My Husband Let Me Die to Save Her

I found Benjamin in his study. The room smelled of stale coffee and sour panic. He was hunched over his laptop like a cornered animal. His fingers slammed against the keyboard. The screen glowed with bank transfers.

"Just route it through the Cayman account," he hissed into his phone. He didn't see me in the doorway. "Five million. Yes, today. I need the deed to the St. Barts villa and the wire for the Swiss clinic by noon."

He was doing it. Cassian's fake billionaire persona had pushed him over the edge. Benjamin couldn't compete with a billionaire's wallet, so he was becoming a criminal to buy Stella back. He was stealing from his own company.

I knocked softly on the doorframe.

Benjamin jumped. He slammed the laptop shut. He spun around, his hand flying to his wedding ring. He twisted it frantically. "Penelope! How long have you been standing there?"

"Just now," I smiled innocently. I walked into the room. "Are you okay, Ben? You look so stressed. Your eyes are all red."

"Work," he clipped out. His breathing was shallow and fast. "A big merger. Very complicated."

"Don't work too hard," I said sweetly. I reached out and straightened his wrinkled tie. He flinched slightly at my touch. "We have our whole future to think about. You need to stay healthy for me."

He swallowed hard. A drop of sweat rolled down his neck. "Right. Our future."

Later that afternoon, the rain returned. It washed Manhattan in a dreary gray. I sat in Cassian’s dim office. The heavy leather chair felt cold against my skin.

Julian typed furiously on his tablet. The blue light reflected in his wire-rimmed glasses. The only sound in the room was the rhythmic tapping of his keys and the rain hitting the glass.

"Got him," Julian said softly. He slid the tablet across the heavy oak desk.

Cassian leaned forward. He wore a dark charcoal suit today. He looked sharp and dangerous. He glanced at the screen, then looked up at me.

"Five million dollars," Cassian said. His voice was a low, steady rumble. "Transferred from Vasquez Holdings into three dummy shell corporations. Then wired straight to a Swiss medical facility and a luxury real estate broker."

I looked at the digital paper trail. It was a map of Benjamin's absolute ruin.

"It's irrefutable," Julian added. He adjusted his glasses. "Falsified ledgers. Forged board signatures. I have it all downloaded and backed up on secure servers. If we hand this to his board of directors, he goes to federal prison."

"Not yet," Cassian said quietly. His dark eyes locked onto mine. "We wait for the trap to snap shut completely. We let him think he won her back. We let him think he's safe. Then we take it all."

"I want him to feel invincible," I whispered. "Right before he hits the ground."

Cassian nodded slowly. A dark smirk touched his lips.

Then, it happened.

A sudden, sharp spike of pain hit my lower back. It was blinding.

I gasped quietly. It felt like a hot knife twisting deep into my kidneys. I grabbed the edge of the mahogany desk. My knuckles instantly turned white. I tried to breathe through it. I had to hide it. I couldn't be weak right now. We were so close to the end.

"Penelope?" Cassian’s voice changed instantly. The cold, calculating edge vanished.

"I'm fine," I lied. My voice shook badly.

The pain flared again. Hotter. Deeper. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. The room tilted. I closed my eyes tight, biting the inside of my cheek until I tasted warm copper. My lungs forgot how to work.

I heard a chair scrape violently against the floor.

Suddenly, Cassian was kneeling beside me. He was so close I could smell his clean, expensive cologne mixed with the rain. His large, warm hands gripped the armrests of my chair, trapping me in a protective cage.

"Look at me," he commanded softly.

I forced my eyes open. My vision was blurry with unshed tears. Cassian's face was inches from mine. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle jumped in his cheek. He wasn't looking at the tablet anymore. He was looking at me with raw, undisguised panic.

"Julian, get the car," Cassian snapped. He didn't break eye contact with me.

"No," I choked out. "No hospitals. Benjamin tracks my medical records. Sylvia checks them. If I go in, he'll know."

"I don't care about Benjamin right now," Cassian growled. His thumb brushed a bead of sweat from my temple. His touch was incredibly gentle, a stark contrast to the fierce anger in his eyes. "I care about you."

"Cassian, please," I pleaded. I grabbed his wrist. His pulse beat hard against my palm. "We lose everything if he finds out."

Cassian stared at my pale face. His dark eyes searched mine. He was fighting a war inside his head. Finally, he gave a sharp, decisive nod.

"Julian, cancel the car," Cassian ordered. His voice left no room for argument. "Call Eleanor Thorne. Tell her to prep the private medical suite at my estate. Bring all the necessary equipment. Now."

Julian sprinted out of the room without a word.

Cassian turned back to me. He didn't let go of my chair. "You're not going to a public hospital," he said quietly. "But you are getting treated. Today. I'm not letting you die for this revenge, Penelope. Do you understand me?"

I looked into his fierce eyes. I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I wasn't just a bone marrow bank to him. I was a person.

"Okay," I whispered.

He carefully scooped me into his arms. He lifted me effortlessly against his broad chest. I buried my face into the crook of his neck, and for the first time in seven years, I felt completely safe.