"Almost ten days," Nicole said quietly as if he was talking about the weather, "You have been in a coma."
Ten days. Ten whole days lost, just like that. My chest felt tight.
I swallowed hard and turned to look at Caroline. Her eyes met mine for only a second before she looked down, tears streaming again. Something in me twisted at that moment when Elena’s scream pierced through my ears.
"Elena?" I asked, my voice sharper this time, "Where is she?"
The room temperature decreased as Caroline’s shoulders shook. She pressed her hands against her face, shaking her head furiously as she again started sobbing.
Panic surged through me as my mind alerted me that something was very wrong, "What happened? Is she hurt?" I demanded, looking from one to another.
"Tell me!" I snapped, but no one answered. While Grandpa’s jaw was tight, on the other hand, Nicole stared at the floor.
Moreover, Grace shifted uncomfortably.
My chest burned with anger, "I swear to God..." I started, forcing myself upright despite the pain. "If none of you tell me, I will go see her myself."
"Dave." Nicole’s firm voice cut through the chaos. His eyes finally met mine.
"She’s gone." He finally revealed. The words slammed into me like another crash.
My breath caught that instant as I whispered out, "Gone?"
He nodded as his face went blank, "She... eloped with Josh."
I blinked at him, knowing well that I had misheard, "What?" My voice came at the verge of breaking, but I held it. "No...she would not...and with Josh?"
It seemed next to impossible.
Elena was not someone who would elope? And with Josh of all people? My mind rejected it outright, but looking at everyone’s serious expression planted the seed of suspicion in my mind.
Elena had caught me once with Becka. Though there was nothing between us, Elena at that time misunderstood the situation. I tried to handle the situation, but now looking at her reaction at that time, I knew I f*cked up big time.
It became one of my gravest mistakes.
That night became the day I wished it had never come, and when she said she wanted a divorce... I could not just accept it.
I wanted to explain it to her. So, I got dressed and drove towards her parents’ home, as it was the first place she would have gone. I could not let her go all misunderstood. So, I kept driving until I realized that my brakes had failed, which caused the accident.
Fortunately, I was saved, but not only that, but it also gave me a golden opportunity to keep her around me.
I knew that was not some accident but a pre-planned m*rder attempt. In order to protect her, I played the role of a fool.
I erased that moment from my own memory, convincing her and, somehow, myself too that nothing had changed. That we were still married.
Josh had been by my side through it all. He was my secretary. He was the one who helped me carry the weight of that lie along with Grandpa.
He knew that it was a play and not some twisted game I was playing to entertain myself, but to protect those enemies who attacked me from the shadows. Those people who were yet to be discovered until this moment.
After this crash, I know that I am closer to them, which made them agitated and take this hasty decision to wipe me off this earth. And as Nicole’s words rang in my head, I had this feeling that in some way or other, Josh was connected to them.
It still was believable, but Elena? She did not have any valid reason to elope with him.
A hollow laugh almost broke out of me, but my chest tightened before the sound could escape.
No. This wasn’t possible.
She was not the type to run. Even if Josh tried to put a word against me, she would not have backed out without a fight.
Moreover, if it happened when I was still in a coma, she at least should have tried to talk to Grandpa or any of us to clear out the misunderstanding, but she did not.
And it all led to one final conclusion that she was with them. Playing her part just like Josh
My fists clenched around the sheets as betrayal burned hot in my veins, tangled with confusion.
If what Nicole said was true... then I had lost her twice. First to my own sins. And now, to the very man I trusted but if it was a lie... I don’t even know what would I have done in that situation.
My eyes darted towards Nicole, as I gritted out barely able to hide the anger simmering through my blood, "Explain."
Nicole took in a deep breath and started explaining from the start, "They were part of it from the start," his tone carried no judgment, just cold certainty, "Of those blackmailers." His words almost came out as a mere whisper.
"Josh was not some savior. He was with them all along." This Grace spoke up as she stood aside her brother.
I felt like the air had been ripped out of the room. My chest ached, so does my hands started to trembled.
Images of Elena’s face flashed before my eyes...her tears, her laugh, the way she once looked at me with so much...affection but before I could get lost in the ocean of her memories, Nicole’s sharp words pierced through my thoughts breaking the chain of my thoughts.
"She betrayed you, Dave. Just like Josh. They both planned this and executed with no mistake," his words stabbed like knives bleeding me out but it only fueled into my anger.
Fine, if they thought they could outsmart me, use me, and walk away clean... they were so wrong.
If they ever got to know they will know I was not broken and I surely was not defeated.