Gone Quiet, Gone Love novel Chapter 15

After Sabrina spoke, she stood up and didn't spare Nester another glance. Instead, she turned toward the road, flagged down a cab, and left.

Nester lay on the cold ground, staring in the direction she had gone. It felt as if his chest had been brutally torn open, and the pain was so sharp that it sent his whole body into spasms.

The physical pain was nothing compared to a fraction of what her words had inflicted.

It was the first time he had ever rushed his life for her. When he shoved her out of the way, he hadn't thought about what might happen to himself at all. There had only been one thought in his mind, which was to make sure that she didn't get hurt.

Yet, she hadn't looked at him twice. Instead, she said his life disgusted her and that even if he died for her, she wouldn't turn back.

Nester closed his eyes as tears mixed with blood and grime slid from the corners.

His left arm ended up fractured and wrapped in a cast. His right leg was severely bruised, and he needed crutches to walk. The doctor advised him to stay hospitalized for further observation, but he refused.

After completing the discharge procedures, he hobbled back to the hotel, leaning on his crutches. The next day, he showed up outside Sabrina's office building again.

With one arm in a sling, one leg limping, and a pale face, he stood there stubbornly. His eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the building's exit.

Sabrina saw him when she walked out, but she never slowed down. Her gaze skimmed over him like he was an inconvenient object in the way, then she walked expressionlessly around him and headed for the subway station.

Nester's lips moved. He wanted to call her name, but no sound escaped his lips. All he could do was limp on his crutches and follow far behind her like a ridiculous, stubborn shadow.

On the third day, he waited downstairs with a huge bouquet of bright red roses. Sabrina stepped out and walked straight past without bothering to give him a single glance.

Holding the flowers, Nester caught up and tried to shove them into her hands. "Sab, these are your favorite—"

She stopped and turned to look at him with an icy glare. "Do you not understand plain language? I told you to stop bothering me."

She took the bouquet, didn't even glance at it, and tossed it straight into the trash can by the curb. Then, she turned and walked away without looking back.

Nester stared at the bouquet of fresh, still glowing red roses in the trash can. His chest ached dully.

On the fourth day, he brought an exquisite gift box. It contained a priceless necklace Sabrina had once glimpsed in a magazine, which he had had someone bid on at an auction.

Sabrina accepted the gift box and opened it briefly. Then, she snapped it shut with a click and shoved it back into his arms.

"Return it as it is. I don't need it," she said. "I don't need anything that belongs to you."

Having said that, she turned and left.

He remained where he was, clutching the cold gift box and standing in the wind like an abandoned statue.

All the blood in Nester's body froze in that moment. He remembered that day when he came home to find Della with her head in her hands. She was sitting on the floor, crying. Blood had seeped through her fingers.

She had accused Sabrina of pushing her, so he naturally believed her words.

When he went to Sabrina, she was pale and holding her stomach. Her eyes were filled with a desperate plea as she cried out, "Nester… Save me… The baby…"

He had thought she was faking it and locked her in a dark room, while she shook and was in so much pain she could barely stand.

Outside the door, he listened to her pounding, crying, and begging until her voice gradually weakened and eventually disappeared.

What had he been doing then? He had been comforting Della and calling the family doctor. Then, he had carried her to the car and taken her to the hospital.

He had left Sabrina alone in the freezing room to fend for herself. He was the culprit who had personally destroyed his baby's only chance to live and crushed her last shred of love for him.

"There's more," Reid added. His voice carried a barely noticeable tremor.

"Investigation reports for the cause of the fire at the villa are out. The fire department found partially burned remnants of an accelerant packaging in the trash can of the guest room Ms. Green stayed in that night.

"Preliminary assessment confirms that the fire started in that room, and based on the residue patterns, it was arson."