https://inkbloom.urdujankari.com/time-bends-broken-men-leo-fisher-1/

Osmond Mitchell, my husband, and Courtney Fennimore—the false heiress my parents raised in my absence—had been inseparable since childhood, their bond forged long before I ever entered their lives.

It was during the horrific moment of our kidnapping that fate twisted cruelly. As I lay there, helpless and terrified, Osmond, a dedicated doctor, rushed to the scene in an ambulance. In that critical instant, he made a choice that would haunt me forever: he chose to save her first.

He left me, shivering in the icy embrace of the ocean, my legs shattered and broken, as the darkness of despair began to close in around me.

In those fleeting, desperate moments, I pleaded with him, my voice barely a whisper, begging for salvation—for myself and for our unborn child.

His response was a glance filled with contempt, as if I were nothing more than a nuisance. “You’d actually lie about being pregnant just to get me to save you? You’re disgusting, Blanche. Consider this my way of repaying you for that time you saved my life. Don’t forget to come to the hospital and sign the divorce papers.”

With trembling fingers, I removed my hearing aid from my right ear, the world fading into silence.

***

Never in the darkest corners of my imagination did I envision that I, a woman who had always taken pride in her appearance and dignity, would meet such a tragic and undignified end.

The kidnappers had subjected me to unimaginable torture before carelessly discarding me like a broken doll on the shore. The frigid seawater washed over me repeatedly, a relentless reminder of my suffering.

Blood oozed from beneath my body, mingling with the saltwater, staining it a deep crimson.

Osmond’s gaze was fixated solely on Courtney, as if I were a mere ghost, a shadow that didn’t deserve his attention.

By the time I was finally rushed to the hospital, I felt as if the very life was draining from me. My legs were contorted at grotesque angles, and I resembled a marionette whose strings had been severed.

The medical staff, confronted with the horror of my condition, were at a loss.

“What do we do?” one nurse whispered, her voice trembling. “Should we call Dr. Mitchell? He might know how to handle this.”

But another nurse shook her head, her expression bleak. “Dr. Mitchell is completely consumed with saving his childhood sweetheart right now. Do you really think he’d leave her side to help a stranger?”

But I wasn’t a stranger—I was his wife, the woman who had stood by him through thick and thin.

Perhaps it was the bitterness that filled my heart that prevented my spirit from fading away completely. Instead, it lingered, hovering in the air, a silent observer of my broken form.

Then, as if drawn by an invisible force, I felt my essence being pulled away.

When the dizziness subsided, I found myself in a sterile treatment room, where Osmond and Courtney were.

Courtney lay in a hospital bed, and he was meticulously stitching up her wounds, his hands steady and sure.

Her injuries were minor, something he could have easily handled in a moment.

Yet, I noticed the genuine worry etched across his features.

“Don’t worry, Courty,” he murmured, his voice soft and soothing. “I’ll make sure there’s not a single scar left.”

Once he finished, he tenderly moved her to a general ward, his care evident in every gesture.

Alone with her, he leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. The look in his eyes was filled with a kind of affection and tenderness that I had never once received from him.

At that moment, a nurse entered to disinfect Courtney’s wounds.

She glanced at Osmond, her voice laced with sympathy. “Ms. Fennimore is so fortunate. Thanks to your quick response, she’s going to be alright. And that other female patient who was kidnapped and brought in around the same time—”

Osmond interrupted her, his tone sharp. “Don’t mention the kidnapping in front of Courty. It could hinder her psychological recovery.”

He knew that “other female patient” was me, yet he didn’t want to hear anything about my plight.

The nurse glanced at Courtney, still under the effects of anesthesia, and nodded in understanding.

Bitterness welled up within me. Osmond had thought of everything for Courtney’s sake. How considerate of him.

He was determined to ensure that not a single scar marred her modeling career, nor did he want the trauma of the kidnapping to haunt her.

But me? I was invisible to him.

Why should I be surprised? He had always held a deep-seated resentment toward me.

When he arrived with the ransom for Courtney, I summoned every ounce of strength I had left, crawling toward him, desperate to plead for my life and the life of our child.

But he simply stared at me, his expression twisted in disgust, before he called for another ambulance, as if he were granting me a favor. “You’d actually lie about being pregnant just to get me to save you? You’re revolting, Blanche.

“Courty was kidnapped all because of you. I’ll never forgive you.

“Consider this my way of repaying you for that time you saved my life. Don’t forget to come to the hospital and sign the divorce papers.”

With that, he climbed into the ambulance, cradling a trembling and sobbing Courtney in his arms.

He ordered the driver to hurry back to the hospital, his voice leaving no room for argument.

As the ambulance doors swung shut, I was still desperately clawing toward the shore, the bitter wind biting at my skin.

I continued to bleed, the tide rising ominously, threatening to consume me whole.

In that pitiful state, anyone with even a shred of compassion would have reached out to help.

My broken limbs shook with agony, tears streaming down my face, mingling with the sand beneath me.

A sharp, excruciating pain radiated from my abdomen, spreading like wildfire through my entire being. The seawater around me turned a vivid red, tainted by my blood.

In a whisper barely audible above the crashing waves, I murmured, “I’m so sorry, baby. It’s all my fault…

“I was so obsessed with a man who was never truly mine… I robbed you of the chance to even open your eyes and see this world.”