Her Deviant Husband | [✓]

Chapter 59

A deep, shuddering breath tore through my chest, my lungs burning as I fought against the weight of the water. Every muscle screamed in exhaustion, but I refused to let go.

Athira was in my arms, her body limp. The crimson ribbons of her blood swirled in the water around us, a silent, damning reminder of how close I was to losing her.

No.
No.
No.

I kicked harder, forcing us toward the surface. My heart pounded violently against my ribs, a frantic, erratic beat that matched the terror clawing through me.

I couldn't lose her.
I wouldn't.

And then—

We broke through the surface.

A desperate gasp ripped from my lips, but my relief was fleeting.

She wasn't moving.

"Athira," I rasped, shaking her gently, my arms tightening around her.

Her lashes, soaked and clumped together, barely fluttered. Her lips were tinged with blue. My vision blurred as something hot spilled down my cheek. My tears, mixing with the water clinging to her skin.

She was so cold.
Too cold.

"Sweetheart..." My voice cracked. "You can't leave me."

I pulled her against me, my grip tightening as if I could hold her soul in place, as if I could defy fate with sheer desperation. My hand pressed against the back of her head, fingers tangling into her wet strands, only to feel the slick warmth of blood coating them. A deep, ugly wound gaped at the base of her skull, the source of the crimson that I had seen in the water.

I sucked in a ragged breath, my entire body shaking. "Not yet," I whispered against her temple, pressing my lips there, lingering as if I could brand my love into her skin, into her bones.

Her body trembled faintly in my hold.

But she wasn't responding.

A broken sob tore from my throat.
"Not now." My forehead pressed against hers, our breaths mingling, shallow and uneven.