The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82

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-burns are manageable, mostly second-degree on the arm and shoulder. The real problem is the leg. The muscle damage is catastrophic

She refused full anesthesia. Keeps trying to stay conscious.

Shock, probably. We’ve had to revive her once already.”

‘The leg’s salvageable, but any athletic movement? Dancing? Forget it. She’ll be lucky if she can walk without a limp.”

Dancing. I’d seen her once, years ago at the Grant family estate. Emma had dragged me to some charity thing. I d wandered off and found Aria in their studio, moving with impossible grace. Alone. Dancing like nobody was watching.

I’d left without saying anything. Never mentioned it. Why had I never mentioned it?

Something slammed into my shoulder. A designer purse, swung with surprising force.

“You monster!” Olivia stood there, her pregnant belly pronounced, her face twisted with rage. “How could you?”

“I didn’t mean-

“Didn’t mean what? To leave her to burn? To choose Emma over your own wife?” Tears ran down her face. ‘She’s the only real friend I have. The only good person in this entire cesspool of a social circle. And you destroyed her.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” Her voice shook. “Do you know that I called her that morning? Begged her not to go? But she said you’d ordered her. ORDERED

her. Like she was your employee, not your wife.”

The words hit like physical blows. “I was trying to protect-”

‘Protect who? Emma? Emma, who’s been playing you for years? Emma, who would step over Aria’s corpse to get to you?” Olivia laughed.

bitter and broken. “You forced her to risk her life for your precious first love. Tell me, Blake, was it worth it?”

I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t breathe.

The OR lights went dark. They wheeled Aria out, unconscious and pale as death. Her lips were torn and bloody-she’d bitten through them trying to stay quiet. Bandages covered her left forearm and shoulder where the burns had been treated. Her left leg was encased in heavy

wrapping, already seeping blood.

I reached the gurney first, my hands hovering over her, terrified to touch.

The surgeon looked exhausted. “She’s stable. Vitals are holding.”

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Chapter 82

Thank God Thank-

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The burns are treatable. They ll heal with minimal scarring if she follows the treatment plan. He paused, and his expression darkened

But the leg is another story. The muscle damage is severe. She’ll walk, but any high-impact activity is impossible now The smoke inhalation is also significant. Her lungs will take months to fully heal.”

Olivia sobbed. I stood frozen.

“It’s my fault. The words tore out of me. I took Aria’s limp hand, careful of the IV. ‘I did this. I chose wrong.”

The park rescue had been interrupted by those damn tourists. When the call came in later about the warehouse, I’d forced myself to

sound indifferent. If the kidnappers were watching, testing me, I couldn’t show weakness.

I’d been playing a game while my wife walked into a death trap.

Three years of marriage. Three years of treating her like she was disposable. Like she didn’t matter. And now, seeing her broken and

burned because of my choices, I finally understood what I’d lost.

She’d loved me. Really, truly loved me. And I’d thrown it away. For what? Pride? Obsession with a ghost of my past?

“Aria,” I whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear. “I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.”

My thumb traced her knuckles, memorizing the feeling.

Time blurred. Hours passed. Then her fingers twitched. Her eyelashes fluttered.

“Aria?” My voice cracked. “Can you hear me?”

Her eyes opened halfway, glassy with pain and medication. For one second, she looked directly at me.

The emptiness in those green eyes hit harder than any of Olivia’s words. There was no anger. No pain. No love.

Nothing.

She looked at me like I was a stranger. Like I was nobody.

Then her eyes closed again.

I’d broken her. Completely, irrevocably broken her.

And the worst part? I finally cared.

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The CEOs Regret. His Lost Wife’s Secret Twins