Chapter 8
The projector played the footage of Drew and Talia together on loop, repeatedly stabbing Vanessa’s
heart with Drew’s suspicions of her.
Then it showed newer footage: Drew cooking for Talia, his previous malice completely gone, his face
filled with smiles.
His eyes overflowed with tenderness and love when looking at Talia, just as he once looked at
Vanessa.
“Vanessa, when can I finally call you my wife?”
“Baby, I love you so much. Please say yes to my proposal.”
“Drew Blackstone loves Vanessa Foster for life. Anyone who dares hurt her will answer to me.”
“Sweetheart, my cooking skills are great. Your meals are all my responsibility now. Only you deserve
to eat what I make–not even my parents!”
“Honey, Talia saved you, which means she saved my life too. She’s an orphan anyway, so let’s take
care of her.”
“Of course my feelings for Talia are real. All she wants is a lasting marriage, and I can give her that.”
Drew’s words–his promises, his declarations, his deceptions–echoed in her ears, each one piercing
her eardrums like needles.
The loving man from her memories gradually separated from the Drew on the screen, slowly extracting himself from Vanessa’s heart.
Night fell completely.
She lay helplessly on the ground, allowing darkness and cold to consume her.
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Chapter 8
When she regained consciousness, she slowly dragged herself up. The dried blood beneath her formed a long trail as she moved.
Her abdomen had lost all sensation. She struggled to stand and make her way outside.
Warm sunlight poured down but failed to warm her frozen body and soul.
She eventually collapsed by the roadside and was taken to a hospital by strangers.
“Ms. Foster, your abdomen has suffered severe trauma. Your uterus is ruptured, and we need to remove the remaining tissue surgically,” the doctor explained.
Vanessa showed little emotional reaction to the news. After losing her baby, she had already accepted that she could never conceive again.
So be it.
At least she was still alive to leave Drew behind.
nt smoothly. After resting for four or five hours, Vanessa checked herself out of the
nt a new phone and contacted the housekeeper, learning Drew wasn’t at the mansion. She
arried back to collect her belongings.
Vanessa took only her mother’s keepsakes and her new identification documents. She sent the housekeeper away on an errand.
Taking a baseball bat, she smashed their jointly assembled Lego sets, the sofa they’d chosen
together, the TV they’d ordered together…
Vanessa used her last strength to destroy everything in the living room. Looking at the devastation,
she laughed–a desolate, heartbreaking sound.
Dropping the bat, Vanessa used lipstick to write two lines on the wall:
[Drew Blackstone, you once said a person who betrays true love should swallow ten thousand needles. Remember that?]
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Chapter 8
[Drew Blackstone, from this day forward, there is no more us.]
Then Vanessa left the mansion without looking back, abandoning everything between her and Drew
in the ruins.
She purchased tickets for all flights departing at the same time but actually went to the long–distance
bus station.
She would make sure Drew could never find her.
In this life or the next, they would never meet again!
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Chapter 9
