---- Chapter 7 Elaina Higgins POV: | woke up in our bed. My head was throbbing with a dull, persistent ache, and a bandage was neatly taped to my temple. The memory of what happened crashed over me with the force of a physical blow: Cory' s taunts, the scattered pearls, Derek' s shove, the blinding pain. Derek was sitting in a chair by the bed, his head in his hands. He looked up when he heard me stir, his face a mess of exhaustion and guilt. "Elaina," he breathed, rushing to my side. "Thank God you're okay. The doctor came. He said you have a mild concussion. You need to rest." | stared at him, my expression unreadable. | felt nothing. The pain, the anger, the humiliation-it had all burned away, leaving behind a hollow, icy calm. "Where is she?" | asked, my voice flat. Derek flinched. "She's gone. | sent her away. | told her | never wanted to see her again. It's over, Elaina. | swear to you, it is finally, completely over." He tried to take my hand, but | pulled it away. ---- "You pushed me," | said, the words falling like chips of ice into the silence. "You pushed me, for her." His face crumpled. Tears welled in his eyes. "| know. God, Elaina, | know. | wasn't thinking. | just reacted. | saw you going for her and I... | panicked. It was the stupidest, most horrible mistake of my life. | will never, ever forgive myself." He was crying now, actual tears streaming down his handsome face. It was another stellar performance. "| need to be alone," | said, turning my face to the wall. For the next few days, he was the perfect, penitent partner. He barely left my side, catering to my every need, his apologies a constant, desperate litany. He told me he had cancelled all his meetings, postponed a multi-million dollar deal, all to take care of me. He wanted to prove | was his priority. It was too little, too late. While he was busy playing nurse, | was solidifying my plan. | used a burner phone I' d bought to contact a private investigator. | gave him Cory's name and a hefty retainer. | wanted everything on her. And on Derek. On the third day, Derek came into the room, his face grim. "We need to talk," he said. | sat up, my heart giving a nervous flutter. "The wedding is in four days," he said, his voice quiet. "| know ---- the timing is horrible. | know | have... a lot to make up for. But Elaina, | cannot lose you. Marrying you is the only thing that matters to me." He got down on one knee beside the bed, pulling a small velvet box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a stunning diamond ring, far larger and more elaborate than my simple engagement band. "This is a promise," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "A new promise. That from this day forward, | will be the man you deserve. No more lies. No more secrets. Just you and me. Forever." He was trying to buy my forgiveness. He thought a bigger diamond could patch the gaping hole he had torn in my life. | looked at the ring, then at his earnest, pleading face. And | made a decision. "Okay," | whispered. A wave of relief so profound it was almost shocking washed over his face. He slid the ring onto my finger. It felt heavy, cold. A beautiful shackle. "You won't regret this," he promised, kissing my hand. "I'll make you so happy." "| know," | said, a faint, cryptic smile on my lips. "I'm planning a little surprise for the wedding day. Something you'll never forget." ---- He grinned, the old, confident Derek returning. "| love your surprises. As long as the surprise is you walking down that aisle, that's all | need." "Oh, it'll be a surprise, alright," | thought, the icy resolve solidifying around my heart. "It will be a day of reckoning." The night before the wedding, he was buzzing with excitement. He had moved back into the bedroom, and while | insisted on sleeping with a wall of pillows between us, citing my "headache," he seemed content just to be near me. He was in the shower when his phone, which he had carelessly left on the nightstand, lit up with a call. The name on the screen made my blood run cold. Cory. | stared at it, my hand trembling. After everything, after his promises and his tears, he was still in contact with her. The betrayal was a living, breathing thing, a monster that could not be killed. Then, a new message popped up. It was from a number | didn't recognize. He' s not with you. He' s with her. At the hospital. She had an 'accident'. Attached was a photo. Cory, lying in a hospital bed, a pained expression on her face. And Derek, sitting beside her, holding her hand. ---- My world, which | thought had already shattered, broke into even smaller pieces. He wasn't just talking to her. He was with her. On the eve of our wedding. He had left me alone to rush to her side. My phone rang. It was an unknown number. | answered, my voice a dead whisper. "Hello?" "Is this Elaina Higgins?" a frantic voice asked. It was a nurse from the hospital. "I'm sorry to bother you, but Mr. Gomez listed you as his emergency contact. There's been a situation. His... associate, Ms. Pennington, requires an immediate blood transfusion.