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Chapter 220
Audrey’s POV
I paused at Blake’s question, moonlight casting strange shadows across his face through the broken windows.
“Because I used to live here,” I said. “I worked here too.”
I stepped over fallen debris, my hand reaching for a light switch before remembering there was no electricity. The demolition had left the clinic barely recognizable, but I still knew every corner.
“The nursing skills I used for William,” I continued, “I learned them here.”
Blake followed behind me, his phone flashlight creating dancing shadows. “How come you never mentioned this place before?”
“Because I didn’t think it was necessary,” I said after a pause. “You wouldn’t have cared to know.”
“If it’s a place that holds special meaning for you, I might be interested,” he said, his voice softer than usual. A place important enough that after arguing with Victoria, you’d come here instead of going home… it must mean something to you.”
I stopped at the receptionist desk, running my fingers over the water–damaged surface. “Yes, it has special meaning to me,
But it seems only to me, I thought. The man who once promised to see me first when his eyes healed, who promised to take me places I’d never been – he forgot everything about this place. About us.
Same clinic, same man with me. But five years later, everything was different.
‘Would you tell me about it?” Blake asked.
I turned to him, my expression hardening. “No. You don’t have the right.”
Blake’s face darkened immediately. “I don’t have the right? Then who does?”
I tilted my head, studying the blue–black shadows under his eyes. A flicker of satisfaction ran through me at his obvious displeasure.
“Many people have the right,” I said. “Astrid, Felix, James, or even Ethan… Even your Miss Rose has more right than you do.”
I stopped walking, turning to face him. “But you? You have no right at all.”
Blake doesn’t have amnesia, I’m sure of it. Any man with his resources could have easily tracked down the hospital where he recovered, the people who cared for him. Five years gone. Three years as his wife. Not once did he mention what happened back then. Not once did he try to find me.
And now? Looking at him standing here, it’s obvious this is his first time seeing this clinic since they took him away. He chose to forget this place. Chose not to search. So why should I be the one to resurrect ghosts he deliberately buried? He hasn’t earned the right to my memories..
“Why?” Blake demanded, his voice echoing against the bare walls. “Anyone can know except me?”
“That’s right,” I said. “Someone who shows no gratitude, who refuses to honor his promises – that person has no right to know my story.”
Blake grabbed my wrist. “Who are you saying has no gratitude? Who doesn’t honor promises?”
I looked at his hand, then back at his face. “As if you don’t know what you’ve done.”
I yanked my arm free and shoved his hand away. A cold smile curved my lips as I stepped back.
Blake stared at me, his eyes filled with an icy fury. “Audrey Sinclair, don’t forget what you still owe me. Remember what you promised in that hospital
stairwell.”
My mind flashed back to that night – Blake helping me save Ethan, our deal in the stairwell. I’d promised to spend the night with him if he helped rescue
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Chapter 220
Ethan from those thugs.
So that’s why you chased me all the way out here,” I said with a laugh. “Your Miss Rose hasn’t been satisfying you lately, so you’ve come to collect on MY promise?”
Blake remained silent, his face unreadable in the shadows.
I slipped off my jacket and tossed it to the dusty floor. “Planning to start here in this creepy place? I don’t mind. But I wonder if someone as pampered as you can handle these conditions.”
*Funny how life works. Five years ago, this clinic is where it all started with Blake. Where I first felt that dangerous flutter in my chest watching him sleep.
Now everything’s changed, but if he wants me here, in this broken place… why not? I only had two months, so it’ll probably be our last time. Starting where we began, ending where we started.
Blake stayed silent, then slowly removed his suit jacket. I started unbuttoning my blouse, but his hand caught mine. Instead, he draped his jacket around my shoulders.
‘I’m not so desperate that I’d eat just anywhere,” he said flatly.
I stood frozen, his jacket warm and heavy, the scent of him surrounding me. The situation had shifted so unexpectedly that I couldn’t find words.
Blake picked up my discarded jacket, dusted it off, and laid it across the broken concrete steps. He gestured for me to sit.
“Let’s make another deal,” he said.
“What kind of deal now?”
“The Original Studio jewelry designs,” he said, settling beside me. “I don’t mind that you’re using Rachel Hayes‘ name. I’m willing to continue our collaboration.”
The moonlight caught his profile. “In exchange, tell me what happened here.”
I studied his face. After everything, why would he care about this abandoned place? About my past?
Still, the project was too important to ignore. With only two months left, seeing my designs realized was one of my few remaining goals.
I sighed. “I once had a man I really liked.”
‘I met him here,” I continued. “Five years ago, when I was working part–time, I rescued him and became his caretaker. During that time, I liked him, and he liked me too.”
I smiled bitterly at the memory.
Blake’s voice cut through the silence. “I thought you said you liked me.”
‘Is there a rule saying you can only like one person in your lifetime?” I shot back. “I liked him first, then you later. Is that not allowed?”
Blake’s expression hardened, “So your feelings for your first love only lasted two years?”
I pulled his jacket tighter as a cool breeze swept through the broken windows.
“He abandoned me,” I said simply. “Should I have spent my entire life holding onto those feelings?”
“He abandoned you?” Blake’s voice held a strange note of disbelief.
“Yes. We weren’t from the same world.” I looked up at the broken ceiling. His family eventually found him and took him away. I ran after his car, screaming his name, but he never asked them to stop/He just… left my world.”
Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO
Chapter 221
