Dear Ex Husband, I'll Ruin You

CHAPTER 4

~Adele

The beeping of the heart monitor filled the hospital with a pulse.

The oxygen tube gently hissed with each shallow rise and fall of her chest.

Her eyelids fluttered, and for a moment, her eyes opened—pale and distant. She tried to speak, her voice nothing more than breath.

I leaned in, my heart beat raced.

“Be good, my daughter.” She whispered, her voice as soft as a sigh, her lips split into a weak smile, and a single tear trailed down a cheek.

The heart monitor skipped. I gripped her hand tighter, adjusting my chair closer to the bed.

“I love you, Adele,” she said, her voice lowered this time.

She exhaled once more.

Long. Gentle. Final.

The beeping stopped.

A single flat tone rang out, the waves formed a straight line.

She turned cold and limp, her fingers interlaced with mine. Her second hand folded into the white sheet, twitching. Bit by bit, her grip loosened, and finally, her hands fell.

My eyes rested on our hands for a moment—lost and confused. My mind went blank, struggling to decipher what was happening.

In my mind, time had stopped.

Aria's loud cry erupted me out of my trance.

Aria rushed out of the room, the echoes following her out. A complete stillness stumbled upon me before my brain could process it.

I strutted on my feet, holding my mother by the waist; the IV drip connected to her hand swung like the pendulum in a clock.

No. She's just sleeping.

No.

No.

I finally found my voice as words ripped out of my dry throat.

“Mom, Mom.” I moved closer to her ears and yelled.

“Please stand up, Mom. Don't do this to me.” My screams and cries almost shook the entire ward.

“I-I would not leave your side anymore. Please don't do this to me.” My voice faltered; shock registered throughout my body. I lifted up her hand and watched it fall—lifeless and limp.

The doctor rushed in.

Aria came in after him, tripped by the door, and rushed up again, pretending nothing happened and her knee didn't just hit against the door frame.

He placed the stethoscope on her chest, paused for a while, his eyes searching for what I wasn't certain of.

He tried again and shook his head. He straightened his body. I knew the worst was about to happen, which I was never prepared for.

“I’m sorry, she's dead.” The doctor said, his words dropping like a bomb across the room.

I froze, my stomach twisted, and blood rushed to my ears, making the doctor's words fade away for a moment.

My soul travelled a few meters away as innocent tears streamed down my cheeks. My eyes moved to my mother's body.

Then, to the doctor.

And back to her body.

Cold sweat broke on my forehead and back. Pain pressed down on my chest.

I staggered; it felt like the ground was catching up with me.

“The heart monitor would work. Her brain is still active. She's not dead. She cannot be dead.” The words tumbled out, and my voice trembled. I rushed to the doctor, a hint of hope in my eyes.

The doctor shook his head, turned back, and left.

I tripped and fell, kicking my legs against the floor.

Aria leaned against the wall with sagged shoulders as though the weight of the world rested on her. Her back dragged down to the floor, she stayed there.

“Aunt-Aunt” She sprung up and rushed to the bed and parted Mother's eyelids.

Her eyes didn't move.

Aria lost her mother when she was a kid; her mother adopted her. We grew up together.

Nurses entered; two of them pulled the bedspread over Mother's face. I wanted to stand; two nurses restricted me.

I screamed and struggled to break through.

They pushed the bed out of the room.

I wanted to run after them and convince them she can't be dead.

At that moment, my world ended.

The late afternoon rolled past eventually with tears and sorrows.

“Leave. You killed her!” Aria screamed, tears dried up on her face, forming white streaks.

“Adele, Aunt wouldn't have had hypertension if you didn't run from home.” She swallowed, drawing a shaky breath.

“The mansion became eerie and quiet, no more laughter and giggles. Aunt had sleepless nights because her only daughter traded her for a man.”

The worst pronouns could qualify me.

“Now you know how betrayal feels - it prickles underneath your skin like sharp needles, and it hurts more when it comes from someone you least expect.”

“I’m sorry.” I whimpered, my voice strangled by pain.

“Now, leave. I don't care where you go. This is our family hospital, and everyone knows what happened. So it's better to leave and spare yourself the embarrassment.”

“Please,” I begged, dropping to my knees. Aria was the only family I had left.

“Remember the times I begged you not to go against Mother's words. I was scared for you…for your future. Adele, you never considered anyone.”

“My pillow saw more tears every night, hoping you'd come back some day and fix what you've broken. I hope you continue to live with the guilt.”

Each word hit me.

“You chose Seth over your own family….Father didn't forgive you before he died. I don't care if Aunt did. And I hope they haunt you everywhere you go.”

“I'm sorry.” My voice was shaky. I trembled.

“It's too late, Adele, leave. And don't let me see you around the estate.” Aria tilted her head sideways, tears gathering up in her eyes.

I stood up and dragged my traveling box down the hallway—lifeless and empty.

Everyone watched me walk out with the tires screeching against the floor. I didn't mean to attract attention.

In fact, I didn't want it.

Like the world was closing down on me.

Rain poured from the sky like a silent punishment, cold and relentless; thunder roared, almost deafening me. It seemed nature was angry at me too.

I wandered, with no sense of direction.

My limp hands folded on my chest.

I couldn’t feel them anymore, as though they didn't belong to me.

Cars passed by, their headlights briefly illuminating me like a ghost. No one stopped. No one asked if I was okay.

Hair plastered against my face, I didn't bother to push it away.

The rain blurred my vision, but I didn’t blink. Those weren’t tears. Not anymore.

I tilted my head back to the sky, the rain hitting my face in cold, stinging drops. My lips parted, but no words came. No screams. No prayers.

A child’s laughter echoed faintly from somewhere—a reminder of everything I'd lost.

And I kept walking. Because stopping meant collapsing. I was afraid… if I fell now, I might never get back up.

A car stopped right beside me; two men dressed in black suits rushed towards me.

They held my hands and took me into the car. I wanted to run, but my legs refused.

I lowered my head, avoiding their eyes.

The man lifted my chin, claded in a tailored black suit with glitter, his blue eyes met mine.

“Don't be scared" He said, his voice deep.