When She Rose From the Ashes

Chapter 19 The Real Reason

Chapter 19 The Real Reason

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She had been so full of ambition, so full of promise. That cufflink design held meaning and power. But now, if she could never pick up a pen again… then what?

Jensen instinctively reached for the sketch in his pocket, only to realize it was missing.

His chest tightened. A sharp pang ran through him.

A terrible thought came to him. He turned on his heel and rushed straight toward Sharon’s hospital room.

Inside, Sharon was tearing up the cufflink design with an expression twisted by rage. It was as if the paper in her hands wasn’t a drawing, but Natalie herself.

Jensen froze. His heart clenched tight.

“What are you doing?”

His voice was cold, cutting through the room like a blade.

Sharon jolted. She hadn’t expected him to come back so suddenly. Startled, she dropped the torn pieces immediately.

Even though the sketch had been ripped into several pieces, Jensen still recognized what it was. The lines. The details. The shape. It was Natalie’s design.

She had taken it. She had destroyed it.

And maybe that design–this very drawing–had been the reason Natalie’s hand was broken in the first place.

thought hit him like a jolt of electricity. His

have Clark destroy her hand?!

hands slapping against his arms in desperation, and she

her go, isn’t it? Jensen, you promised me. You said you’d stay with me. You said you’d be a good husband until I died. And now you’re strangling me over her? Don’t forget–you have my rib in your body! I’m dying anyway. Go ahead, choke me to death! Kill me if it’ll make your precious

hard. He pulled his hand away,

bed, gasping for breath, pale and trembling, but

parents, now you! And I’ve got cancer. I’m running out of time. I only asked for three months. Couldn’t you give me that? If I hadn’t given you that rib, my immune system wouldn’t have collapsed. I wouldn’t have gotten sick.

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19 The Real

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back and

went back on my word. I married you. I stayed. Why did

for your loyalty for the rest of your life? Shouldn’t that be enough?

absurd, but Jensen couldn’t find a way to

softened her tone and let

to her, I promise. Don’t be mad at me. Don’t abandon me.

Jensen closed his eyes.

this disappear. But you have to promise me–this is the last time. You’re never to lay a finger

I won’t go near her again.

going to

left the room

door closed behind him, Sharon’s entire expression

was the soft, tearful face. Her eyes turned sharp, cruel, and filled with venom. There wasn’t a trace

to the emergency

out on a gurney. She