Bound Hearts: My Vows to My Disabled Spouse

Chapter 154 Cody Tucker Showed Up

The tense air in the ward was thick with apprehension.

Mabel's wide-eyed fear was palpable as she beseeched Elyse, "Don't go, Elyse! Please! I'll die if you do!"

Theo, unmoved by their entreaties, kept his eyes shut. "Please leave," he intoned.

Eyes brimming with fierce determination, Elyse turned her frosty gaze on Theo, delivering a chilling ultimatum, "Theo, if you harm Mabel, I swear I won't rest until you pay for it." Her words hung heavy in the air as she took Jayden's hand and strode purposefully from the ward, leaving Theo alone with Mabel.

With Elyse's departure, Mabel's brave facade crumbled, leaving her quivering with fear. "Elyse, please don't go! Help me!" she wailed, her voice laced with desperation.

Theo, seething with annoyance at Mabel's incessant cries, snapped at one of the bodyguards in the ward, "Shut her up!"

The bodyguard swiftly silenced Mabel, stuffing a towel in her mouth, muffling her sobs and turning them into feeble, muffled whimpers.

As Elyse and Jayden walked through the hospital's garden, her footsteps faltered. She couldn't stop herself from glancing back towards the building, consumed by concern for Mabel.

Jayden, keenly perceptive to the unspoken worry gnawing at Elyse, offered a comforting yet resolute observation. "Theo is using Mabel as leverage to keep you tethered to him. He's not letting go."

Elyse shook her head, a look of disbelief etched on her face. "He's clinging onto a fantasy," she said, the scorn in her voice unmistakable. "There's no future for me and him. We don't belong together. Can't he just accept it and move on?"

Jayden, sensing the gravity of the situation, turned to Elyse with a decisive air. "We should head back. He's not going to let her go."

Elyse, her lips pressed into a thin, grim line, nodded in agreement.

The moment they stepped back through the front door of Jayden's home, the phone rang.

Glenda's anxious voice poured through the receiver, her distress palpable. "Elyse, Theo called me.

was driving him crazy. I'm worried sick here. You're on good terms with

frustration. "I just spoke with Theo," she countered, her tone edged with skepticism. "I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't budge. Let's give it a few days and see what he

presence in the room had gone unnoticed until his sudden outburst. "Useless! Always running off and causing trouble!" he fumed, his voice cracking with rage. "I warned her about Theo, but she just had to stir things

of listening to Lanny and Glenda argue, Elyse hung up the

saw Jayden's playful smile, she

only broadened, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Oh,

into a scowl of annoyance. "Seriously? Don't even suggest that," she shot back, rolling her

his teasing, Elyse realized he didn't hate

his intentions shrouded in mystery. Resigned to this new normal,

The space teemed with fellow musicians, all peering out toward the stage in eager anticipation. Amidst the flurry of nervous chatter and the hum of tuning instruments,

for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter

anticipation as Elyse watched the piano auditions unfold on

of her own violin

attention strayed to the rear of the hall, where, in the last row, she spotted a familiar

the audience, a sudden

face to face with Rebekah,

her voice dripping with venom.

over Elyse with thinly veiled contempt.

first place, huh?" wall

the smile fading from her lips. She knew all too well the futility of trying to project any

Elyse retorted, her voice edged with quiet defiance. "But at least I won't be getting there by performing

twice to remain in the competition after her

chances this round. You get weeded out, you're out for good. So if you want to keep your spot, you better practice

over, her resentment seething through

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