The Wife You Buried Is Back from Hell novel Chapter 1321

Danielle’s eyes stung.

She reached out, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Alexander, are you out of your mind? How could you drink that much in your condition?"

Alexander froze for a second.

He reached up, awkwardly wiping the tears from her cheeks, his voice laced with apology. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... the clients were just relentless..."

Danielle stared at his pale face and the sheer exhaustion in his eyes.

She knew he was doing this for work, for The Davidson Group, and for her and Niki.

But how could he be so reckless with his own health?

"Alexander," she whispered, looking up into his eyes with a lump in her throat. "Do you have any idea what this is doing to your body..."

Before she could finish, his body swayed, and his head dropped onto her shoulder as he passed out completely.

Danielle stiffened.

She looked down at his sleeping face, a heavy, suffocating dread settled in her chest.

-

Winter was settling in, the days growing colder by the minute.

It was barely past five in the afternoon, but the sky was already pitch black.

Danielle gripped the steering wheel, watching the snowflakes grow heavier against the windshield.

Today was Niki and Raffy's final exam day, marking the end of the semester.

The sky had only been overcast when she left the house that morning, so she hadn't expected a snowstorm by dusk.

A heavy snowfall was a good omen, Danielle thought to herself. Surely, the kids' exams would go smoothly with luck like this.

She reached for her phone to text Alexander to warn him about the icy roads, but her finger hovered over the screen before she gently pulled it back.

She was still furious with him for coming home blackout drunk a few days ago, though her anger was hopelessly tangled with heartache. She had no idea how to bring up his medical report.

The car pulled slowly into the gates of Pioneer Elementary School, the entrance already jammed with parents waiting to pick up their kids.

Danielle found an empty spot and parked. The second she pushed the door open, a blast of freezing wind rushed in, making her shrink back into her collar.

Pulling her cashmere coat tighter around herself, she hurried toward the main building.

Outside the doors, kids were filing out in lines.

Her gaze swept through the crowd, quickly spotting two familiar silhouettes.

Niki, bundled in a red puffer jacket, was bouncing ahead like a little ray of sunshine, chattering a mile a minute.

Behind her, Raffy was dragging his feet, head bowed and looking entirely drained.

Looking at the concern in their eyes, a wave of frustration washed over him.

He sniffled and muttered, "Mom, I... I left a lot of the questions blank."

"I totally bombed it."

"It's seriously no big deal!"

Niki patted his shoulder, comforting him like a little adult. "Everyone messes up sometimes. Look at me, I got a question wrong on the last math quiz."

"Then I studied super hard, and now I'm definitely getting a perfect score."

Seeing Niki act so confident made Raffy crack a small smile, the heavy weight in his chest lifting just a little.

Danielle took both kids by the hand and led them toward the parking lot.

The snowfall was intensifying, swirling down to coat their hair and shoulders in a fine white layer.

Niki happily reached out to catch the flakes, cheering, "It's snowing! It's snowing! We can build a snowman!"

Just as they reached their SUV, a familiar black Bentley slowly pulled up next to them.

The door opened, and Alexander stepped out, looking incredibly sharp in a long black overcoat, a large black umbrella in hand.

His eyes locked onto Danielle, and he quickly closed the distance, opening the umbrella over her head to shield her from the swirling storm.