Chapter 20
The hospital rooftop was eerily quiet–just the sound of sirens in the far distance and the wind brushing past steel railings. Maureen stood at the edge, her hair wild in the breeze, eyes filled with tears and fury. Her hands gripped the railing like it was the only thing anchoring her.
“Get Johansen up here!” she screamed at the officers. “I want to talk to him! I won’t say a word unless he comes. Or I’ll jump!”
Minutes later, Johansen arrived–jaw clenched, eyes dark with restrained rage. He walked past the police and security, waving them off as he stepped into view.
“What the hell are you doing, Maureen?” he snapped.
She turned, trembling. “You forgot me,” she said, voice cracking. “I called you, Johansen! I said I was in an accident. I needed you! I said something was wrong, and you didn’t even answer!”
He froze.
“I lost the baby,” she whispered.
His chest rose slowly, but he said nothing.
Maureen’s voice grew louder, more frantic. “You were too busy with her! With Cassandra! You didn’t even notice that I was bleeding and alone! I was calling you, Johansen, and you never
came!”
She stepped closer to the edge, and Johansen surged forward–but stopped himself.
“You told me was important!” she shouted. “You said we could be a family, that she didn’t matter! And now you want to divorce me?! Like I’m nothing?”
His voice came low and sharp. “Because you are nothing to me now.”
She flinched.
“You tried to kill her,” he continued. “You locked her inside her own boutique. You nearly burned
her alive, Maureen!”
Maureen shook her head, tears pouring freely. “No… I just–I wanted her gone. I wanted you to see me again!”
‘You didn’t lose me because of her,” Johansen said coldly. “You lost me because of you.”
Maureen lunged toward him and pressed her lips to his, desperate. “Don’t say that, please–don’t leave me. Please, I’ll fix it. I can be better. I will be better.”
He shoved her away.
‘I told
you to never touch me again.”
She looked broken, mascara streaked, lips trembling. “I loved you…”
‘No,” Johansen snapped. “You loved the idea of winning. You wanted what Cassandra had. Admit it.”
Maureen’s mouth opened, but no sound came.
He stepped closer, voice now shaking with fury. “I made mistakes. I ruined someone who truly loved me. But you? You destroyed everything. You were my punishment.”
“You said you’d make me happy,” she whispered. “I am your wife!”
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“I said a lot of things. And now I’m telling you this: we’re over. The papers are signed. Pack things. Leave my house.”
She stood still, stunned.
your
He added, “Cassandra is coming home. And I’ll do everything I can to make her feel safe again- even if that means removing every threat in her life.”
“Even me?”
“Especially you.”
Maureen suddenly climbed onto the railing. Gasps erupted from the people watching from the stairwell door.
“If I jump, it’ll be on you!” she shouted.
Johansen laughed bitterly. “Do it.”
“What?!”
“You think this will change anything?” he said. “I won’t feel sorry for you. I won’t come crawling back.”
Maureen wavered, shocked. “You’d… let me die?”
“If that’s the only way you’ll stop hurting people, then yes,” he said. “You’re not a victim, Maureen. You’re a criminal.”
Her eyes widened.
“I let you manipulate me for too long. But I’ll be damned if I let you hurt Cassandra again. I already did too much damage.”
Tears welled in Maureen’s eyes again. She stared at him like he had just stabbed her.
“You’ll regret this,” she whispered. “You’ll never be happy. Neither will she.”
But Johansen just stepped back. “Maybe. But at least she’ll be alive.”
A beat passed. Maureen broke down sobbing. Her body gave out, knees collapsing to the rooftop floor. The officers surged forward and handcuffed her before she could react.
As they led her away, her sobs echoed across the empty sky.
Johansen watched in silence, jaw locked, fists still trembling. He wasn’t sure if what he felt was ustice or emptiness.
But one thing was clear:
He had been the villain in Cassandra’s story for far too long.
And now, if she ever gave him the chance, he’d do anything to rewrite the ending.
Even if it meant losing her forever.
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