Chapter 9 Gideon's face tightened. He knew she'd heard the hallway conversation. His voice cooled. "I didn't forget you on purpose. Elaine was unstable, so I drove her here. I only found out about the flood afterward. I went back and pulled you out. How else do you think you got to the hospital?" He paused, then continued, almost reasonable. "As for the antitoxin, the hospital really had only one dose. Elaine's alone and delicate. You still had me. And they brought in more doses afterward, didn't they? You're fine now." Angela listened to his tidy logic and felt the last warm place in her chest go dark. She had nothing left to say. Maybe out of a thin film of guilt, Gideon stayed a few days to look after her. When the doctor finally cleared her to go home and Gideon was wheeling her toward the exit, an MP sprinted up. "Captain! Trouble! Ms. Ward's parents are forcing her to meet a suitor. She refused, climbed onto the roof, and she's threatening to jump!" Gideon went white, forgot Angela entirely, and floored the accelerator. When they arrived, Elaine stood at the edge in a thin white dress, shaking, crying pretty tears. Her parents shouted from below, half frantic, half furious. "Elaine! Get down! You're a widow. How will you live alone? We're doing this for you!" know "I won't!" Elaine sobbed. "When you thought Gideon was dead, you forced me to remarry. Do you what that turned into? He drank and hit me! Now that's over, and you want me back in the fire! I'll die before I marry again!" She jumped. "Elaine!" Gideon lunged and caught her out of the air. There was a crack. Both forearms fractured under the impact. He still wrapped her up and took the fall. Chaos erupted-sirens, two stretchers, two rooms-and they were rushed to the hospital. As family, Angela signed forms and paid what needed paying. Passing Gideon's room, she heard his voice-gentle and sure. "Don't be afraid, Elaine. No more blind dates. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. My allowance-everything I have-it's yours." Angela stood in the hall and went cold to the marrow. His love. His allowance. Every last promise. All of it for someone else. And what did that make his wife? It didn't matter anymore. Because soon even the title-wife in name only-wouldn't belong to her. Chapter 9 39.13% She left the hospital. Passing the County Clerk's Office, she spotted a notice taped inside the glass: her no-fault divorce petition had been approved. She walked in and accepted the thin stack of papers. The clerk glanced past her and frowned. "Captain Holt didn't come with you? We still need to issue his copy as well." Angela pictured the scene she'd just overheard and felt nothing at all. "He's busy. If you can, please send his copy over." She took her set of papers back to that cold house. She packed what little she owned. She stood one last time in the place that had held ten years of love and more pain than she could count, then turned and walked away. She didn't care what face he made when he read the decree. Maybe he'd feel joy, or relief-maybe he'd take the easy breath a man takes when a weight lifts. None of it mattered. Let them have each other. From this day on, Angela Summers would live for herself. A few days later, Gideon brought Elaine home in a cast. At the door, Elaine hesitated and caught his sleeve. "Gideon, you said you'd take care of me and let me stay here, and you'd give me your allowance. Won't Angela be angry? What if... what if she divorces you?" Gideon shook his head, sure as gravity, and a familiar edge bled into his voice. "Divorce? Angela Summers won't leave me. She can't-" He didn't finish. A clerk from the County Clerk's Office jogged up and held out an envelope with both hands. "Captain Holt, good timing. This is the finalized divorce decree for you and Angela Summers. Please sign for receipt." Florence Florence is a passionate reader who finds joy in long drives on rainy days. She's also a fan of Italian makeup tutorials, blending beauty and elegance into her everyday life.