The Plane Tickets He Hoarded The Wife He Hid novel Chapter 28

28 Chapter 28 Same Story Different Fool

Blanche’s POV

“Amara, what the hell happened to your face?”

My voice cracked.

Amara’s check was mottled purple, her left eye swollen shut.

When she pulled off her cap, fresh bruises circled her scalp like hideous jewelry–some spots were bald where hair had been torn out.

My stomach churned. “Marquis again?”

Amara just nodded, tears all dried up.

Hope had rotted away long ago, yet she still clung to that monster’s side.

To stay with him and survive–that was miracle enough.

I grabbed my phone. “I’m calling the police.”

Amara seized my wrist. “Fix me up first.”

I sighed and caved.

Just as I finished treating Amara’s face and was about to strip off my gloves, Amara pushed up her sleeve.

The sight of bruised flesh and crusted blood made my stomach lurch.

“What kind of hex did he cast on you? He’s pummeling you senseless and you’re still there?”

Amara gave a bitter laugh. “Eight years, Blanche. I keep thinking he’ll change someday.”

I pressed the cotton swab so hard Amara winced. “What’s more important? A man or your life?”

Amara grimaced but stayed silent.

“I…I won’t let it happen again,” she whispered feebly.

My temper exploded. I hurled the tweezers into the metal tray with a crash. “Next time I see you, it’ll be at the morgue.”

“That won’t happen…” Amara’s voice faded, unconvincing.

“Christ, Amara,” I snapped, fury bubbling over. “Are you that desperate for a man?”

Amara stared at the floor, avoiding my eyes. “If I leave Marquis… nobody else would have me…

My fists tightened. I’d heard those exact words from my own family.

Whatever. You can’t rescue someone determined to destroy themselves.

No matter how much I preached, Amara’s pig–headed nature wouldn’t budge. Some hard truths had to be lived, not taught,

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28 Chapter 28 Same Story Different Fool

Defeated, I silently kept bandaging her wounds.

“Maybe… maybe I’ll have a word with Marquis,” Amara suggested meekly, clearly trying to calm me down.

I dismissed the hollow promise. “You realize these injuries could put him behind bars for assault?”

Amara went quiet.

Amara’s phone rang–Marquis’s name blazed across the screen like a warning. She flashed it at me, eyes gleaming. “He still cares.”

I kept my head down, mumbling only “Mm.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t give a damn, but I knew Amara inside and out.

Talk was cheap. Some lessons demanded action.

On speaker, Marquis’s voice was cold. “Where are you?”

“At the hospital,” Amara replied, tears finally flowing.

Marquis didn’t miss a beat. “I want perfectly cooked fish and braised beef for lunch.”

Amara dabbed her face, already grabbing her bag. “I’ll go shopping and cook immediately.”

To Amara, this was evidence that Marquis still wanted their marriage to survive.

My hand stopped mid–motion. Same story, different fool.

I’d once believed a second child would bind Zain to me–different guy, identical fantasy.

Jesus. Looking back now, my past seemed completely idiotic.

After Amara departed, I treated three or four more patients.

Despite my efforts, I couldn’t stop worrying.

Finally, I texted Amara: “Remember your medication. Keep those cuts clean.”

Not one word about the relationship.

At lunch I slipped out for a quick meal, took a detour past a café, and stopped dead.

Through the window I spotted Marquis spoon–feeding steak to a woman dressed like a walking highlighter.

Instead of eating the bite, she first dragged her glossy lips slowly along the meat. The deliberate tease stretched on before she finally

wrapped her mouth around the fork.

Beneath the table, her foot worked his ankle like she was operating heavy machinery.

Marquis couldn’t resist the game. His hand snapped out, grabbing the woman’s delicate ankle. With a gasp, she pitched forward across

the table–her top falling open to expose a glimpse of ivory flesh that scared itself into memory.

They performed shamelessly, not even bothering to close the blinds–such shameless nerve.

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28 Chapter 28 Same Story Different Fool

But what made my blood simmer was Marquis’s vow to come home for dinner.

That naive fool Amara was probably still waiting, food getting cold.

I took a picture, hit call. “Is he back yet?”

“No, he’s tied up at the office,” Amara said, voice bright.

Office, right? This is his so–called job?

1 pocketed the phone.

1 charged inside before the server could react.

Marquis was chatting with the girl, completely oblivious to my presence.

His grin vanished when red wine doused his face, followed by a slap that left my palm stinging.

The woman next to Marquis squealed in terror, diving into the corner like a scared animal.

Marquis needed a stunned moment to process before he jumped up, finger pointed accusingly at me. “Have you completely lost it,

Blanche Callum?”

I matched his stare. “You know damn well what you’ve done, Marquis Landon. How dare you act innocent?”

Guilt flashed across his features before he pivoted, turning on the paralyzed staff. “What kind of place is this? I’m a paying customer–are

you going to let some psycho attack your guests?”

Before the staff could answer, Marquis shouted, “Call security! Remove this crazy woman!”

I laughed, already spinning toward the exit. “Save it. I can find my own way out.”

I was about to leave.

But Marquis wasn’t finished. “You think you can just smack me, drench me in wine, and waltz away?”

His tone turned toxic. “Think again, Blanche.”

Ignoring him, I pushed past staring customers–only to find my escape blocked by flashing squad car lights before I’d even reached the

street vendors.

An officer flashed his badge, then displayed incriminating phone video of me attacking Marquis.

The handcuffs snapped closed.

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29 Chapter 29 What Else Do You Want

29 Chapter 29 What Else Do You Want