Left for Dead Came Back for Everything novel Chapter 8

Eliza suddenly felt a strong urge to laugh.

Was it that she wouldn't listen? He just kept repeating the same excuses over and over again about how his hands were tied.

Right. He was adopted by Yvonne's family, of course Yvonne was special to him.

But did he ever stop to think how terrified she was during the earthquake? Or how scared she was in the hospital?

She was horrified that she would never walk again, that she would never return to the stage.

When the doctor apologized and told her she had lost the baby, she had completely shattered into a million pieces.

And what was Zander doing? He was out celebrating Yvonne's birthday!

That was their first child.

Eliza felt an invisible hand brutally crushing her heart, squeezing all the air from her lungs.

She tried to yank her hand away, but he held on tight.

"Let go," Eliza choked down the bitterness in her throat. "Zander, I'm not pathetic, and I don't have the time to play these games with you."

Zander's eyes narrowed dangerously.

He suddenly pulled her harder, catching her off guard. Momentum pitched her forward, sending her crashing straight into his chest.

His long fingers brushed her palm, sending a jolt of electricity through her skin.

Eliza's spine went rigid. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs, her breath hitching in her throat.

She instinctively looked up.

The next second, Zander's handsome face filled her vision.

He crashed his lips onto hers in a fierce, desperate kiss.

The kiss was ruthlessly possessive, both deeply familiar and utterly foreign.

Eliza's mind went blank for a split second before a tidal wave of humiliation and fury surged through her.

A sharp, echoing slap rang out through the quiet, spacious waiting room of the clinic.

Zander's head snapped to the side, a stark red handprint blooming instantly on his pale cheek.

He looked completely stunned by the blow, his dark pupils constricting rapidly.

He stared in absolute shock at the woman in front of him, whose eyes were red with fury.

"Zander, you make me sick!" Eliza trembled all over, violently shoving him away and wiping her mouth in disgust with the back of her hand.

"Wait... I've seen a picture of you. You're Eliza, the ex-wife who abandoned Zander three years ago!"

Immediate whispers broke out across the room.

"So she's the ex-wife..."

"I heard Dr. Roth's son's ex-wife was a gold digger who ran off during the earthquake and left him to die. She's heartless."

"Now that he's back with his billionaire parents, she's trying to crawl back, huh? Completely shameless."

"Right? Causing a scene at his parents' clinic. She's probably just here for a payout."

Hearing the murmurs, Eleanor lifted her chin even higher, her gaze dripping with contempt. "I knew there was a foul stench in the air this morning! Eliza, you bailed on Zander the second things got tough because you thought he was a worthless orphan. And now that you know he's the heir to our medical empire, you're back to latch onto him? I'm telling you right now, it's never going to happen!"

"Mom, that's enough," Zander frowned heavily, stepping forward to pull her back. But his eyes remained glued to Eliza's increasingly pale face.

"Eliza?"

A sweet, pitiful voice chimed in.

Yvonne seemingly appeared out of thin air, her eyes red as she stepped up to support Eleanor's arm. Acting the part of the peacemaker, every word out of her mouth was pure gasoline on the fire.

"Eleanor, don't blame Eliza. She must have had her reasons for leaving without a word. Even though... even though her abandonment gave Zander severe PTSD, and he had to rely on sleeping pills for a whole year just to close his eyes, and just hearing the word 'earthquake' makes him shake uncontrollably..."