Chapter 7

Before leaving town, Laura met up with her best friend, Nydia Alvarez, for a farewell dinner. They chatted until nightfall. When Nydia's boyfriend came to pick her up, Laura decided to wander through the shopping mall alone, trying to sober up. Turning a corner, she suddenly froze. Dexter was shopping with Regina. He held a dress up to her body, smiling with such a softness that Laura hadn't seen in a long time. Regina whined about her legs aching, so he crouched down and started massaging her ankle. Then, he took the milkshake that she drank and casually sipped from the same straw. Dexter used to have a serious case of germophobia, so he never touched anything anyone else used—except Laura's. Watching them from a distance, Laura could no longer tell whether he was still pretending or if he had truly fallen for Regina. "Maybe his feelings started developing after he slept with her enough times," she thought. Laura turned to leave but ran straight into Regina outside the restroom. "Well, if it isn't Mrs. Gardner." Regina smirked, her crimson lips curving mockingly. "Out shopping alone? Your husband's inside helping me pick lingerie." Laura didn't bother responding. She washed her hands and headed for the exit, but Regina wasn't done with her. She followed behind, her heels clicking against the tile. "I don't get how you can endure this—watching him spoil me while you're dying inside, yet you still won't leave. Clinging like that isn't just pathetic—it's embarrassing." Laura's expression darkened, and she was just about to speak when two masked men burst in. Shiny blades flashed as they pressed cold steel directly against her and Regina's throats. "Don't move! Hand over everything valuable!" one of them barked. Neither woman expected a robbery in a high-end shopping mall. Frozen in place, they hurried to remove their earrings and necklaces, handing them over without any resistance. Just as the robbers were about to leave, Regina spotted Dexter in the distance and screamed, "Help me, Dexter!" The knives were immediately pressed harder against their throats. He ran toward the commotion, his face dark with alarm. "Let them go!" Noticing his expensive clothes, the robbers demanded a hefty ransom and a list of outrageous demands, to which Dexter agreed. "Just let them go," he pleaded. "Only one of them can leave," one of the robbers growled. "The other stays as insurance. We'll let her go after we're clear." Dexter's gaze instantly shifted to Laura. Regina burst into tears. "Dexter! Please, save me! You said you loved me the most!" Laura stood still, her eyes fixed on the man who once swore to protect her for life. She wanted to see what he would choose when everything was on the line. Dexter's expression twisted with pain. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes. "Let the one on the right go—Regina." The robber shoved Regina aside and dragged Laura toward the exit. However, Regina turned back, pulled out her phone, and shouted, "I already called the cops! They'll be here any second." "You bitch!" the robber roared. Rage overtook him, and he lunged at Laura with his knife. The robber drove the blade into Laura again and again, each strike landing with sickening precision and unrelenting violence. Blood gushed from her wounds as she collapsed into a growing pool of red, her vision blurring at the edges. In the last flicker of consciousness, she saw Dexter sprinting toward her like a man possessed, his voice hoarse and broken as he screamed her name, "Laur!" Then, everything went dark. … Laura had no idea how long she had been unconscious for. It felt she had been floating in a heavy void, weightless and dark, where time didn't seem to pass. Muffled voices would occasionally drift past her ears—muffled and distant—yet she couldn't move or open her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she forced her eyes open. A blinding white light stung her vision, and she instinctively winced, squinting against it. "...Laura nearly died this time, Dexter. Are you really gonna keep pretending after all this?" The familiar voice belonged to Robert. Laura's heart clenched. She froze. Then, slowly and silently, she let her eyes drift shut again. She didn't make a sound. She just listened. "Yeah, Dexter," another voice whispered, low and urgent. "You've been dragging this out for too long." "If you're really in love with Laura," the person continued, "and Regina was just a fling like you said, then end it now and go back to Laura while you still can." "She was lucky to survive this time. But what about next time? If something really happens to her, you'll never forgive yourself," Robert added, his voice dropping even lower.