Chapter 4 Noah Will Die

Ultimately, the baby survived, and it was a boy! As it was a premature birth, he had to stay in an incubator for a while. The sky-high medical bills became the final straw. Noah emptied the savings account he had scraped together over the years, then pawned the wedding ring he treasured for life. Even then, it was only enough to cover the first week. "It's okay, Louise. I'll figure something out." He sat by my hospital bed, peeling an apple, his tone light as if this were no big deal. I could see the bloodshot lines in his eyes, the way his face had grown thinner by the day. I knew he was running out of options. It was then that the man who was supposed to be dead returned. The TV in the hospital lobby was looping a breaking news report. "Delmonta's youngest hero and general, Maverick Cross, has returned in glory. Sources say General Cross spent six months deep behind enemy lines and successfully destroyed the enemy command center…" On the screen, Maverick, in a perfectly pressed military uniform, stood tall, with stars gleaming on his shoulders. He was still devastatingly handsome. When he raised a hand to the cameras, those hawk-sharp eyes seemed to pierce straight through the screen and lock onto me. The apple slipped from my fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud. Maverick was alive, after all. He had returned. Instead of joy, I felt nothing but bottomless fear. I knew exactly what kind of man Maverick was. He was dominant, possessive, and would never tolerate having his belongings sullied by someone else. If he found out that I married an ordinary man while carrying his baby, Noah would die without a question.