Liam had no idea how to convince her. Watching her tears fall made sothing twist painfully inside him. All he wanted was to take away her suffering, even if it ant defying Nathaniel.
"What do you want to do?" he asked softly.
"Help leave this place," she replied, her voice flat and tired.
He hesitated again. He knew Nathaniel would never allow her to disappear from his life. "Zara... think about this carefully. Why don’t you talk to him before making such a big decision? Give yourself ti. Don’t rush. You might regret it later."
Zara’s hand instinctively moved to her stomach. She had planned to leave without telling Nathaniel anything about the baby. But after learning the truth, doubt crept in.
Was she doing the right thing?
Zane’s innocent smile suddenly flashed through her mind, and her determination faltered. That child was innocent in all of this. If she vanished without a word, it would break his heart. She couldn’t do that to him.
But her anger toward Nathaniel still burned fiercely. Forgiveness wasn’t sothing she could offer so easily.
"Please, Zara," Liam pleaded. "Don’t go. Let help you rebuild everything."
After a long pause, she finally sighed. "Fine... I won’t leave. But I’m not forgiving him. And I’m not happy with you either."
Liam’s face drained of color.
"You knew the truth but never told ," she said, pain sharpening her tone. "I trusted you, Liam. And you broke that trust."
"I—"
"You and Nathaniel... both of you deceived ."
"No, that’s not—" Liam shook his head desperately.
"You toyed with my emotions," she cut him short. "Was that amusing to you?"
Liam shook his head again, this ti even more desperately. Guilt tightened in his chest. "I wanted to tell you everything, I swear... but then I suddenly heard about Nathaniel’s accident, and—"
"Accident?" Zara’s heart plumted to the pit of her stomach. "He was in an accident?"
"He..."
"And you are only telling now?" she cut him off sharply. At that mont, everything clicked. She realized why Nathaniel hadn’t shown up. Everyone had lied to her that he was on a business trip.
The thought of him being hurt sent a jolt of fear through her. Her anger dissolved instantly, replaced by overwhelming worry.
"All of you lied to – saying he was away for work," she exclaid, almost choking with emotion. "But he was actually injured? Why didn’t anyone tell ?"
"He is fine."
"Fine? He has been gone for days, and you still call that he is fine?"
"He is busy dealing with Zachary," Liam explained gently. "He’ll co back soon. Please don’t worry."
Zara lifted a hand, stopping him mid-sentence. "I’m exhausted," she said flatly. She didn’t want to hear more. Her mind and heart were already overwheld. "I want to rest."
Liam felt his stomach twist at the cold dismissal. He wanted to stay, to explain, to comfort her. But he knew nothing he said would fix the hurt inside her. Only Nathaniel could do that.
"Take rest," he said quietly, rising from the chair. "I’ll co later."
The mont the door clicked shut behind Liam, Zara pressed her face into the pillow and burst into tears.
Bree arrived at that very mont with a lunch box in hand. She spotted Liam walking out and greeted him with a bright smile, but he strode past her without even a glance, his face dark and tense. Her smile froze, draining into worry.
"What happened?" she murmured, watching him disappear down the corridor. "Is everything okay with Zara?"
The unease in her chest grew stronger as she hurried into the room.
Inside, she found Zara crying uncontrollably. Bree’s heart dropped.
"Zara!" she rushed to her side, setting the lunch box aside. "Why are you crying? Did he say sothing?"
Zara lifted her tear-streaked face. "It’s Nathaniel," she whispered brokenly. "He lied to ."
"What?" Bree’s brows knitted, irritation flaring. "What did that man do now?"
Zara recounted everything Liam had revealed. By the ti she finished, she was sobbing again, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "He didn’t tell anything... He just pushed away. Did he not trust at all?"
Bree was at a loss for words. She had always viewed Nathaniel as cold, uncaring, harsh, even. But the truth overturned her assumptions. His intentions might have been good, but his choices had deeply wounded Zara.
"I was trying to help him," Zara choked out. "I didn’t think twice before rushing to the hospital to save his mother. I was determined to expose Riya. Couldn’t he see what I did for him? Why hide everything from ?"
"Zara, stop crying." Bree hugged her. "Calm down. You are still weak. You should think about the baby in your womb. Okay? Stop thinking about Nathaniel. That fool should learn his lesson. Don’t forgive him easily. Let him co after you and beg forgiveness."
Zara wiped her cheeks with trembling fingers, but the tears kept coming, burning hot trails down her skin.
"He thinks pretending to divorce will keep safe," Zara muttered. "Fine...Since he made sign those papers, I’ll show him what it truly feels like to lose soone. To him, it was just a strategy. But to , it was real. The pain, the heartbreak... every mont of it was real. I’ll make him feel that sa agony."
Bree’s eyes flashed with indignation. She grabbed Zara’s hand supportively. "Exactly. Make him pay for hurting you. He needs to understand what his secrecy costs you. Let him suffer a little. Make him jealous. Don’t give him an ounce of your attention."
A mischievous spark lit Bree’s eyes as an idea crossed her mind. "You should enjoy your freedom for a while. Live like a single woman. Go on a blind date. Make him burn with jealousy. Let him taste the fear of losing you forever. Then he’ll realize just how close he ca to losing you."
Zara fell silent, pondering. The idea didn’t seem so outrageous. In fact, it made sense.
Nathaniel had made her sign the divorce papers as if it were nothing, like she was nothing to him. He had expected her to quietly accept everything, to be patient, to wait until he returned with explanations. He had assud she would always co back to him because she loved him.
But he had forgotten one crucial thing: his actions had left her bleeding inside. He had taken her for granted, believing she would always be around him and that she could never leave him.
Zara’s chest tightened as she rembered crying alone, feeling abandoned, feeling unwanted. The sting of being told she ant nothing still clung to her heart like a bruise that refused to fade.
The ache in her chest was overwhelming. "He thinks I’ll always be waiting for him, always understanding, always forgiving," she murmured. "But he never once stopped to feel the pain I went through. The emptiness. The fear of losing everything. He doesn’t know anything."
Her lips trembled as she inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself. "Now it’s his turn to feel the fear. Only when he fears losing , will he understand the cost of what he did."
Her resolve hardened. Her heart was wounded, yes, but she no longer felt powerless.
"If he doesn’t know how to cherish , then I’ll show him what it truly feels like to be left behind. He is far too certain that I’ll never walk away from him... but I will make him see that I can. And if he refuses to return my love, then I can choose to stop loving him."
"That’s perfect," Bree exclaid, clapping her hands in excitent. "Show him what you are capable of. Make him regret everything—make him desperate for you. I can’t wait to see him on his knees."
But Zara didn’t share her enthusiasm. Her expression remained pained, her heart heavy. She wasn’t doing this out of spite or thrill. She was doing it because she had no other way to make him understand.
In this attempt to teach him the weight of heartbreak, she knew she would be the one suffering the most. But she would endure it, because only then would he finally understand that a shattered heart isn’t so easily repaired.
Zara forced a small smile as she looked at Bree. "Please... take out of here," she said softly, almost pleading. "I want to go ho."
"But Zara, you are still weak," Bree reminded her gently. "The doctors said you need a few more days of rest."
"If I stay here any longer, I’ll only feel worse," Zara insisted. "Please... just help get discharged."
Bree exhaled heavily, resignation settling into her posture. "Fine. I’ll talk to the doctor."
She stepped out of the room.
Left alone, Zara eased herself back against the bed. Her mind churned restlessly. Nathaniel could show up at the hospital at any mont. And she wasn’t ready to face him. Not now. Not when her emotions were raw, her heart unsteady.
She needed ti—ti to breathe, to absorb everything she had just learned.
"If only you had been honest with ..." she whispered, her voice laced with sorrow. "Didn’t you ever trust , Nathaniel?"
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