When the Dream Finally Died

When the Dream Finally Died

Rabbit

5.0
Comment(s)
2.5K
View
28
Chapters

Once upon a time, Ryann had been the sole recipient of Colby's undivided love, making the sense of its absence all the more piercing when it was gone. She stated plainly, "Let's get divorced." Yet, with an arm casually wrapped around another woman's waist, Colby responded with a careless grin, "You and I are meant to be tied together forever."

When the Dream Finally Died Chapter 1

Everyone in their circle said Colby Willis was madly in love with his wife Ryann Fowler.

He would spend astronomical sums to charter a private yacht just to celebrate her birthday. And if some spoiled heir so much as flirted with her, Colby wouldn't hesitate to wipe out that family overnight.

Only Ryann knew the truth. Every night they spent together, after the passion faded, Colby would retreat into his study, lowering his voice as he gently comforted another girl.

That illusion shattered on the night of their fifth wedding anniversary. Colby's secretary, Suzanne Price, was kidnapped, and he completely lost control.

That same night, he had Ryann's younger brother, Charlee Fowler, who was being treated at a psychiatric hospital, abducted. Using the boy's life as leverage, he forced Ryann to confess where Suzanne was.

Colby sat high above her like a king on his throne, looking down coldly at Ryann as she knelt before him.

"Ryann," he said, his voice ice-cold. "I'm asking you one last time. Where did you hide Suzanne?"

Ryann's throat tightened. Her blood felt frozen as she stared at the man she once loved, unable to say a single word in her defense.

This was the third time he had questioned her.

The first time, she stayed silent. Colby had cupped her chin and kissed her deeply. "Don't be stubborn. Tell me everything, and I'll let it go."

The second time, she told him she didn't know. Colby's face turned cold. He walked away and starved her for three days and nights.

This time, he had no patience left. He was ready to kill her brother just to force her to admit a crime she never committed.

On the projection screen, Charlee's terrified face filled her vision. Ryann's tears fell uncontrollably.

"Colby, you know he is my whole life!"

Colby sneered, his eyes devoid of warmth. "Oh? Then when he tried to stab Suzanne, did he ever think about how important she is to me?"

Ryann stared at him in disbelief. The man who once shared her bed now felt terrifyingly unfamiliar.

When Suzanne first appeared, Colby had said taking care of her was nothing more than a charitable gesture.

That very night, he had held Ryann for hours, swearing that she would be his one and only love.

And now, just because Suzanne hadn't answered her phone for a single night, he was ready to throw Ryann's only brother to the sharks.

"Colby," Rhea asked hoarsely, "if I don't say anything, will you really kill my brother?"

Colby leaned down and grabbed her chin. "You're welcome to gamble on it."

On the screen, Charlee, dangling from a rope over a cliff, suddenly dropped. He came dangerously close to falling straight into the open jaws of sharks below.

The poor boy screamed in terror, his voice breaking. "Don't! Ryann, Colby, save me!"

He had no idea that the man he trusted most was the one trying to kill him.

The rope jerked him back up, then slowly lowered him again.

Beside Ryann's ear, her husband spoke with a cold smile, "Ten. Nine. Eight..."

"I really don't know!" Ryann sobbed. "Colby, please, please let him go!"

She completely broke down, slamming her head into the floor again and again until blood streamed down her forehead.

Colby watched her indifferently. "Lying even when death is right in front of you," he said flatly. "Ryann, you disgust me."

The next second, the rope snapped. Ryann saw it clearly-Charlee plunging into the sea as countless sharks swarmed toward him.

Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke again, she was lying in a hospital bed.

Colby sat beside her, his expression gentle as he wiped the sweat from her forehead, as if she has only had a nightmare.

"Another bad dream? You always have nightmares when you're sick. You were unconscious for three days this time-must've been worse than usual."

He went on about how the doctors said she had suffered emotional shock and needed rest.

Then, impatiently, he added, "Suzanne's fine now. Turns out that silly girl flew abroad for fun. That's why she didn't answer my calls. I misunderstood you this time."

Ryann turned her head away, refusing to look at him. A single tear slid from the corner of her eye.

Julian's tone suddenly turned sharp. "But if Charlee hadn't done that to Suzanne and caused her depression, none of this would've happened."

Ryann sat bolt upright, ripping out the IV needle. Blood immediately seeped from the back of her hand.

She grabbed Colby and demanded, "Then where is Charlee?"

Colby's expression remained calm. "He was bitten and has already been sent back to the psychiatric hospital to recover. Don't worry. I know how important he is to you. That day was just a joke."

That sentence ignited every ounce of rage Ryann had suppressed for years. She raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. "Colby, I want a divorce."

Continue Reading

Other books by Rabbit

More

You'll also like

The Billionaire's Regret: My Tortured Ex-Wife

The Billionaire's Regret: My Tortured Ex-Wife

Rum Runner

My husband stood by the window of his Manhattan office, his silhouette cutting through the storm like a blade. He didn't even look at me as he tossed the divorce papers onto the desk, his voice a cold baritone. "Sign it," Isaiah commanded, "or your brother’s dialysis treatment ends today." He believed the lie that I had pushed his pregnant mistress down a flight of stairs in a jealous rage. To save my dying brother, I signed the confession and accepted the role of a murderer, trading my freedom for a life of disgrace. At the funeral, Isaiah forced me to crawl on my knees through the freezing mud to the grave while a mob of mourners spat on me and cursed my name. When I went to prison, his influence followed me into the showers, where inmates told me the King wanted me to "remember my crime" before they used rusty shears to hack off my finger. Five years later, I was a ghost living in a damp basement with the son Isaiah never knew I had, hiding my mangled hand under a leather glove. When he eventually tracked us down, he didn't show mercy; he tore my son from my arms, calling me an unfit monster and swearing I would rot in a cage. I couldn't understand how the man I once loved could look at my broken body and see only a criminal, never realizing that every scar I carried was a gift from his own hatred. As he walked away with my child, I swallowed a bottle of pills to end the nightmare, leaving Isaiah to rip the glove from my hand and discover the mangled truth just as my eyes finally closed.

The Billionaire's Blind Bride: No Mercy

The Billionaire's Blind Bride: No Mercy

Emma

I married Clive Harrington, the coldest billionaire in Manhattan, under a strict contract that forbade any emotional burdens. When I needed a high-risk surgery to save my sight, I checked into the clinic alone, hiding the procedure from a husband who saw me as nothing more than a legal asset. I thought I could handle the darkness in silence. But while I was blind and bandaged in my hospital bed, my biological mother called, screaming that if I didn't produce a Harrington heir by the end of the fiscal year, she would cut off the life-saving treatments for my disabled sister. I was crawling on the cold hospital floor, desperately feeling for a cane I had dropped, when I touched a pair of expensive leather shoes. It was Clive. He was supposed to be in London closing a multi-million dollar deal, but there he was, watching his "contract wife" groveling in the dark like a beggar. He didn't walk away in disgust. He carried me to a five-thousand-dollar-a-night VIP suite and sat by my bed, listening in chilling silence as another voicemail from my mother filled the room, calling me a "useless broodmare" who was only worth the trust fund disbursements my marriage secured. I expected him to remind me of Clause 34B or hand me divorce papers now that I was "damaged goods." Instead, I felt his thumb brush a stray tear from my cheek, his presence shifting from a statue of ice into a predatory shield. "I thought I was just currency to you," I whispered, my voice trembling behind the gauze. "Just an investment." Clive didn't answer with words. He picked up his phone and called his head of legal with a single, terrifying command: "Kill the Douglas family’s credit lines. Every debt, every lien—trigger them all. If they want a war, I’ll give them a massacre." As he leaned down to kiss my bandaged forehead, I realized the contract was dead. My husband wasn't protecting an asset anymore; he was hunting the people who had dared to touch what belonged to him.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book