Chapter 7
After speaking, I opened the door, and William stepped outside, Bailey happily wagging his tail beside him. Elijah and Alex froze, taking in the sight, but suddenly rushed forward, gripping my shoulders in desperation.
“Nina, I know you‘ re angry, but this is all just to get back at us, right?” Elijah‘ s voice was almost pleading. “I get it was a rash decision, but that doesn’t matter. Just get a divorce now, and we’ll take you home.”
They looked almost frantic, eyes red and desperate. I tried to shake them off, but suddenly, one of my shoulders was freed as Elijah crumpled to the ground, a thin trickle
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or blood appearing at the corner or nis mouth.
I immediately turned to William. “Are you okay? Did you hurt your hand?”
He gave me a reassuring smile, shaking his head, and pulled me close, his arms wrapping around me with a steady warmth. Then his expression shifted, and he looked firmly at the brothers.
“Nina’s my wife now,” he said, calm but unyielding. “Show her some respect.”
Seeing Elijah hit, Alex‘ s anger flared, and he charged forward, hand raised as if to strike. But before he could even touch William, William caught his wrist and twisted it back, almost to the point of dislocation.
Ah! Let go!” Alex yelped, struggling to free
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“Ah! Let go!” Alex yelped, struggling to free himself.
William released his grip, giving Alex a firm shove that sent him stumbling back, falling onto Elijah.
Elijah looked up at me, his face full of shock and disbelief.
“Nina, are you going to turn on us like this? All over some outsider?” His voice was filled with incredulity.
He started to say something else, but I cut
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him off, my tone low and steady. ‘Don’t
forget,‘ right?” I said, watching as he froze. “Don’t forget that you ‘saved me,‘ is that it?” I paused, letting the weight of my words sink in. “You always said you found me at the pavilion, but I was rescued from the
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Chapter 7 summit.
Elijah‘ s face went pale, caught off guard and completely speechless.
Yes, they may have brought me home, but they were never the ones who saved me.
Before going abroad, I had visited their grandfather. Though he was frail and struggling with dementia, he seemed to recognize me just enough to share fragments of the past. He rambled softly, slipping back into memories, and that’s when he
mentioned the avalanche from fifteen years
ago.
“That was a brutal winter,” he murmured, his voice weak with age. “Those two foolish grandsons wouldn’t listen and insist on going up the mountain to see the wild bears. So, I went after them. And that’s when I saw
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His gaze drifted as he recalled it. “Please watch her, the boy said to me while I went down to get help. But my grandsons, they saw how rosy–cheeked and sweet the little girl was and decided to bring her home as their little
sister.
He shook his head with a faint smile. “I
couldn’t say no to them. So I brought her down with us. I wonder whatever happened to that boy.”
I had nearly dropped the apple I was slicing, staring at him in shock as the pieces clicked together. I remembered how, every time I’d asked Elijah and Alex how they’d found me in the avalanche, they would grow silent, dodging the question.
Now, I understood.
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་དཔས, པ་མ་ ༦
about who had saved me.
Back in the present, seeing me turn to leave, Elijah panicked, dropping to his knees.
“Nina, please,” he pleaded, desperation clear in his voice. “I’m begging you, get a divorce. Let’s just forget the past, okay? We can start over.”
I didn’t respond, watching him with a calm resolve. Alex, still on the floor and struggling to catch his breath, crawled over and grabbed the hem of my pants, his eyes red and swollen.
“Yes, Nina,” he gasped. “We know we messed up. Please… don‘ t leave us.”
But the only thing I felt was irritation. I called for security to escort them out.
A
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cewind
the shouted
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But the only thing I felt was irritation. I called for security to escort them out.
As they were carried away, they shouted, undeterred, “Nina, we won’t give up on you!”
Finally, I turned back to William, who was watching me intently. His expression was thoughtful and hard to read.
After a long pause, he spoke quietly.
“You‘ re… that little girl from back then?”
I took his hand, my fingers brushing over the faint, old teeth marks on his skin.
Smiling, I replied, “How did it take you this long to figure that out?”
