[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-26032289AC7C-186":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},186,25,"Chapter 25: Threatening Her With His Life","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya gazed at them, her eyes vacant and hollow.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You used to hold family obligation over my head,\" she said, her voice soft but piercing. \"And now? You’ve switched to guilt?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Every bit of your love went to Alexandria. Now that you’re feeling a little regret, you expect me to come crawling back?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She laughed, a single tear sliding down her cheek.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"It’s too late. The moment you turned your back on me, you lost the right to call yourselves my parents.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"That letter of estrangement was the last shred of dignity I had left.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Leave me alone.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She turned and slammed the door on their frantic, desperate pleas.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Leaning against the cold wood, she slid to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. She didn't make a sound; only the rhythmic, silent trembling of her shoulders gave her away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It wasn't that it didn't hurt.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The wound had simply festered and rotted years ago. It was beyond saving.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Four months later, spring hit Montreal.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya’s life had settled into a rhythm. She was fluent in French, had landed a solid translation job, and the ghost of a smile occasionally touched her face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She and Ishaan Montgomery had grown closer. Dinners, gallery openings—he looked at her with a gentle, focused devotion that made her feel truly seen.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan Meyer watched from the shadows, his composure unraveling, though he didn't dare approach.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Then, the call came. An associate, panic-stricken: \"Callahan, your ex-fiancée—I think she’s about to get engaged!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The restraint Callahan had been clinging to snapped.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He rushed to the riverside restaurant, arriving just in time to see Ishaan holding her hand, both of them beaming.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The world narrowed down to that one agonizing sight.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He charged over, shoving Ishaan aside, eyes bloodshot as he glared at Maya. \"You’re going to marry him?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya frowned, backing away. \"That’s none of your business.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"None of my business?\" Callahan let out a jagged, humorless laugh. \"You’re still my fiancée to everyone who matters.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"We’re over.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I never agreed to that!\" he roared, grabbing her arm to drag her away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Ishaan stepped in, but Callahan met him with a brutal punch.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The two men grappled by the riverbank. Callahan fought with an unhinged, reckless intensity, landing blow after blow until Ishaan went limp on the pavement.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan dragged Maya to the river railing. Night had fallen; the water below was pitch-black and freezing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"If I died,\" he said, staring into her cold eyes, a shattered, manic smile on his face, \"would you finally forgive me?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"No,\" she replied, her voice dead. \"If you died, I’d only feel relieved.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Fine.\" Callahan nodded, his expression resolute. \"Then what if I died *for* you?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Before the words faded, he pivoted over the railing and dove into the icy St. Lawrence River.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Callahan!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya’s pupils constricted. She lunged for the railing, but nothing but ripples broke the surface of the black water.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">An icy dread washed over her. She reached for her phone to call 911, but her fingers were too stiff to move.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maya...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A weak voice drifted up from below.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan was clinging to a bridge pier, half-submerged in the freezing current, his face ghastly white in the moonlight.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"See? I can die for you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You’re insane! Get out of there!\" she screamed down at him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Grant me your forgiveness, and I’ll come up.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Are you threatening me?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Yes,\" he spat, his voice shaking—whether from the cold or the desperation, she couldn't tell. \"Maya Cole, I’m threatening you with my life. Either forgive me, or let me go.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The river surged violently. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the concrete.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Get up here! I won’t call the police!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I want your forgiveness.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Impossible!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan smiled—a look that, in the dim light, appeared both bleak and deranged.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Then forget it.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He let go, his body falling backward into the dark, churning water.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"In the next life, I’ll make sure to treat you better.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya leaned over the railing, staring into the darkness that had swallowed him whole. Her blood ran cold.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Time stood still. Only the sound of the rushing river remained.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A few seconds later, she whirled around, stumbling toward the unconscious Ishaan. She snatched up his dropped phone and, with shaking fingers, dialed for an ambulance.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">From start to finish, she never looked at the river again.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She did not turn back.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272930849]