After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage novel Chapter 106

As those words hung in the air, Nolan suddenly appeared beside them.

He grabbed Aurelia's arm furiously, his eyes blazing.

"Aurelia, can't you behave yourself for one moment? What right do you have to throw away the ring I gave Evangeline?"

Aurelia looked directly into his eyes and noticed something unexpected amid his anger—a glimmer of hope.

Could it be that he wished she had thrown away Evangeline's ring out of jealousy?

A wave of bitterness washed over her heart, but she forced herself to smile.

"Why would I throw away a meaningless ring? To me, it's worth less than the cash you throw at me."

Nolan's eyes instantly turned cold and merciless. He shoved her violently into the lake with a loud splash, followed by her startled cry, but he had already turned away without a second glance.

"I don't care how you do it—just bring that ring back！"

With that, he took Evangeline's hand and hurried away without hesitation.It was the dead of winter, shortly after a snowfall, and brutally cold.

Ice floes dotted the lake's surface—the mere sight of them was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

Submerged in the water, Aurelia felt her body nearly seize up from the bone-chilling cold. The muddy bottom concealed sharp fragments that sliced into her feet, drawing blood.

She bit her lip, diving down repeatedly, then surfacing for air, only to dive again.

She searched mechanically throughout the night until blood stained large patches of the water's surface. Finally, she found the ring at the bottom of the lake.

When she appeared before Nolan, wounded and bedraggled, he furrowed his brow, coldly pulled out a stack of bills from his pocket, and tossed them at her feet without emotion.

As always, she took the money and left in silence.

In the days that followed, Nolan surprisingly didn't give her any trouble.

Until one day, as she returned from an errand, she stepped out of her car to see the entire Creed mansion engulfed in rolling clouds of smoke.

A terrible premonition seized her—Nolan was in danger!The thought had barely registered before she was rushing toward the flames.

Nolan valued his privacy, so the household staff only came to clean when he was away.

He had been home for days, which meant he was the only person in the entire house!

Familiar with the layout, she quickly found Nolan unconscious in his bedroom.

The fire had spread with alarming speed. He must have taken sleeping pills to rest, leaving him trapped and overcome by smoke before he could react.

She struggled to lift his entire weight onto her shoulders, inching painfully toward the exit.

When he learned that Evangeline had risked her life to save him, his treatment of her became even more enviable, granting her every wish.

Their intimate encounters grew more frequent. Standing guard outside their room, Aurelia clearly heard their passionate moments and the sweet words he whispered to her.

She thought perhaps Nolan had genuinely fallen in love with Evangeline.That was for the best. He deserved to find true happiness.

As for herself, she was like a sewer rat, lurking in the darkness, watching others' happiness from afar.

The wounds on her back still throbbed with pain. She could only tend to them herself when no one was looking.

One day, as usual, she hid in her small room, removing her coat to apply medicine to her wounds when the door suddenly opened.

It was Nolan.

His gaze fell on the grotesque burns covering her back, and his eyes instantly reddened.

He approached her step by step, his voice trembling.

"How did you get these burns?"

"Was it you who saved me that day?"