The Moment I Realized I Can't Lose You novel Chapter 46

The hospital room fell dead silent. The only sound was the cold, rhythmic *beep-beep* of the monitors.

Fiona shot Rainey a panicked, uncertain look.

Rainey gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, then let out a frail, long-suffering sigh. "Fiona, please don't push him. I just got back to the country. If Joaquin and Audrey divorce the second I return, and he and I get together immediately after, what will people say about me? What will they say about him?"

She bit her lip, lowering her gaze to project a perfect mixture of bashfulness and noble sacrifice. "Both of us have reputations to protect. I refuse to let people gossip about him, and Joaquin doesn't want me unfairly labeled as a homewrecker..."

She finally looked up, meeting Audrey’s eyes with a hidden, venomous challenge. "Besides, Audrey doesn't really have a place to go in Silveridge. If they divorce now, she'll have to go back to her little village and drive a tractor..."

Lowering her head again, she pressed a hand to her chest and coughed lightly. "And my treatment still requires Audrey’s help. We can't let her leave just yet. So, Fiona, let's just put off any talk of divorce for a little while longer."

Audrey’s hands balled into tight fists at her sides. So that was it. Every time she brought up divorce, Joaquin shut it down immediately—not because he still cared, not because he couldn't let her go.

It was for Rainey. She had just returned, and he couldn't let her bear the stigma of being the other woman. So, he refused to sign.

Rainey was sick and needed a bone marrow transplant, so he had to keep Audrey trapped by his side—a convenient, legally bound blood bag.

A sickening rush of sorrow and bile rose in Audrey’s throat. One year of marriage. Not particularly long, but not exactly short, either. Sure, they lacked the fiery passion of other newlyweds, but they had respected each other. The peace between them had always been comfortable.

She had known on their wedding day that this happiness was borrowed and would eventually have to be returned. But she had honestly believed that when the time came, they would part ways amicably, with mutual respect. She never expected this.

She looked up, fighting through the overwhelming surge of emotion to stare dead into Joaquin’s eyes. "So, the reason you won't sign the papers... is because of everything she just said?"

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