I locked up, hands fumbling, and threw myself into a cab and headed for the clinic.

In the waiting room, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I called Stella. She didn’t answer. Right- she was overseas. It was the middle of the night there.

The loneliness hit harder than the panic.

I found a corner, folded myself into it, and cried.

I lost track of time. Then a shadow blocked the fluorescent light above me.

I looked up. It was Julian. He was supposed to be out of town.

He looked like hell. Hair disheveled, suit creased, tie pulled loose like he’d sprinted out of a

meeting and hadn’t stopped.

He dropped to one knee in front of me. His eyes were rimmed red. “Hey. You’re gonna be okay.”

One look at him and all the hurt I’d swallowed came roaring back up.

Because if I was sick – if this was real – then years of misery in this marriage had put me here. The thought lit me up from the inside. I slapped him so hard my own hand throbbed, already

swelling.

“You’re just waiting for me to die, aren’t you? So you can finally marry your precious Audrey guilt-free!”

–

The slap rocked him. But he didn’t pull away. He took my hand – the swollen one and pressed

his thumb gently into the ache. “I’m not.”

“Bullshit!” I yanked my hand back.

“If you don’t, then why did you let me go every single time? For her?”

Julian’s jaw flexed. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

“You were the one who wanted out. Every time.”

Something detonated inside me. “I wanted it?! You agreed every single time! You didn’t even try to stop me!”

His eyes reddened further.

“I never wanted the divorce. But Simon said you needed space. He said if you love someone you

should let them go, so I… I was trying not to trap you.”

I laughed. Not because it was funny. Because this much stupidity might kill me faster than any

disease.

“Weren’t you terrified I’d find someone else?”

His fingers twitched against his knee. He couldn’t look at me.

“Every day. I was afraid every single day.” His voice cracked. “So I kept watch. I waited for your savings to run out — because I knew you’d need me again – and the second they did, I was at your

door.”

My throat was tight. “Then the last time – when I threw those papers at you – why did you push back? That was the first time you ever pushed back.”

His eyes snapped to mine, raw and panicked. “Because that time was different. You weren’t just angry – you were done. And I can’t lose you. I’d rather die than lose you for real.”

I stared at him. This man – the one who moved through the world like nothing could touch him was kneeling on a clinic floor, shaking.

Then I slapped him again. The other cheek.

–

“If you knew – KNEW – how much I hated that woman, why did you keep her? Why was she in our kitchen making you breakfast? Why was she on every business trip? You have Simon! Why did it

have to be HER?”

“You kept saying you missed the breakfast burritos from back home. Simon told me Audrey used to run a food truck – said hers were the closest thing. I just… I wanted you to have them.”

“There’s more to it – the reason I kept her around. But I’ll explain later. Right now, can we please

focus on getting you better first?”

The same doctor who’d treated my dad ran the tests. The result was the same, too early stage, caught in time, treatable with the right care.

The doctor shook his head in disbelief.

“You and your father – unbelievably lucky. The both of you. These conditions are practically invisible in the early stages. Nobody catches them this soon unless they know exactly what to look for.”

I was going to be okay. I grabbed Julian’s sleeve, relief rushing through me so fast I got dizzy.

Something warm hit the back of my hand. I looked down.

Tears. Julian’s tears, falling onto my skin. The man who never showed a single crack in his

composure was crying.

I opened my mouth – some teasing comment already loaded – but he pulled me into his chest

before it came out.

“Thank God you’re okay.” His voice broke on the last word.

[WAIT. The ML had the FL come over to make breakfast burritos… FOR the villainess?? He was literally using the FL as a glorified prep cook?? CAPITALIST BEHAVIOR Imaooo]

[The ML barely talks — childhood trauma basically made him emotionally constipated. This is the

most he’s ever said in one conversation…]

[Has anyone noticed the ML isn’t even mad about getting slapped?? He looks THRILLED. Wait – is THAT why he was so pissed in the first chapter? Not because the FL got hit, but because the slap didn’t land on HIM??]

[Okay the plot has completely gone off the rails and honestly?? I’m jumping ship. A secretly obsessed CEO and a chaotic drama queen? That’s a better dynamic than the canon one and I’m not

sorry.]