After Five Years I No Longer Waited Novel by Lenoahb _ Novel



After Five Years I No Longer Waited Novel by Lenoahb _ Novel

After Five Years I No Longer Waited Chapter 01

"Ms. Cullen, regarding the crash that put your sister in a coma—was it a psychotic break, or was it premeditated?"
"How can you be so cruel? You really ran over your own sister?"
Countless camera flashes blinded Eileen Cullen. The crowd surged forward, shoving microphones dangerously close to her face, everyone hungry for a confession—whatever version they wanted to hear.
Eileen stood rooted to the concrete at the hospital entrance, crumpling the discharge papers behind her back.
She wanted to defend herself, but facing the flickering lights and aggressive faces, her throat locked up. Her mother's dying words echoed in her mind, "Ellie, from now on, you have to live for yourself..."
That was the only hope that had kept her breathing.
Suddenly, the crowd erupted in noise and parted to form a path.
"Is that Mr. Stevenson?"
"Is Mr. Stevenson here to pick her up?"
Headlights swept over Eileen, blurring her vision.
A luxury sports car pulled up to the curb. It was a limited edition—one of only five in the world—and the very same one Eileen had given Darrion Stevenson for his birthday.
The door opened, and a pair of red-soled dress shoes stepped onto the pavement.
Every camera swiveled toward him.
Eileen couldn't help herself; her gaze followed the lenses.
The man responsible for this tragedy walked toward her on long legs, radiating a cold intensity that seemed to box her in.
"Dari..."
Eileen looked up at him, her chest tightening painfully.
This was the man who had committed her to a psychiatric ward for five full years.
For five years, she had been force-fed pills, strapped to cold metal tables, and shocked into unconsciousness more times than she could count.
Now she was finally out. And Darrion, the man who had personally signed the admission papers, finally said the words she had once desperately wanted to hear. "I'm here to take you home. Once we get back, we're getting married."
Eileen froze, lowering her eyes.
It was too late. That sentence was five years too late.
Before she could respond, someone in the crowd shouted. "Mr. Stevenson, are you really going to marry a mental patient?"
"If she's cured, she needs to admit what she did! Are we just letting it slide that she put Ms. Rayne in a coma?"
"Get on your knees and apologize!"
The shrill voices were piercing, stabbing straight into Eileen.
"Dari, you know I'm not sick..."
"Enough. We are not discussing this again."
Darrion's dismissal hit her just as hard as the crowd's insults.
Her memory flashed back to five years ago, the day of their engagement party.
When Darrion found out Jocelynn Rayne had been struck by a car and left comatose, he had strangled Eileen, veins bulging on the back of his hand. "You did this to Jocy! It was you!"
Eileen had tried to explain, but she couldn't breathe. She only heard the cold judgment of the man who had held her tenderly the night before. "I should have believed Jocy sooner. You're crazy. I should have locked you up in an asylum a long time ago!"
Helplessness and despair had swallowed her whole.
That night, the celebrated future daughter-in-law of the Stevenson family was stripped of her title and dignity and branded a malicious lunatic.
"Does this crazy woman who hurt her own sister have no shame?"
"Disgusting."
"Is she going to have an episode and bite someone?"
Darrion stood in front of her, blocking the flashing lights. "Let's go. The wedding is ready. It's set for seven days from now."
Looking at Darrion's handsome features, Eileen felt nothing but a hollow calm.
After everything, she no longer wanted to marry him.
The car stopped abruptly at the entrance of another hospital.
The moment she stepped out, fear seized Eileen.
Five years in the asylum. Needles piercing her skin, cold chemicals burning her veins.
Being strapped to mechanical beds, shocked into paralysis and unconsciousness, over and over again.
She had developed severe PTSD; the mere sight of a hospital made her tremble with the urge to flee.
"No... I'm not going in!"
She tried to back away, but a sharp pain shot through her wrist.
Darrion grabbed her, his face dark. "Because of you, Jocy has been in a coma for five years. Even your life wouldn't make up for that. I'm only asking you to apologize—how dare you refuse?"
Her wrist turned red under his grip, but Darrion didn't seem to notice. He dragged her all the way to the ward.
The cold, rhythmic beeping of the medical monitors hit her hard.
The way he had protected her from the cameras just minutes ago felt like a hallucination.
Whenever it came to Jocelynn, he became a different person.
Eileen struggled and fell, ignoring her bleeding knees as she scrambled backward in terror.

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