“If you hadn’t caused a scene, Laurel wouldn’t have been trapped. And now you’re asking me for help? Shame on you!” he snapped.
The pretense was gone; he didn’t even bother to hide his disdain for me in this life-and-death moment.
Trembling, I held up my bleeding hand. “Brian, my hand is bleeding. If I don’t get to a hospital soon, I might die. Please, take me first to the hospital.”
For a fleeting moment, hesitation crossed his face. But then Laurel clung to his shirt, her voice weak.
“Brian, it hurts…”
He immediately shifted his attention back to her, his expression filled with panic. “I know, I’m sorry. But it’s going to be okay. We’ll get you to the hospital. You’re going to be okay.”
Brian turned and started walking away with her in his arms.
Fear overtook me as I stumbled after him, tears streaming down my face. “Brian, please! I’m scared. Take me to the hospital!”
He didn’t even look back, his pace quickening as he carried Laurel to safety. She glanced over his shoulder, meeting my desperate gaze with a cruel smirk. Though she didn’t speak, her lips silently formed the words: “Left again. Poor, Angie.”
Their figures disappeared into the distance, leaving me behind.
I collapsed onto the ground, my body weak and trembling. Being abandoned wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t abandon myself. Summoning all my strength, I pushed the heavy steel beam off me, ignoring the searing pain in my injured hand. After what felt like an eternity, I managed to free myself.
I made it to the hospital on my own. What should have been a simple five-stitch wound turned into an eighteen-stitch ordeal because the flesh had been torn further when I moved the beam. As I sat in the sterile hospital room, anger and resolve swirled within me.
On the way to the airport, I hired a private investigator at an exorbitant cost. I instructed them to prepare a fake corpse and erase every trace of my existence. I wanted to disappear from Brian’s world entirely.
As the airport speakers announced the final boarding call for the flight to Dubai, I stood at the gate with my suitcase. Taking one last look at the city I once called home, I whispered, “Goodbye, Brian.”
