My Pain Came Back Once They Betrayed Me Chapter 06

My Pain Came Back Once They Betrayed Me Chapter 06

She jabbed a finger at Mom, screaming at the top of her lungs. “You only had her because I disappeared! Now that I’m back, you’re all perfectly fine letting Bella die!”

Mom’s face twisted in sorrow and exhaustion, and she sighed deeply. “Zora, don’t carry on like this. I was already six months pregnant with Bella when you went missing.”

“We rushed around the country searching for you nonstop, and the stress sent Bella into premature labor. She was frail from birth and barely survived. How could you do something this cruel to her now?”

“Haven’t we done everything possible over the years to make up for losing you?”

Mom stared at Zora, heartbroken. Zora clenched her fists tight, spun on her heel, and bolted out the front door.

Mom chased after her, and the entire Clark household descended into chaotic disarray.

Right then, Logan’s assistant called his cell phone.

“Mr. Ford, we’ve tracked down Miss Bella. She’s currently on an international flight overseas.”

“Get me the fastest available flight to her destination immediately.”

With that order, Logan strode out of the house without another word.

I didn’t see Logan again until a full month later.

I finished my shift at the research institute, picked up a pastry to take home, and found him waiting outside my apartment building.

He’d changed into new clothes and gotten a fresh haircut, yet exhaustion clung to every line of his face.

The second he spotted me, he hurried forward. “Bella, I’ve been in this country for a whole month searching for you.”

When he lifted his arms to pull me into a hug, I stepped back instinctively, keeping my distance.

My cold detachment left Logan’s mouth hanging open, defeated. “Bella, come home with me. Our engagement’s stood for years—we’re supposed to get married.”

I let out a quiet, hollow laugh as I met his eyes. “Married? It sounds to me like you’re far fonder of my sister Zora. Our engagement was only a corporate alliance from the start. You two make a much better match.”

Logan stared at me like a small boy overwhelmed with guilt. “Bella, I know I messed up everything, but please believe me—I’ve never held romantic feelings for Zora.”

“I was only gentle with her because she’d just returned to the family and endured crippling hyperalgesia. I pitied her, that was all. You’ve always been the only person I love.”

“Even if our bond began as a business arrangement, I only ever wanted to marry you.”

I gave him a cold scoff, said nothing, and turned to walk into my apartment building.

That night, I glanced down from my window and saw Logan standing on the sidewalk beneath my unit all night long.

The next morning when I left the building, he hadn’t moved an inch. I spared him one brief glance and walked past him without breaking my stride.

That same evening, he moved into the apartment directly across from mine.

The instant he heard my key turn in the lock, he’d rush out with an overly bright, warm greeting every single time.

All he ever received in return was my silence and a firm slam of my front door.

When I fled overseas, I’d blocked every single contact belonging to the Clark family. I had zero intention of ever going back.

I’d studied medicine throughout college, and after personally living through my rare neurological disorder, the research institute’s work came naturally to me.

Logan’s sudden arrival disrupted my peaceful new life completely.

He’d somehow gotten my new phone number and passed it along to my parents. They kept switching to new numbers, calling nonstop to beg me to return home with him.

I never argued back—I simply blocked every number they used to reach me.

After dozens of ignored calls, Logan finally lost his composure and blocked my path, his eyes glistening red.

“Bella, must you be this unforgiving? I’m your fiancé, and they’re your own parents. Do you truly hate us all this deeply?”

I paused and fixed my gaze flatly on him. “Unforgiving?”

“When I got stabbed and bled out on the pavement, inches from death—were your hearts merciful then?”

“When you forced my face into spilled chicken noodle soup and ordered me to lick it off the floor, did any of you spare me an ounce of kindness?”

“When my body was still recovering from severe blood loss and you demanded six hundred milliliters more blood be drawn from me, did any of you soften even a little?”