Chapter 22
His chest shuddered as he watched her unconscious body going towards the floor.
He leapt forward and wrapped an arm around her waist before she went down. Pulling her to his chest, Hunter cupped her face as a serpent of regret coiled around his being
His throat felt dry and eyes hurt with heat of selfâreprimand as he observed her ghostly complexion. A tear left the corner of her eyes, which he picked on the pad of his finger while his chest grew heavy.
Her cheek was ghastly red, the imprint of his five thick fingers swelling on her white face. It felt like all the blood in her face accumulated in her cheek in the shape of a hand print. Hunter kept staring at it as he reflected back on his impulse.
He hit his wife. He raised his hands on a woman for the first time. That too⦠his wife.
While he was regretfully gawking at her red cheek, her head fell back, causing his breaths to falter. Gently, as though he was caring for a babyâs head, he picked hers in his hand and rested it on his chest.
Then carefully lifted her in his arms and took her inside her ward
(After a while)
Hunter sat in the stool, his eyes wavering, as he observed her face.
The doctor just left post examining her. Hunter received a handful of the doctorâs scolding for being careless with her. She was mad because Claireâs condition was frail
Since she was a female too, she didnât take it lightly that her patient passed our after being hit by her husband. Her first reaction to it was to ask him to get out of Claireâs ward.
âWhich husband raises their hands on their sick wife? Mr. Macintyre, firstly you donât care for her whether or not sheâs eating her food properly. Then you donât come to ask for her updates. Itâs beyond my understanding why would you even want to stay in her ward after treating her so coldly and hitting her out of anger?
âIf you insist on staying around her out of guilt then you shouldnât feel it. You wouldnât have struck her if she matters to you.â
The doctorâs words echoed in his head
The shocking part was that he didnât even know why he was not leaving her alone after slipping her.
ey were connected, by their hands, and
Itâs been over thirty minutes since he brought Claire to her ward He stared where they wondered why was he even sitting there?
Itâs not like he loved her!.
He wanted a divorce. He wanted her gone. But stil
still, he was sitting beside her while holding her hand.
Hunter reminisced about all the days he spent with her while pretending to be in love with her. She had been so happy, so vibrant, and so grateful. Her happiness in the two months of farce that they lived also made him believe they were a true lovely couple.
As he regarded her face now, a wave of selfâloathing crashed over him. She has changed. With the vibrancy gone from her face, she looked like a corpse. So pale, so colorless. Only the face of a corpse looks that way.
His gaze lowered to her mouth. On the corner that ripped open with the slap. Actually his wedding ring came in contact
Chapter 22
with her lip, opening it up. He remembered the trail of blood slipping down her chin and staining his shirt. He had been frightened. The sight of blood unfurled many fears in his heart,
Above all, what made his body crumple under the weight of selfâreprimand was the fact that he hit his wife,
Hunter brung his left hand in front of his eyes, Staring at it, he stared behind his hand at Claireâs face. Te kept switching his gaze from her face to his hand. One moment her eyes were close, the next moment they were looking at him.
His heart skipped beating when he saw her awake. Hunter wished to shift because spasms emerged in his body. But he couldnât do so as Claire beheld his gaze.
Seconds turned to minutes but none of them spoke. After what it felt like a millennial, she whispered as her eyes began to water again.
You hit me.â
Hunter felt the blood drain from his head so abruptly that the room swam before his eyes. He parted his lips like a goldfish, trying to say something. Not that he had anything to
âJust tell me one thing. Hunter. In the two years that we were together⦠No, two months. In the two months that we were together, did you feel even one bit of love for me?â
He was tongueâtied. The guilt ate his insides as he saw her mouth bleed from all the speaking.
When he was finally able to say
mething, she said with a dry chuckle, âWhat am I asking? And to whom? Certainly all that you ever felt is nauseated. I shouldnât have asked.â
More and more tears emerged in her eyes. Hunter felt a need to wipe them away. But since she cast her eyes away, she seemed to have gone far away from him. So close yet so far to touch.
âIâm sorry that I happened. Iâm sorry that our marriage happened. Iâm sorry for everything. But know that itâs not going to last any longer and make it difficult for you.â
Those were the last words from Claire. After that, she asked him to leave her alone and he quietly did. No sorry, no thank you. He said nothing! Hunter felt obliged to give her peace by leaving her alone.
He came back to Zaraâs ward. She was fast asleep when he walked in. The wounds caused by Claire were cleaned and treated. Staring at her, Hunter dragged in deep breaths
Although Zara looked sicker than his wife, he couldnât feel attached to her injuries. She was a victim of a bigger physical torment and still his mind wandered back to his wife. Hunter gawked at his hand that he used to slap her.
Night crept in and he didnât leave Zaraâs ward. She was still asleep. Hunter was sitting on the couch, looking sightlessly upon the ceiling when Cole entered.
He took a seat by his feet and looked at his friend. Hunter hated this silence between them. After what he did to Claire, he was expecting backlash from his best friend. Nevertheless, it never came.
In fact this was the first time Cole was showing his face after he was asked to leave him and Claire alone for a talk.
âCongratulations.â Hunter stared at Cole.
He did want Cole to speak. This was far from what he was expecting though.
âYour wife has signed the divorce papers.â
Lead settled in Hunterâs chest. He found breathing difficult as he observed Cole withdraw an envelope from his jacket.
âClaire summoned your lawyer with the new copy of your divorce papers. She signed themâ As the envelope was handed to
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him, Hunterâs throat ached from his attempt to keep breathing
He hesitantly opened the papers. Seeing her signature made a wave of indecipherable emotions pass through his boily.
He noticed that her signature was rather scribbled on the papers Instantly the image of Claire shaking as she cried while signing the papers slammed into his awareness.
âYou should have slapped her earlier, you know. That way you could have avoided creating warâlike tension between wife and girlfriend Cole said rather mockingly.
your
Hunter rose on his feet. His body language specified his intention. Before he made a move to get out and go to Claire, Cole made a revelation that froze him in disbelief.
*Claire is gone.
Hunter stood rigidly as if rods were installed in his body.
âShe left a message for you,â As Cole stated that Hunter held his breath. âShe said that you won. You managed to make her divorce you. You are free from her, and her imposing love. She will no longer bother you now. Enjoy your freedom.â
By the time he finished it. Hunterâs face was colorless. Even if he was feeling something, it didnât reflect on his face.
He just nodded and said, âWill you stay here for a while? I need to go to have a word with Zaraâs doctor?â
He didnât wait for Coleâs reply and came out of the room. Hunter slumped by the closed door and released the breath he was. holding.
His rigid jaw loosened as a wave of unknown emotion washed over him.
You are free from her, and her imposing love. She will no longer bother you now. Enjoy your freedom.
The words played in his mind.
He thought, âWhy do I feel like my soul is tearing apart? Why was my heart beating so fast when Cole repeated her words? 1 should be happy that she agreed to leave me. Then why am I feeling like Iâm being abandoned? This doesnât feel like freedom. Whyâs that? Why does my chest ache so much? What is this feeling?â
The
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