After Dexter dropped Regina off at her apartment, his chest suddenly ached.

Just as he was catching his breath, the passenger door flung open again. Regina stood there, lips trembling, eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Are you really sending me away?" she asked.

Dexter's expression hardened immediately. "I've made myself clear, haven't I? Laura is the only one I care about."

"But you said…"

"That was in the past. I can't lose Laura."

Regina burst into tears the moment he stopped responding, but Dexter didn't flinch.

Not sparing her another glance, he slammed the door shut and sped off, the engine growling in its wake.

His mind was already racing with thoughts of Laura. He dialed his assistant, Jasper Dawson, asking for her current location.

…

A moment later, a message arrived with the address of another hospital. The moment Dexter saw it, his temples began to throb.

Without hesi

Several hours later, Dexter's furious voice echoed down the sterile hospital corridor. The dozen or so bodyguards stood silently, their heads down, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"Useless! There's only three floors, yet it took you three damn hours to search the place?!"

Jasper stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow. "Mr. Gardner, maybe Ms. Harrison's tired of staying at the hospital. She might have gone home instead."

That suggestion caused the air to freeze. 

Narrowing his eyes, Dexter felt that it wasn't entirely unreasonable. Without another word, he snatched his car keys and stormed out.

The GPS on his dashboard kept warning him. "There's a red light ahead."

He muted the voice with a single jab to the screen and floored the gas pedal.

Behind him, a black Benz nearly clipped his bumper. Its driver, Austin Silva, slammed the horn, causing the shrill horn to pierce his e

The hospital room fell into a long, heavy silence.

Laura could feel someone staring at her. The weight of that gaze was so intense and suffocating that it would burn through her skin.

Finally, Dexter spoke. "The moment I saw her lying there, covered in blood… I regretted everything."

His voice was rough, almost broken. "When she wakes up, I'll tell her my 'dissociative identity disorder' is cured. I'll cut ties with Regina completely."

Just then, the door to the room swung open with a bang.

"Dexter!" Regina stood at the entrance, her tears running down her cheeks. "You're going to leave me?"

His friends exchanged awkward glances. Then, they silently stepped out, leaving the two of them alone.

Dexter turned, his expression cold and unreadable. "We agreed from the start—this was never going to last. Let's part on good terms."

"Part on good terms?" Regina's eyes reddened with disbelief. "I became the mistress for you, Dexter. And this is how you repay me?"

"Regina, stop being unreasonable."

Regina stared at him for a long moment. Then, she laughed, brittle and hollow. "Fine. Just one last request. If you do this for me, I'll disappear forever."

Dexter narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"

She stepped closer, voice sharp and deliberate. "Sleep with me one last time here. Right in front of her."

Laura's stomach turned.

"Are you out of your mind?" Dexter snapped, voice turning ice cold.

Regina screamed, "I've been out of my mind since the moment I fell for you! Is it really so hard to grant me this last request?"

She stepped forward and grabbed his shirt collar. "She's unconscious. She won't know anything… Just this once. I swear, I'll never show up again."

Then, she kissed him.

…

Laura kept her eyes shut, fists clenched in the sheets until her knuckles turned white.

She heard the rustling of fabric, the breathy gasps escaping Regina's lips, and Dexter's breathing growing heavier and rougher with each passing second.

They were right there in front of her—tangled, shameless, lost in each other.

"Dexter, isn't this thrilling?

"Tell me, am I tight? She can never make you feel this good, can she? She'll never pleasure you like this, yet you really want to leave me after this?"

Dexter never answered, but his movements became more intense, more urgent.

Laura bit her lip so hard that the taste of blood flooded her mouth.

She felt she was torn in two—one side of her was numb, silently watching the absurd performance unfold, while the other suffocated from a pain so raw, it left her breathless.

…

By the time dawn broke, it was finally over.

Dexter helped Regina with her clothes in silence, his face void of emotion. "It's done. I'm going back to my life. Back to her.

"I'll drive you home. And after that… don't come looking for me again."

Regina's voice cracked. "What if she finds out the truth? What if she never forgives you?"

Dexter replied quietly, "She won't. Laura loves me. As long as I come back to her, she'll take me back."

Without another word, he carried Regina in his arms and walked out of the hospital room without looking back.

The door clicked shut. Laura's eyes snapped open.

Those once-bright eyes, once full of warmth and love, were now hollow. They held nothing but cold, numbing emptiness.

She sat up slowly, a bitter smile curling at the corners of her lips. She whispered, "Dexter, you were wrong. I will never forgive you."

With that, Laura reached into her bag and pulled out a divorce agreement she had prepared long ago. Without hesitation, she set it gently on the nightstand.

Then, she got up, called a cab, and headed straight to the airport—never once looking back at the city that had become nothing but a graveyard of lies.

After Dexter dropped Regina off at her apartment, his chest suddenly ached.

Just as he was catching his breath, the passenger door flung open again. Regina stood there, lips trembling, eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Are you really sending me away?" she asked.

Dexter's expression hardened immediately. "I've made myself clear, haven't I? Laura is the only one I care about."

"But you said…"

"That was in the past. I can't lose Laura."

Regina burst into tears the moment he stopped responding, but Dexter didn't flinch.

Not sparing her another glance, he slammed the door shut and sped off, the engine growling in its wake.

His mind was already racing with thoughts of Laura. He dialed his assistant, Jasper Dawson, asking for her current location.

…

A moment later, a message arrived with the address of another hospital. The moment Dexter saw it, his temples began to throb.

Without hesitation, he turned the car around and hit the road again.

"Damn it." He slammed on the brakes as the

Chapter 9