Braydon's little pregnant woman caused trouble again.

She claimed the drowning left her unwell.

Braydon had to lie once more. "Allison, wait for me at the hotel. A project hit a snag. Once I sort it, I'll come find you."

Yet he never showed up that night. Not even a call.

The lake water gave Allison a high fever.

Delirious from the burn, she grabbed her phone on instinct. She dialed Braydon without thinking.

That time she burned up. Her mind fogged over. When she picked up Braydon's call, she burst into tears.

Braydon stayed abroad on business then. He heard her sobs and ditched an important meeting right away. He flew back overnight to care for her.

They stayed together nearly seven years. When sick, she turned to Braydon. It rooted deep in her bones.

After long rings, a soft woman's voice answered. "Hey, Ms. Palmer. What do you need with Mr. Saunders?"

Allison snapped awake.

What did she do? They divorced already. Why did she still lean on him?

She moved to hang up. Kathleen giggled though. She said with loaded meaning. "Mr. Saunders wore himself out. He sleeps sound now. Whatever it is, can it wait till tomorrow?"

Allison drew a deep breath. Her voice turned icy. "Kathleen, let me remind you. Every penny Braydon spent on you, from the apartment you live in to the bag on your shoulder, counts as marital assets. I can reclaim it anytime I want. So in front of me, you better keep your head down."

Kathleen went speechless. She stammered awhile. She dared not say another word.

Allison ended the call sharp. She pulled up a delivery app and ordered fever meds. She asked the hotel for hot water too.

As she swallowed the pills and sipped the water, she made her mind.

From here on, she had to get used to life like this. She needed to learn to look after herself.

The Braydon who fretted over her slightest cold died in the past. He would never return.

Allison saw no sign of Braydon the next week.

She got one or two calls from him. He claimed a business trip.

She knew he tended to Kathleen. He could not spare time.

She bothered not to call him out. She prepared her solo ice show as usual. She acted like he never existed.

The performance day arrived in a blink.

Allison rose at dawn. She drove to the theater.

She held this show dear. It might stand as her last figure skating performance in this country for years.

She wanted to bid her domestic fans a proper goodbye.

She drove along. In her head, she ran through the evening's routine.

At an ordinary crossroad though, the light turned red. She stopped.

Bang! A brutal force slammed her from behind.

Her body lurched forward out of control. Her head smacked the steering wheel.

Still shaken, her mind blank, the second hit followed fast.

That car rammed her driver's door from the side rear.

This blow struck deadlier.

The airbag burst open in a flash. It pounded her face and chest hard.

The world spun wild. Harsh metal twists and glass shatters pierced her ears.

Blood trickled from her temple. It blurred her sight.

Through the spiderwebbed windshield, the sky and street she saw drowned in glaring crimson.

Allison's long-awaited farewell performance fell through in the end.

She suffered a car crash and landed in the hospital.

She picked up multiple soft tissue bruises, a broken right leg, and a mild concussion. She lay in bed unable to move.

When she woke, she found Braydon seated by her bed. Worry etched his face.

"Allison, you finally came to." He gripped her hand tight. His eyes rimmed red. "You have no idea how I dragged through these past two days."

Allison pulled her hand free. She asked softly. "Who hit me? Did they catch him?"

Braydon's face turned awkward in a flash.

Just then, Madison pushed through the door. She carried a bowl of soup and cut in with a beaming smile. "Allison, I meant to tell you about that. The young guy who hit you just got his license. His family struggles too. It truly was no accident on purpose. We signed the forgiveness letter for you already."

As she spoke, she lifted the spoon to Allison's lips. "Here, sip some soup to build your strength."

Allison spotted the oil slick on the surface and bone bits at the bowl's bottom. She knew at once this came from someone else's leftovers.

Likely the tonic soup meant for that pregnant woman.

Rage and hurt flooded her chest in an instant. Yet right now she could barely roll over. She dared not push back hard.

She turned her head away. She said lightly. "I am tired. I want to be alone."

Madison kept her fake smile plastered on. "Fine. Rest up. We will go now."

Braydon lingered reluctant. Madison dragged him out of the room by force though.

Before the door shut, Allison caught Madison's murmur. "She did not die anyway. What is there to fuss over?"

Those words stabbed like a knife into her heart. Even her ribs ached with it.

She itched to leave Eldoria. The farther from the Saunders family, the better.

Three days later, she managed to stand on one foot. She dialed that number. "Mr. Fuller, I want to head to Norland to recover. Can you set it up?"

A low chuckle came from the other end. "I waited for those words, my figure skating queen."

She hung up just as Braydon walked in. "Allison, does it still hurt?"

He leaned down. He reached to stroke her hair. His tone brimmed with ache. "Do not worry. I called in the top orthopedic specialist. You will heal good as new."

Allison looked into his teary eyes. She felt only bitter irony.

He kept saying he loved her, pitied her.

Yet last night, pain jolted her awake in the dark. She overheard him on the balcony phone with Kathleen.

That very call revealed the driver who hit her went by Cade Murphy. Kathleen's own brother.

The Saunders rushed to sign forgiveness because they feared jail time for Cade would disrupt Kathleen's pregnancy.

What chilled her most came when Braydon soothed the phone line tender. "Allison just took a minor hit. Nothing serious. You focus on resting now. Do not dwell."

He knew better than anyone what a leg meant to a figure skater.

In his words though, it turned to a mere scratch.

Nausea welled up strong.

Allison turned her head. She dodged his touch.

"Can you leave?" Her face stayed distant cold. "I do not want to see you."

Braydon's hand dangled awkward in the air. He stared at her stunned. "Allison, did you find out something?"

Before he finished, Madison barged in uninvited. Her smile stayed fixed. "Braydon, a relative landed in the hospital too. Upstairs. Come with me to check on them. Do not slack on manners."

Allison sneered inside.

What relative. Just a rush to visit the bearer of their prized grandson.

Her face paled. She shut her eyes. She looked away from them.

Braydon hesitated a beat. In the end he murmured yeah and trailed Madison from the room.

Soon after he left, a helicopter touched down on the hospital roof pad.

Allison sat in a wheelchair. Bodyguards escorted her aboard.

Out the window, city lights faded one by one.

She whispered in her mind. "Goodbye, Braydon."

His betrayal, his drifting, his wounds all turned to yesterday.

From now on, Allison answered only to herself.

This farewell would not slip quiet though.

She ruffled her long hair wild. She smeared lipstick across her cheek in fake blood streaks. Then she raised her phone slow. She hit record.

Amid the engine roar, she cracked a broken smile at the lens.

This divorce gift suited Braydon well.

Since the last drowning, Kathleen felt unwell all the time. She checked into a VIP room at the hospital to rest through her pregnancy.

Madison kept nagging Braydon to go visit her.

Braydon could not argue with his mother. He had no choice but to go.

Right as he raised his hand to push the door though, voices leaked from the crack. They stopped him cold. "...rest easy. I set it all up. I told Cade to aim right. It would not kill her, but that leg stayed ruined for sure. See how she flirts with men after that."

Kathleen talked on the phone with her family. She laughed with smug pride.

That laugh pierced like an ice pick dipped in poison. It stabbed straight into Braydon's heart.

Blood drained from his body. He stood rigid on the spot.

Bang!

He kicked the door open. The crash made Kathleen whip her head around in terror from the bed. "Mr... Mr. Saunders?"

"You sent your brother to hit Allison." Braydon closed in step by step.

His voice shook with raw fury. His eyes chilled her to the bone. "That crash was no accident."

Kathleen paled in fright. She babbled excuses. "No, it was not like that, Mr. Saunders. Hear me out."

"Hear you out? I heard it myself." Braydon swatted her reaching hand away. Rage like never before nearly broke his control. "How dare you do that to her. How dare you!"

The huge row drew Madison in. She rushed to grab her son. "Braydon. You lost your mind. Kathleen carries your child. How can you upset her like this."

Braydon shook off his mother's grip. He pointed at Kathleen. Anger filled his eyes. "Mom, did you not hear? She ordered someone to hit Allison. That is attempted murder. You still shield a vicious woman like her."

Madison stepped in front of Kathleen without a pause. She guarded her like a hen with her chicks. "That does not mean you strike. She carries the Saunders heir in her belly. Save the talk until after she delivers."

Those words broke the last straw.

Braydon watched his mother defend the culprit. All his bottled letdown exploded at once.

Right in front of his mother and Kathleen, he made a call. "Officer, I need to report an attempt on my wife's life. Yes, that Cade Murphy. Ignore what my mom says. Arrest him."

Kathleen nearly fainted. She swayed on her feet. "No, Mr. Saunders, do not do this to my brother."

Madison steadied her quick. She shot back at Braydon. "Kathleen still carries your child. Do you have to ruin everything."

Braydon shot Kathleen a cold glance. "If not for the one in her belly, I would haul her in too."

He turned to his mother. He spoke chill. "Mom, since you treasure that grandson so much, raise it yourself. From now on, that woman has nothing to do with me."

He ignored his mother's shock and Kathleen's wails. He turned sharp and walked away without a look back.

One thought filled his head then. Find Allison.

Confess to her. Repent to her. Beg her pardon. Spend his life making it up.

He raced mad to Allison's room downstairs. He shoved the door open. He called out. "Allison, forgive me. I was wrong."

Silence answered him though. Dead quiet.

Allison stayed gone from the room.

The nightstand held a divorce agreement.

He flipped to the last page. His own signature stared back at him.