Chapter 8
288 Vouchers
“Apologize.”
Xavier kicked Noella’s waist. She screamed in pain, but he grabbed her hair and forced her face to the ground.
“Apologize to Estella and admit you deserve to die.”
Noella’s neck stiffened, her expression full of defiance.
Only when Xavier pressed a gun against her temple did she bend down.
She sobbed, banging her forehead against the ground hard enough to leave a bruise.
My mother rushed to me, crying.
“Estella, please forgive Noella! She’s been fragile since she was little.”
Before she could finish, Xavier struck her hard in the face with the gun.
Blood and shards of broken teeth scattered across the white sheets.
He sneered. “Weak? I think she’s tougher than you realize.”
I turned away from the farce, digging my nails deep into my palms.
Xavier grabbed my face and forced me to look at the three on the ground.
“Estella, see? They’re all begging for your forgiveness. As long as you say it, I’ll-”
“That’s enough!” I exploded, shaking off his hand with all my strength.
“Xavier, do you think this will fix anything? You killed our child and stole half my life. And now you put on this bloody show to ease your guilt?”
I grabbed a vase from the bedside table and smashed it at him. The shards cut his cheek.
“I never wanted them dead. I only wanted you to let me go!”
Xavier froze, rubbing his bleeding cheek.
Blood dripped onto the white sheets, leaving ugly stains.
His voice was broken and rough as if coming from deep inside.
“So, you’ll never forgive me?”
I turned away, digging my nails harder until I tasted blood.
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“Yes. Even if I die, I’ll never forgive you.
“Our child is gone forever. No matter how many people you kill, he won’t come back.
“Even if you die, I still won’t forgive you.”
Silence fell, and then a sudden clash of metal echoed.
I turned sharply and saw that Xavier had pulled out a gun.
The black barrel pointed at his chest.
Desperation and madness filled his eyes, tears mixed with blood running down his face.
“It turns out that I don’t even deserve to atone.”
“Xavier! You’re insane!”
I tried to get up and stop him, but my weak body pulled me back to the bed.
He forced a twisted smile and pulled the trigger.
His voice was soft, like a painful memory from the past.
“Estella, if it makes you feel better after I’m gone…‘
Bang!
The gunshot rang loud in my ears.
Xavier collapsed, blood spreading quickly on the carpet.
Still smiling, he weakly reached a bloody hand toward me.
“I came to atone for our child’s sins.”
When Xavier was rescued, the hospital was filled with the beeping of monitors and sirens.
After he woke up, I watched the police handcuff him and drag him from the bed.
The way he looked at me held regret and relief, but no hate.
I was the one who turned in all the proof of his illegal business to the police.
After all, he was the one responsible for my child’s death.
A month later, I stood at the prison’s visiting booth.
Xavier looked thinner, his prison uniform hanging loosely on his frame.
The gangster who once carried himself with pride now looked completely defeated.
He slid the signed divorce papers toward me.
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288 Vouchers
Chapter 8
288 (Vouchers
I picked them up and looked into his bloodshot eyes. For a moment, I felt distant and unreal about all our love and ha-
tred.
He smiled bitterly and leaned his forehead against the cold glass.
“I know I can never make it up to you.”
After a pause, he pulled out a lucky charm tied with a string and handed it to me through the glass.
“This was by your bedside when you were pregnant. I’ve kept it as a blessing for our baby.”
I didn’t take it. When I stepped out of the prison, sunlight warmed my face.
I felt like I could finally breathe again.
From the direction of the hospital, the sound of a newborn’s cry floated in the air.
In a trance, I saw a glimpse of my past self, who had once struggled desperately on the operating table, finally moving toward the light.
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