Rebirth after Betrayal
2210 Words
Nora pov:
Have you ever been betrayed by the person you trusted the most?
I'm going through it.
Two months ago, I was hospitalized with food poisoning, and my husband Derek left all his work to take care of me.
I thought it was his love for me and was very touched by it, but I didn't realize it was all a conspiracy between Derek and his lover.
I was not poisoned by food but by my husband, who imprisoned me and then tricked me into handing over the considerable inheritance my father had left me.
And, just recently, I learned a shocking secret.
My father's death was not an accident but also Derek's conspiracy.
Even the damage to my vocal cords, which prevented me from singing, was also related to Derek.
I tried to escape but was caught, and Derek no longer continued his disguise; he completely exposed his ugly face.
He forcibly tied me to the bed.
"Derek! You let go of me!" I yelled at Derek, my voice hoarse.
Instead of answering me, Derek walked over to the hospital bed and cupped my jaw with his hand.
Then in the gentlest of tones, he said the cruelest of words, "Honey, if you tell me now where the inheritance is, I'll consider keeping your body intact."
Derek's fingers were gently stroking my cheek as he spoke.
My body was trembling as if what was touching me at this moment was not a finger, but the tip of a sharp knife, which would pierce my skin and pierce into my flesh and blood if he used just a bit of force.
"You devil!" And my voice trembled, a fear born of survival instincts, but more than that, it was anger!
A cruel smile appeared on Derek's face, and then he said, "Demon is such a hard word, but I don't blame you. Actually, I don't want to kill you, but you're very disobedient. You know too many things; I have to kill you!"
"In fact, your father didn't trust me from the beginning, so he kept blocking us from being together and even forced you to marry another man. It's just that Nora, you were really too stupid to trust me. Luckily you were stupid enough!"
"Maybe, you should remember Richard, the man who lost a leg for you. You know what? I ran into him the other day. I told him you were terminally ill and needed a heart transplant, and guess what, he'd die for you? Hahahahaha," Derek said and started laughing.
"No! You can't hurt Richard, you can't!"
"Now you know how to feel about that man?" Derek's tone was full of mockery.
"I don't have anything to do with Richard anymore; this is between us, don't involve anyone else!" I said.
"Don't worry; I won't hurt that cripple until I get my inheritance! He is no longer a match for me! I will only use your death to torture him slowly! I want everyone to see Richard, who was once as honored as a king, end up living like a beggar." His laughter irritated my eardrums, and the pain spread to the bottom of my heart.
My mind kept flashing back to my father and Richard, the man I had hurt so badly.
I did make a mistake in loving the wrong person and believing in the wrong person.
I looked again at Derek, who was so proud of himself, and my anger was like a burning fire, completely taking over my brain.
But I struggled with all my strength but to no avail.
Derek's smile was more than a little sarcastic; he said: "Honey, do not get irritated, don't worry, I have chosen a cemetery for you, right next to your father's grave. This way, you can still be reunited when you go to the other side. You know what, I watched him die a little bit, and before he died, he was calling your name."
"You devil! Why! Why did you do this! My father trusted you so much and gave you the best of his resources! Why did you kill him!" I hissed at him.
"Was he friendly to me? How could a rich, arrogant man like your father really respect me! He had nothing but disdain for me. He despised me from the bottom of his heart! But I don't care what he thinks of me; I've waited over twenty years for this moment! When I was very young, the seed of hatred took root in my heart!"
Derek was emotional: "In fact, from the beginning, I was deliberately close to you; my purpose is to destroy your father and you! Just like your father destroyed my family and me!"
"Did my father destroy you and your family?" I questioned again; I really didn't understand why Derek had so much hate for us.
"I can't believe you didn't know? That's right, how could your father have told you those ugly things. Your father drove the car that hit the man first, but let my father take the blame and go to jail. My innocent father became your father's scapegoat. He died in prison, my mother committed suicide by depression, and I was sent to an orphanage. While you were enjoying a good life, I had to be an orphan and carry the reputation of being a murderer, for what?"
Derek's emotions grew more and more agitated, almost frantic.
"My father never did that! I know that accident! I was in the car, and I witnessed everything! It was your father ......" I retorted excitedly.
"You shut up! You're your father's accomplice; you're the one who identified my father in court! You're a liar!" Derek yelled.
"I'm not lying; I'm just telling the truth! I ......"
"SMACK!"
I was slapped hard by Derek before I finished my words.
He used a lot of force, and I immediately just felt my brain very dizzy; in the dizziest moment, what came to my mind, surprisingly, was the image of Derek carrying me once.
That day, I wore a new pair of high heels to be beautiful for my date with him, my shoes skinned my feet, and Derek carried me down the hill.
At that time, the sun was gradually setting from the west, and the sky was filled with colorful hues, beautiful.
The wind in the evening was very gentle.
His voice was also very gentle; he said he couldn't hurt me; he said he would make me happy for the rest of my life.
And at this time, a sharp pain came from my cheek, a taste of blood spread in the mouth.
The pain in my body is not comparable to the pain in my heart at this moment.
Because I really loved the man in front of me.
I gave up almost everything to love him, but he wanted to destroy me.
How much love I once had, how desperate I am at this moment, how hard it is.
But I no longer wanted to show vulnerability in front of this man, and I forced myself not to shed tears.
At that moment, I faintly heard the door open, and then a familiar woman's voice came: "Derek, Honey, are you done yet? I've got the restaurant all set."
Derek responded, "Hold on, give me two more minutes."
He re-cupped my jaw, and I heard him whisper, "Congratulations, you have a few more hours to live; I'm going out for dinner. We'll continue to work things out between us when I get back."
Derek finished his words and drew back his hand, then wiped his hand repeatedly with a handkerchief, a look of disgust on his face.
I looked away, not continuing to look at him.
I listened to the sound of footsteps walking a little further away and heard the click-click-click as Derek unlocked the door.
Inside the ward, I was left alone, and the emotions I was holding back finally had a chance to be released.
I thought I would bawl, but I didn't. My eyes felt sore, but I couldn't shed a single tear.
It's over; it's all over.
I took out a lighter from my pocket with difficulty.
In fact, one of my hands was already free from bondage, but I deliberately concealed it.
I didn't choose to live, but I could choose how to die.
Derek's most wanted inheritance will disappear with my death, and he will not get a single penny.
Before he caught me, I had already entrusted my father's most trusted subordinate with the entire inheritance. I asked him to give it to my ex-husband, Richard, in a few days.
Perhaps you may ask why I didn't just go to Richard.
No, it was no longer possible for me to go to him because I did too many things that hurt him when I was with Derek.
It was no longer possible for me to see him and keep him involved in Derek's crazy schemes.
I turned on the lighter and then threw it hard at the curtain. The tiny flame instantly ignited the curtain, and the fire gradually grew bigger.
Just as I was closing my eyes in despair and quietly awaiting my fate, a familiar call came from a voice: "Nora!"
This voice was particularly familiar, and a person's figure came to my mind.
No, it couldn't be him.
The voice sounded again, "Nora!"
Before I could dismiss my thoughts, there was a knock on the door.
It was really him, Richard!
"Nora, are you okay?"
Richard's gentle voice made my nose sour even more.
At such a moment, the only person who can still come to me and treat me so tenderly is him.
The emotion was only fleeting, and soon my sanity returned. I had already done too much damage to him, and I could not continue to do him harm at the end of my life.
Just as I was about to say something to expel him, the door was already smashed open by him.
The moment I saw him, my tears had completely lost control.
"Nora, don't be afraid; I'll take you away." He whispered in my ear.
"How could you be so stupid! You shouldn't have come here!" I cried.
"Everything will pass. I'll take you home." Richard's voice trembled as he tried to untie the ropes trapping me.
With his efforts, the ropes trapping my upper body had been untied.
"I'm taking you home. ......"
Go home? Can I go back?
Maybe, with Richard around, I can still go back?
My heart, which had been entirely desperate, was sparked with a glimmer of hope.
Maybe ...... everything can still go back, maybe everything will be okay.
But reality told me that it was too late.
As the wood from the ceiling came crashing down on me, Richard lunged at me.
Richard died on top of me when a sharp piece of wood fell and pierced into his chest.
Before he died, he said, "I'm sorry for not protecting you."
He was still protecting me until his death.
I hugged him tightly and finally could no longer restrain my emotions; tears flowed uncontrollably and wildly.
The only person who loved me has died; he did not know until his death, I regret.
Regret that I should not have set the fire; regret that I should not have fallen in love with the devil; regret that I should not have hurt him and left him ......
Someone outside the door is shouting, "Is anyone in there? Is anyone alive?"
Is it the rescue team coming?
Richard gave his life, for me, a possibility of survival.
But I don't want to live anymore.
Richard, I'm sorry I failed you once again.
If I could do it all over again, I would love you well.
I hugged Richard tightly and then waited for death.
My consciousness gradually became blurred, and after a sharp pain, I felt a white light appear before my eyes.
In this instant, I felt as if my consciousness was floating in mid-air, and images flashed around me like a movie playing.
And all the developments in those images were going in the opposite direction.
The clock began to reverse; the withered flowers bloomed, turned into tender seedlings, and eventually burrowed back into the soil.
The vehicles that had already set off were going backward......
Until my consciousness drifted further and further away and eventually fell into a dark cave, darkness was all around, and I was utterly unconscious.
......
I don't know how long it took before my eyes slowly opened and I found myself lying in a room.
A rescue team rescued me? Am I alive?
I sat up from the bed, the room was a mess, and the bed, I was not wearing a piece of clothing.
This scene, so familiar ......
I suddenly realized something, couldn't care less about getting dressed, and immediately went to check the time; it was now October 8, 2016.
Did I go back in time?
This is incredible! Is it a dream?
Just when I doubted all this, a tingling pain came from my wrist; it was so real!
It's like I've really gone back in time!
- Writer
