From Burning Bride to Runaway Wife - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Shane snapped into action, whisking me back to the villa and fussing over me like a mother hen. Within two weeks, I was back on my feet—proof of just how well he'd taken care of me. Not wanting to let him spiral into guilt again, I steered the conversation elsewhere.
"So… I had a dream about you last night," I said casually.
Shane's eyebrow quirked. "Oh? What kind of dream?"
I hesitated, then let the words spill out.
"I dreamed I… died in a fire," I murmured. "You dropped everything, flew back, and when you got there…" My voice wavered. "You lost it. You spent hours digging through the wreckage, gathering my ashes… piece by piece."
Shane's expression darkened, but I forced a weak laugh.
"You even built me a monument," I added. "And on it, you wrote… Shane Simmon's wife."
The second the words left my mouth, my cheeks burned. But Shane wasn't laughing. His jaw tightened, his eyes shadowed—like he'd lived that nightmare himself.
For a long moment, silence stretched between us. Then, in a voice so quiet it sent chills down my spine, he asked, "Lara… if that really happened, would you hate me? For putting my name on your tombstone?"
My breath caught. That dream—it hadn't just felt real.
It was real.
Before I could respond, a violent banging erupted from the iron gate outside.
"Lara! I know I was wrong!" A ragged, desperate voice cut through the air. "Please, just see me! I don't agree to the divorce!"
Shane and I bolted outside. There, standing at the gate like a ghost from my past, was Justin.
He looked like hell—sunken cheeks, bloodshot eyes, clothes caked in dust like he'd crawled his way here. But the second he saw me, his whole face lit up with desperate relief.
"I found you," he choked out. "Lara, please—come home. I was blind before, but I see Leah for what she is now. I swear, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Just… give me one more chance."
His sudden change of heart told me everything. He must've finally realized I was the one who'd given him my kidney.
But it didn't matter anymore.
In my last life, he'd pulled this same act—suddenly playing the doting husband, swearing I was the only one he loved. Right up until the moment he set me on fire.
Forgiving him now? That was a death sentence.
I met his pleading gaze, steady and unshaken. "Justin, the divorce papers said everything I needed to say," I told him. "I don't love you anymore. Let's just end this. Walk away, and pretend we never met."
"No—no!" His voice shattered as he dropped to his knees. "Don't say that. It was all my fault, but if you just stay married to me, I'll do anything. Take my life if you want—I don't care!"
His hands clenched into fists, his whole body trembling.
"Lara, I tried to kill myself seven times, and you saved me every one. Ten years ago, your parents saved my life." His voice cracked. "I owe you everything. Just… let me stay by your side. That's all I'm asking."
And then—
"Lara, step aside." Shane's voice cut through the tension like steel.