Romance

It only took Maverick three days to track me down.

That day, men in black suits barged into my ward and forcefully pinned Noah to the floor. Then came the distinct clicks of military boots, every sound pricking deeper into my skin.

Maverick walked in. He appeared thinner than he was on TV, his gaze colder, too. Without even batting an eye in Noah's direction, he made a beeline toward my bed and towered over me.

"Are you done playing, Louise?" he questioned in his deep, magnetic voice, each word harsher than before.

My body trembled, and I instinctively tried to shield Noah on the floor. "Let him go, Maverick! He's got nothing to do with this!"

Maverick raised an eyebrow and, at last, glanced at Noah. "So, this is the sucker?"

He let out a snicker, one drenched in unmistakable contempt. "Your taste in men has worsened, Louise."

Two burly men pinned Noah to the cold floor, and his f

In the end, Maverick took me back to my gilded cage. He wasn't as furious as I had imagined. 

In fact, he was… strangely nice. Except, of course, I couldn't leave the villa, couldn't see the baby, and couldn't contact Noah.

I lived like a walking corpse.

A week later, it happened. It was Delmonta's Independence Day gala, and Maverick, as the celebrated hero, had to attend. To flaunt his prize, he forced me to be his plus-one for the evening.

The gala was on the top floor of the Delmonta Grand Hotel—where the air was perfumed, gowns glittered, and glasses were clinked. Everyone was there to flatter him, calling him Delmonta's guardian.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, chest puffed up with pride.

"See, Louise?" he whispered in my ear. "This is the world meant for you. That shabby house and useless sucker? Just think of it as a nightmare."

I stared blankly at the scene, a wave of 

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.

It only took Maverick three days to track me down.

That day, men in black suits barged into my ward and forcefully pinned Noah to the floor. Then came the distinct clicks of military boots, every sound pricking deeper into my skin.

Maverick walked in. He appeared thinner than he was on TV, his gaze colder, too. Without even batting an eye in Noah's direction, he made a beeline toward my bed and towered over me.

"Are you done playing, Louise?" he questioned in his deep, magnetic voice, each word harsher than before.

My body trembled, and I instinctively tried to shield Noah on the floor. "Let him go, Maverick! He's got nothing to do with this!"

Maverick raised an eyebrow and, at last, glanced at Noah. "So, this is the sucker?"

He let out a snicker, one drenched in unmistakable contempt. "Your taste in men has worsened, Louise."

Two burly men pinned Noah to the cold floor, and his face was pressed against the icy tiles. Even his glasses were crooked from the impact. He didn't figh

Chapter 5 Let Him Go