Ex-Convict To Mysterious Power

Chapter 2

Amanda opened her eyes, every part of her body trembling. Was she... dead? She wasn't. She watched the truck speed off into the distance.

She glanced at Cole. He wasn't injured—he was destroyed. His clothes were soaked in blood.

Everything blurred together: the wailing sirens, climbing into the ambulance with Cole, grabbing his hand and begging him to hang on before they reached the hospital.

Thirty minutes later, Amanda paced the reception area. It felt like hours since they'd rushed Cole into surgery, but none of the doctors or nurses had come out.

Just as she was about to storm through the doors again, the OR opened.

A doctor emerged. Amanda started toward him, then stopped. He had that grim look doctors got before they said, "We lost him"—the kind they tried to cover with a sympathetic smile.

"I don't want to hear it," Amanda burst out. "I just saw him for the first time in three years..." She couldn't finish.

A nurse wheeled someone out. Cole.

Amanda stared back and forth between the doctor and Cole.

"Well, ma'am, I was going to tell you that your husband is a miracle, but you didn't give me the chance," the doctor said with a polite smile.

Amanda let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"If you don't mind, we could tend to your injuries now that you've seen your husband is okay," one of the nurses said, having been trying to get Amanda's attention.

Cole stood up from the wheelchair as the other medical staff left. Amanda was really a woman worth going through hell for. Any other woman would have believed he was guilty from the start.

He walked closer to hug her, but Amanda moved away swiftly.

"The fact that I was worried about you getting hurt doesn't mean I believe what you told me back there," Amanda said. "Anyone would be worried about someone who saved their life."

Cole slowly dropped his arms. "Right... thanks. What do you want me to do?"

Amanda frowned.

"What should I do to prove my innocence to you?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there when it happened, but I'll give you five days," she said. "After five days, if you can't prove your innocence, I'm divorcing you for real."

Cole nodded. Five days was more than enough to get that bastard for screwing him over.

"Ma'am?" The nurse called to Amanda again.

"And," Amanda said as she turned to leave, "don't misunderstand anything. I wasn't that worried about you. I just don't feel any pain right now, and I was thinking of having my personal doctor look at these injuries, so... that's it.”

Cole managed to hide the smile tugging at his lips. Everything might have changed, but nothing compared to knowing his wife was still the same woman he'd risked three years of his life for.

He walked in the opposite direction to get the rest of his treatment.

Inside Amanda's ward, her phone rang.

"Damn," she muttered under her breath before answering.

"You stupid girl!" Her mother's voice blared so loudly that even the nurse gave Amanda a concerned look.

"Just a second," Amanda muttered to the nurse, seeking privacy.

"How far do you want to go to ruin your life? You went to pick that rapist up from prison?!" her mother shouted.

"Mom... he's not a rapist. He's my husband. He just told me what happened. It turns out Blake—you know Blake, don't you, Mom? From the Harrison family—he was the one who did it. Cole only took the fall to protect—"

"You foolish girl," her father's voice cut in. "I don't want to see you anywhere near that worthless idiot."

"He's lying to you now too?" her mother asked. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm still at the hospital."

“Hospital?” her mother repeated, alarm sharpening her voice.

“Yes. We got into an accident somehow.”

“My God—accident? See?! This is exactly what we’ve been warning you about! That man is nothing but bad luck. Are you badly hurt?”

“No,” Amanda replied quietly.

“Thank goodness. Then come home. Now. Grandma’s calling for a family meeting tonight. And listen—divorce that rapist immediately. Maybe, just maybe, Grandma will change her mind.”

"Alright. I'll be bringing Cole—"

"Has the accident affected your hearing? I said don't bring that piece of trash here!" her mother shouted again.

"Dad—" she started, asking for her father's help.

Her father’s voice replaced her mother’s, even colder. “I won’t have this conversation again. Divorce him as fast as possible. I don’t want to see him near you. Ever.”

Amanda sighed. "Okay, Dad." She hung up.

Minutes later, she found Cole waiting for her in the lobby.

"Let's go," she said, already walking toward the door.

"I need to go see—"

"For now, don't see anyone. Let's get you some decent clothes."

"For what?"

"We're meeting Grandma and the rest of my family tonight.”