After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage novel Chapter 25

Something about those last words carried a hint of... regret?

Elaine glanced up to catch Vivian's expression, but she had already turned away, head down.

She looked back at Alistair, who remained silent, not denying anything.For him, every day without Elaine had become unbearable.

"Your body, your choice," she finally said. "If you don't care enough to take care of yourself, nobody else can do it for you."

She stood to leave, but Vivian suddenly stepped forward. "I have some words."

When their eyes met, something in Vivian's gaze sent alarm bells ringing in Elaine's head.

"Elaine!"

A sharp cry was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

When she regained consciousness, Elaine found herself bound hand and foot, lying next to an unconscious Alistair in some dilapidated building.

The sharp smell of gasoline filled her nostrils. Looking for the source, she saw... Vivian.Her heart raced with panic. Beside her, Alistair was coming to, his face draining of color as he took in the situation. "Vivian, what the hell are you doing?"

Seeing them awake, Vivian didn't even try to hide her intentions. She looked at Alistair with a nearly hysterical smile.

"It's all because of you two that my life is so miserable! Alistair,If you didn't love me, why did you pursue me in the first place? Why did you throw me away just when I was about to have everything?"

As Vivian backed away, Elaine finally spoke, her voice tinged with bitter irony.With a bone-chilling laugh, Vivian threw the lighter in her hand.

In an instant, flames erupted everywhere.

The fire spread rapidly. Alistair instinctively tried to escape, but when he got to his feet, he saw Elaine still bound, coughing violently from the smoke, struggling to even stand.

His escape halted abruptly. He turned back, hands shaking as he tried to untie her ropes, but couldn't loosen the knots.

The decrepit building could no longer withstand the flames. It collapsed completely, swallowed by fire!

She stood there, bleeding but numb to her injuries, frozen in disbelief.

Alistair was dead.

He died saving her.

A light rain began to fall, but it couldn't extinguish the blaze.

He had hurt her so deeply, yet he chose to leave her this way—ensuring she could never forget him.

He was truly hateful, she thought.

The sun rose and set, and Elaine will rebuild the courage to keep going..The memory never faded completely, but with time, it became just one chapter in her story rather than the ending...