Hedy's POV " Let him wait downstairs . If he makes trouble , just have the security drive him out . " My voice was firm and decisive . Hearing my order , my secretary immediately backed away . By the time I finished work and went downstairs , there was indeed no one waiting for me . Winter had already crept into Slovenia . The biting wind swirled past , tearing down the last few leaves clinging to the trees . I pulled my trench coat tighter around me , ready to get in the car and go home . That was when a hand suddenly shot out from behind , yanking me straight into an embrace . " Hedy ! " A hoarse male voice came from above me . Before I could react , he clutched me tightly , as if trying to lock me in his arms forever . The hard bones beneath Bryson's skin jabbed painfully into me . Instinctively , I tried to struggle free . But the more I resisted , the tighter he held me , as though terrified I would run away . " Hedy , finally ... finally , I've found you ... " His voice broke with a sob . Even as he spoke , his words were laced with thick , trembling grief . " I spent so much money . I found so many people . They all told me you had disappeared . But I didn't believe them . I knew you wouldn't leave me . And now - at last -you're in front of me again ! " He stared at my face over and over , like a man looking at a bubble shimmering in sunlight , terrified it would burst and vanish . His burning tears splashed onto my skin , making me frown tightly . But his words didn't move me in the slightest . All I felt , pressed against his body , was a wave of sickening revulsion . " Let go of me ! " I snapped , struggling again . But it was as though he couldn't even hear me . He went on , speaking to himself . " Hedy ... Back during the fire , I thought you'd died ... I thought I'd never see you again . When I learned you weren't in your hospital room , I was so relieved ! But after that day , I My Marriage Died in the Operating Room 1/2 90.7 % 9:50 Wed , Oct 15 92 couldn't find you anywhere ... " Now , I already know everything Debbii did . It was all my fault , Hedy . I trusted the wrong person . I was the one who did the wrong things . " He apologized again and again , his eyes bloodshot and rimmed with red . His once - tall and strong frame had withered into little more than a skeleton . It seemed he still had thousands and thousands of things he wanted to tell me . But at this point , I swore I had no more patience left for him . How exactly had he gotten news of me ? How had he traced this place so precisely ? I'd always known he would discover my identity one day . But I'd imagined that day would come when he was already behind bars . I had no wish to get caught up in this messy entanglement with him again. With that thought , I summoned every ounce of strength I had and shoved him away from me . " Let go of me ! " Disgust practically spilled from my face . Bryson , seeing it , went ashen , his expression crumbling . In an instant , tears streamed from his eyes like rainwater again . " Hedy , from the moment you left me , every single day has been torture . Every day , I've forced myself to endure . I wanted to see you again . " I imagined a thousand different scenes of you coming back to me . Every day , I thought about our past . Back then , you loved me so much . And in the end , I was the one who destroyed myself ... " These days , without you by my side , I haven't slept a single full night . Every day , I think of you , Hedy . How could you be so cruel ? How could you leave me and never return ? " 26