Chapter 77 Attempted murder

Chapter 77 Attempted murder

Aysel lay still under the blankets. Her head rested on Ruan's chest as she listened to his heart beating fast and unevenly. The room was dark, with only moonlight spilling in from outside, but she couldn’t fall asleep. Her stomach felt empty, a sharp ache in the spot where her baby used to be. Hot tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

“Ruan,” Aysel whispered, her voice faltering, wiping her wet face with the back of her hand. “How do you know she wants you all to herself? How do you know she just wants me gone?”

Ruan tensed beneath her, his breathing halting for a moment. He ran his hand gently through her hair.

“I just know how her sick mind works,” Ruan said softly, looking up at the ceiling.

“You’re lying to me,” Aysel replied, propping herself up slightly and gazing down at his face. “You don’t just guess things, Ruan, you always have proof. Tell me the truth right now.”

Ruan sighed heavily, eyes shut tight, appearing like a man carrying a burden. Slowly, he sat up and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.

“I didn’t want to show you this,” Ruan murmured, reaching deep into his pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of white paper, his fingers trembling. “I wanted to protect you from her hurtful words, Aysel, you’ve cried so hard today.”

“What is that?” Aysel asked, her heart racing painfully as she looked at the wrinkled paper.

“When we came back from the hospital,” Ruan explained in a low voice, “someone left a white lily on the table in the living room, and this letter was tied to the stem.”

Aysel gasped and snatched the paper from his hand, her fingers shaking as she unfolded it carefully.

“Read it,” Ruan choked out, rubbing his face with his bandaged hand. “Read what she wrote to me.”

Aysel took a deep breath. Her eyes scanned the black ink as she began reading.

“My sweet little wolf,” she began, her voice trembling with fear. “I sat in a freezing dark room in Zurich for twenty whole years. I stared at a wall every single day, waiting for you to come take me home.”

She paused for a moment, swallowing hard, feeling a sick knot in her stomach, but forced herself to continue.

“Your cruel father locked me away. He told you I was a monster, and you believed his lies,” Aysel read, tears falling onto the paper. “But when I heard he died, I smiled so big because I knew my son would finally come to save me. I packed my small bag and I sat by the window and waited for you.”

Ruan let out a sob, hiding his face in his hands. “I never went to look for her, Aysel. I left her in that hospital because I was so scared of her.”

“You left me in the dark,” Aysel continued reading Seraphina's letter. “You became a billionaire, bought an island, and completely forgot the mother who gave you life. But I never forgot you, Ruan, you are my only boy.”

Aysel's hands trembled violently as she read the last paragraph.

“Then I heard you found a pretty little mouse,” the letter said. “I heard you gave her the heirloom, I heard she was carrying your baby, and my heart broke all over again because she is a dirty thief, Ruan.”

Aysel gasped and dropped the paper onto the bed, unable to speak.

“Keep reading,” Ruan urged, his eyes filled with guilt. “Read the rest, Aysel.”

Aysel picked the paper back up, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“She stole the love that belongs only to me,” Aysel read, now sobbing openly. “She took the time we were supposed to share. I will not let another woman stand beside you. I will not let a baby take your attention away from me. I took the little problem out of her belly, so you have no real reason to stay with her anymore.”

Aysel dropped the paper completely, covering her mouth with her hands as she let out a loud, terrible wail.

“She killed my baby just because she was jealous,” Aysel cried, collapsing onto Ruan's chest and hitting his shirt with her weak fists. “She poisoned me because she wants you all to herself! She wants to be the only person you love!”

“I am so sorry,” Ruan cried along with her, wrapping his arms tightly around her shaking body and burying his wet face in her neck. “It’s all my fault, Aysel. My mother killed our child just to punish me. She ruined our family because I didn’t bring her back, I brought this curse down on you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Aysel sobbed, hugging him back, feeling his body shudder with guilt. “You were just a little boy when they took her away. You didn’t make her crazy. Arthur made her crazy. Your dad made her crazy.”

“But she is targeting you because of me,” Ruan whispered, pulling back to look into her tear-filled eyes. His face looked shattered. “As long as you are married to me, she will never stop hunting you, Aysel, she will try to kill you next.”

Aysel looked at him, feeling the weight of his words. She understood that Seraphina didn’t care about money or business deals, she only wanted to erase Aysel from Ruan's life completely.

“I am not leaving you,” Aysel promised, gripping his face with both hands to make him look at her. “She wants me to run away. She wants me to be scared, but I am staying right here with you, Ruan, we will fight her together.”

Ruan shook his head slowly, gently taking her hands off his face.

“No,” Ruan said firmly, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I cannot risk your life, Aysel. I cannot watch you bleed again.”

“What are you saying?” Aysel asked, her heart sinking. She stared at his hard, cold face.

“I have to send you away,” Ruan said, his voice cracking as a tear slid down his cheek. He pushed himself off the bed. “I will send you far away to another country. I will give you all the money you need. You have to hide until I find her and put her in the ground.”

“You cannot send me away!” Aysel shouted, jumping off the bed and grabbing his arm tightly. “We are married, Ruan. You promised you would never let me go. You promised we would face everything together!”

“This is my own mother,” Ruan replied harshly, gently pulling his arm away, not wanting to hurt her. “I am a danger to you, Aysel. My blood is toxic, my family is cursed, I will not let you die because of my past.”

Aysel stood there, crying hard. She felt abandoned and rejected by the only man she loved.

Before she could plead with him to change his mind, Ruan's phone buzzed loudly on the nightstand.

Ruan walked over, picked it up, wiped his face, and cleared his throat to sound normal.

“Kai,” Ruan answered, his voice rough and exhausted. “What’s going on? Did you lock them up?”

“Ruan, listen carefully,” Kai said from the other end, his voice breathless and terrified. “I took Cole and Liana to the police station, but when I walked inside, the officers pulled their guns on me.”

Ruan frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing. “What do you mean they pulled their guns on you? What happened?”

“Arthur is not in the hospital,” Kai yelled into the phone, the sound of police sirens wailing in the background. “Arthur woke up. He bribed the guards at the hospital, and told the police chief that we attacked him!”

Aysel gasped loudly and stepped closer to Ruan, her fear returning instantly.

"He framed us," Kai panicked, breathing very fast, "he gave the cops fake evidence, Ruan, the police are not looking for Arthur anymore, they are coming to the island right now with a SWAT team, they have warrants to arrest both of us for attempted murder!"