Chapter 11 Divorced Three Years Ago?
The ambulance arrived swiftly.
As they loaded Kalista into the vehicle, Isaac followed.
The ambulance came in haste and left just as quickly, leaving Nora standing there, watching it scream away.
When she tried to follow, the police who had arrived on the scene stopped her.
She had to stay behind and cooperate with the traffic officers' investigation.
After answering the officers' questions, she rushed to the hospital.
By the time she arrived, Kalista had already been treated and was resting in a hospital room.
Nora raced to the room, only to find Kalista lying weakly in bed, with her eyes closed and head bandaged.
Isaac sat by the bed, his face set with grief, enveloped in a cloud of melancholy.
"Isaac," Nora tried to speak in a whisper.
"Shut up, she just fell asleep. Don't disturb her rest," Isaac said, not looking back. His voice was cold and warning.
Nora felt a crushing sensation in her chest.
Though it was not the first time Isaac had lashed out at her over Kalista, it still hurt deeply every time.
Her face turned pale. She clenched her fists tightly, nails digging into her palms as she struggled to suppress the surge of negative emotions within her.
It wasn't until more than ten minutes later that Isaac emerged from the room.
He quietly closed the door to the ward and then made his way down the corridor.
Nora silently followed behind him.
After walking some distance, he stopped and turned around to stare at her with a chill in his eyes that seemed to ice her soul.
Taking a deep breath, Nora said, "After leaving the party, I was waiting for a cab outside the hotel. That's when Kalista came at me, hurling insults and trying to take a swing at me. I defended myself, and during the scuffle, she pushed me toward the road. Instinctively, I grabbed her, pulling her into the street with me. Right then, a car came by and hit us."
"That's exactly what happened."
She had rushed to the hospital, frantic that he might have misunderstood, hoping to set the record straight.
But Isaac's presence turned colder, his face growing darker after hearing her out.
"Do you know what Kalista said when she woke up?" he asked.
Caught off guard, Nora asked, "What?"
Isaac delivered Kalista's message, "She told me not to blame you."
Nora couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Blame me? None of this was my fault, to begin with."
Isaac's face was a stormy shade of anger. "Nora, I'm disappointed in you."
"Kalista's first action upon waking was to plead on your behalf, saying it was just a moment of panic that made you push her into the street, not an intent to harm her. And you? Your first words are to deflect blame, even suggesting Kalista pushed you. Since when did you become so conniving and low?"
The accusation was almost comical to Nora. Kalista had slandered her, and Isaac believed it?
She had tried to explain, and he accused her of being deceitful.
She looked up at him with a wry smile. "Sounds like we're both disappointed in each other then. You're quite the letdown, too."
"What did you say?" Isaac's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Mockingly, Nora retorted, "You take Kalista's word as gospel, assuming without proof that I pushed her. I don't have much to say; I just regret that I didn't see through your foolishness sooner."
Isaac's expression contorted with anger as he fired back, "You want proof? Fine, I'll show!"
He pulled out his phone to find the surveillance video and played it for her.
"On the way to the hospital with Kalista, I had someone check the nearby surveillance footage. This is from the hotel entrance. Watch for yourself!"
Nora stood there, startled.
The spot where she'd been waiting for the cab was a bit away from the hotel entrance, and with tall trees in the landscape, could the surveillance camera have captured it?
She raised her eyes to look at his phone.
She was utterly shocked once she could see what was on the screen.
The footage was grainy and unclear, and the two of them were obscured by trees at first, invisible.
It wasn't until later that she was seen yanking Kalista onto the street and, due to inertia, flinging her away.
Just then, a car speeding down the road struck Kalista.
To anyone watching the footage, it looked like she had deliberately thrown Kalista toward the oncoming vehicle!
"See for yourself. What's your excuse now?" Isaac asked icily.
At that moment, she felt choked by her own defenselessness and unable to articulate any defense.
If she were not the person involved, even she would believe upon seeing the video that she had meant to harm Kalista!
But the irony was that the tree blocked the initial encounter, where Kalista had started the trouble and shoved her onto the street. The camera only caught her instinctively grabbing Kalista.
"Nothing to say, huh?" Isaac mocked.
Nora weakly began to explain.
"Enough!" Isaac barked, silencing her. "I'm tired of your excuses!"
Nora's voice cut off abruptly.
His lack of trust was fortified by the incomplete surveillance clip, convincing him further of her intent to harm Kalista.
No matter how she would explain, she could not change his mind.
Anything more she said would be pointless.
"I have nothing to say. Think whatever you want. We're divorced, and your thoughts don't matter to me anymore."
Suppressing a pang of heartache, she was ready to leave.
But just two steps out, Isaac grabbed her arm and yanked her back abruptly.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Nora struggled violently, trying to shove his hand away in disgust.
His hand had touched Kalista, and to Nora, it was tainted!
Isaac's cold voice came. "Stay. When Kalista wakes up, you're going to apologize to her."
Nora almost laughed in fury.
She was the victim, and he was asking her to apologize to the one who had harmed her.
"I haven't done anything to apologize for!"
"The evidence is right in front of you, can't you see?" Isaac countered.
"If you refuse to apologize, you're not leaving!"
"Let me go!" Nora demanded, her face livid with anger as she glared at him.
Isaac gripped her arm with a force that seemed intent on crushing her bones, showing no signs of relenting.
Nora took a deep breath to quell rising anger and said with a trembling voice, "Fine, I'll apologize to her. Now let me go!"
Isaac was about to release her when his assistant, Wesley, came running with urgent news. "Isaac, Kalista's awake. She freaked out at not seeing you next to her and insisted on finding you. You need to go check on her!"
Isaac's eyes darkened, and he dragged Nora with him, striding briskly toward the ward.
He moved so fast that Nora had to jog just to keep up with him.
Injured in the car accident, she had scrapes on her left thigh and side that, under normal circumstances, she could endure. But now, being forced to run, the friction between her wounds and the fabric caused searing pain.
She shook with pain, cold sweat drenching her clothes, but she clenched her teeth, refusing to make a sound.
Soon, they reached Kalista's room.
Isaac finally let go of Nora's hand and strode to the bedside, helping Kalista, who was attempting to get out of bed, to lie back down.
"Stay put and rest. You're injured; no wandering around," he ordered gently.
Kalista clung to Isaac's arm, pressing her whole body against him. Tears seeped from her eyes as she shivered with fear. "Isaac, didn't you promise you wouldn't leave while I'm asleep?"
"I had a nightmare. I dreamt Nora was trying to hurt me again. It scared me awake, and then you weren't here. I was so afraid."
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