My Husband Died in a Crash, Only to Resurrect at My Funeral to Steal My Legacy Chapter 08

My Husband Died in a Crash, Only to Resurrect at My Funeral to Steal My Legacy Chapter 08

He kept swallowing nervously.

One hand gripped the edge of his pants so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

I knew that gesture.

It was what Caleb did whenever he was terrified.

The first time he sat in the CEO’s chair.

The first time he stepped into our estate.

The first time he held Mia in his arms.

Every single time, he’d looked exactly like this.

Two lifetimes.

Nearly four thousand days and nights.

Countless memories flashed through my mind.

All the anger.

All the questions.

All the heartbreak.

In the end, they condensed into a single sentence.

“Caleb… why?”

He hesitated.

“Because…”

“Because of the fire thirteen years ago, right?”

I cut him off gently.

My eyes locked onto his.

The color drained from his face.

For a moment, disbelief flashed across his features, as if I’d violated some deeply guarded secret.

Then it was swallowed by anger.

“That’s right!”

His eyes reddened as he glared at me.

“Since you already know, there’s no point hiding it anymore!”

“Everything I’ve done was because Kaylee saved my life thirteen years ago. A real man should know how to repay his debts. She saved me, and I owed her. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong!”

I stared at him.

Then I laughed.

A short, bitter laugh.

The more I laughed, the more my chest hurt.

“Nothing wrong?”

My voice trembled.

“Caleb, you schemed against me for years. You faked your own death. You manipulated me, my parents, and even your own daughter.”

“And you’re standing here telling me you’ve done nothing wrong?”

“No one would’ve stopped you from repaying a debt.”

“But you don’t get to drag innocent people into hell just because you feel obligated to someone else.”

Then I took a slow breath.

“And another thing.”

I looked directly into his eyes.

“The person who saved you thirteen years ago was never Kaylee.”

“It was me.”

Caleb’s pupils dilated instantly.

He staggered forward.

“What are you talking about?”

His voice cracked.

“I saw Kaylee carry me out of that fire. You disappeared. You weren’t even there!”

Without saying a word, I rolled up the leg of my pants.

A large burn scar curved around the back of my knee.

The sight of it made my chest ache.

Looking back now, it was almost laughable.

We had been married for ten years.

From the outside, we looked like the perfect couple.

But the truth was that intimacy between us had been rare.

So rare that Caleb barely knew my body at all.

Which explained the shock on his face now.

That scar had come from the fire.

While carrying Caleb out of the burning building, I’d stepped on a flaming piece of timber.

A burning fragment had struck the back of my leg.

The scar never faded.

Back then, while drifting in and out of consciousness, Caleb had even tried to wipe the blood from the wound.

“Clara…”

His voice trembled.

“It was really you?”

Suddenly he dropped to one knee.

His hand wrapped around my ankle while the other reached toward the scar.

His fingers shook.

“It was you…”

Tears filled his eyes.

“It was really you.”

“But why weren’t you there afterward?”

“Why didn’t you come see me in the hospital?”

I stared at the man I’d loved for so many years.

Then I let out a long sigh.

“Caleb, I never wanted to use that fire to bind you to me.”

“I wanted us to be together because we loved each other.”

“But you…”

Smack.

Caleb suddenly slapped himself across the face.

Hard.

The force knocked him backward.

His body collapsed onto the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

Slowly, he lifted his head.

His eyes were bloodshot.

“I’m sorry, Clara.”

His voice broke into sobs.

“This is my fault.”

“I’m disgusting.”

“I’m a coward.”

“I’m a selfish piece of trash.”

Nearby, Eleanor stood frozen.

For a long time she didn’t move.

Then she finally walked toward me and grabbed my hand.

Tears streamed down her face.

“My dear…”

Her voice shook.

“You saved Caleb?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“For ten years you’ve suffered all this because of our family.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

I looked at her.

A bitter smile formed inside my heart.

Tell them?

Tell them what?

Should I have said:

I saved your son thirteen years ago, so you should treat me better?

Or:

Caleb, I was the one who saved you. Look, here’s the scar to prove it.

And then what?

Would Eleanor suddenly become the loving mother-in-law I’d always wanted?

Would Caleb suddenly shower me with affection?

Would that really be family?

Would that really be love?

Relationships built on gratitude always felt tainted somehow.

As if they could never stand fully in the light.

The shrill ringing of my phone shattered the silence.

It was the hospital.

Mia was hungry.

The nurses had bought her dinner, but she’d refused to eat.

She insisted on waiting for me.

The doctor chuckled as he told me how sweet and well-behaved she was.

Only I noticed what had changed.

Mia was five years old.

For the first time in her life, when she asked for someone…

She hadn’t asked for Caleb.

I turned and walked away.

A man quietly fell into step behind me.

And together, we left.