The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 2012

An indeterminate amount of time passed before Stella finally opened her eyes.

It felt like she was waking up from a dream. A terrifying, inescapable nightmare.

"Ms. Cameron, you're awake."

A cool, melodic voice drifted from the side of the room.

Stella blinked, and a beautiful face came into focus. "Ms. Quinn..."

Laurel Quinn looked down at her. Her gaze held a mix of sorrow, pity, and a faint trace of guilt.

"How are you feeling?"

Stella's hand instinctively drifted down to rest over her flat stomach. "The baby..."

Laurel averted her eyes. "The baby... is gone."

Stella's eyes widened. "What... what did you say?"

Laurel's voice was quiet. "Mr. Burton said whatever was given to you wasn't a standard drug. It was a potent poison. Even if they had managed to save the pregnancy, the child would have suffered from severe defects or deformities. You'll need at least two years to recover from this. For the next two years, you can't risk getting pregnant... or the same complications will happen again."

The remaining color drained from Stella's face, inch by agonizing inch. The light in her eyes extinguished like a blown-out candle.

Laurel let out a soft sigh. "Mr. Burton and Colby were worried that the news would completely break Joshua, so they haven't told him yet. They wanted you to make the call."

"Make the call..." Stella repeated the words, her voice hollow.

But if the subject themselves desperately wanted to forget, it added a second, impenetrable lock to their mind.

A hypnotist's lock could be picked.

But a lock forged from a person's own shattered heart was nearly impossible to break.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Laurel let out a breath. "Yes. For Joshua, these memories are carved far too deep, and his situation is completely different from the rest of the Gardner family. The two of you aren't bitter enemies. You haven't done anything unforgivable; you simply don't want to be with him. The love you gave him was real, which is why he could never bring himself to hurt you. So, his only option is to accept the hypnosis, erase you from his mind entirely, and give you your freedom back."

"You sound very confident that he'll agree," Stella noted.

Laurel gave a melancholic smile. "Of course. Because he knows perfectly well that if he refuses, his sickness will eventually drive him to do something that truly harms you.