The doctor’s calm voice broke through Neil’s daze, saying it was just blood loss. That was enough for Neil to jolt into action and order the staff to place Adrian on a gurney.

What had Adrian been doing in the back seat to make things this bad?

The bandage on his arm was drenched in red, proof that the wound had opened again. It amazed Neil that Adrian had stayed on his feet long enough to walk Sophie to her ward before collapsing.

A nurse came running. “The gentleman is holding on too tightly! We can’t separate them!”

Neil’s eyes fell on Adrian’s hand locked tightly around Sophie’s. The two nurses struggled to pry it open, yet his grip held firm. Unconscious as he was, Adrian still clung as though someone might steal Sophie away.

Neil’s chest tightened at the sight. To him, the story of Adrian and his wife carried more heart than anything television could offer.

Neil gave up trying to pull them apart. He cleared the room of bystanders and called for the hospital’s best surgeons to operate right there.

When Sophie’s eyes fluttered open, a pale ceiling greeted her. Bright lights shone overhead, and the room smelled crisp and clean.

This was nothing like the dark, suffocating place where she had been taken.

She jerked upright, only to feel a gentle tug at her hand. Her gaze landed on Adrian, seated by her bed with his arm bandaged and resting in a sling.

The sight of him brought everything flooding back.

In her mind, she saw the moment before she blacked out—Adrian appearing in the basement as if he had descended from the heavens. Under the threat of the traffickers’ guns, he fired back and dropped them one after another.

The very last thing she remembered was his arms around her and his vow to bring her home.

At first, she believed it was just the fantasy of a dying mind. However, everything had truly happened.

Sophie’s sudden motion tugged on Adrian’s hand and jolted him awake.

His head snapped toward the bed, and his eyes locked with Sophie’s. “Sophie! You’re awake! How do you feel? Does anything hurt?”

The questions tumbled out of him in a rush, but she stayed silent. He realized Sophie was just staring at him.

Her lips moved like she was about to speak, but tears streamed down her face before she could form a single word.

Adrian thought the fear still clung to her from the kidnapping, so he moved quickly to soothe her. “Everything’s fine now. We’re safe. You’re in a hospital. I’m right here, so there’s no need to be scared.”

Her blurred vision focused on him as Sophie asked, “Adrian, why are you here?”

With his left arm bound in a sling, Adrian reached for a tissue using his free hand and brushed away her tears with care. “I’m here because you’re here.”

Sophie’s sobs only grew harder at his words. “But… but weren’t we about to get divorced?”

The moment those words escaped, the room seemed to go still. It felt as if the air had turned cold, heavy with the threat of a brewing storm.

Out of nowhere, something cold was shoved into her palm. Her eyes dropped in shock, and a scream tore out as she tried to fling it away.

It was a polished black gun glinting under the light.

The weapon never left her hand. Adrian kept his grip steady, ignoring her cries, and forced her trembling fingers to lift it. A click echoed as he loaded a round and pressed the muzzle against his own forehead.

Sophie’s strength vanished in an instant, leaving the gun heavy in her grasp. She tried to throw it aside, but Adrian held her hand firm, guiding even her fingers to rest against the trigger.

Tears spilling, Sophie shouted, “No! Stop it! Adrian, let me go!”

Adrian’s gaze fixed on her, deep and dangerous, like a storm ready to pull her under. Madness swirled in those eyes, dark and unyielding. “If you want this divorce, then end it now. Pull the trigger.”

Color drained from Sophie’s face as she shook her head in terror.

Adrian’s lips curved into a calm, unsettling smile. “Take your time and think carefully. You won’t get another chance. If you back down now, the only way you’ll ever leave me is if I’m dead.”

Her sobs grew desperate as Sophie shouted, “No! I don’t want a divorce! We won’t divorce!”

The gun slipped from her grip and hit the floor, discharging with a thunderous crack.

Doctors and nurses rushed toward the room, but the bodyguards at the door held them back.

The shot made Sophie’s chest tighten as if her heart had leapt into her throat.

Before the sound even faded, Adrian had pulled her into a fierce embrace.

His voice was deep, almost a growl. “Sophie, don’t ever leave me again.”

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