**Blake's POV**

"Audrey's health was never good, you know that, right?" Ethan asked.

I nodded. I'd noticed her weight loss after filing for divorce, but hospital records only showed gastritis. Nothing serious. Nothing fatal.

"She had cancer. Gastric cancer," he said.

"When I met her, you two weren't divorced yet. At that time, she had less than three months to live."

"What? That can't be true." I looked up, voice cracking.

"She was in constant pain, and you - her husband - never noticed." The accusation in his tone was unmistakable. "With your resources and connections, you couldn't have missed it if you'd paid any attention.But you were too busy with Miss Rose."

I lowered my head. "Yes... it's my fault..."

"But," I looked up, desperate for some explanation, "if she had three months left, then how -"

"When we got to Lunar Mansion, we found Audrey with a nail pierced through the back of her head, stuck<in the wall."

Everything stopped.

"Do you know who did that?"

My mind went blank. "You're saying... her head was pierced by a nail?"

"Yes. She was trying to hang a painting."

My hands shook as the memory crashed over me.

Three days ago. The bathroom at Lunar Mansion. Audrey forcing Laurel's face into the toilet. Me pulling Audrey away, pushing her against the wall-not hard, just enough to separate them. When I left with Laurel, Audrey was still leaning against that wall, not moving. I thought she was just disappointed I'd come to Laurel's rescue.

But now I understood.

*My push killed her.*

I stared at her photo on the gravestone. That gentle smile I'd taken for granted.

I fell to my knees and broke. "Audrey, I'm sorry... it's my fault..."

Rain began to fall lightly around us.

"Five years ago - I didn't forget anything," I confessed to her silent image."I remembered everything, but I found the wrong person..."

"That day when you asked if I was with Laurel because she saved my life...were you trying to tell me that I had the wrong person?" My fingers dug into the wet earth. "I was too proud. I lied because I didn't want you thinking I was shallow enough to love someone out of gratitude..."

"If I'd just told the truth that day..."

I pressed my forehead against the cold stone. "Audrey, I was wrong... So wrong..."

For two days, I didn't leave. Didn't eat. Didn't move.

My mother came first, then Elizabeth. Both tried to convince me to leave.I ignored them.

They left food and water I didIn't touch. Eventually, they gave up trying to move me and simply posted security nearby.

I existed somewhere between awareness and delirium, murmuring to Audrey's gravestone.all the things I should have said when she was alive.

On the evening of the second day, angry footsteps approached.

"Get out!" Astrid shouted, kicking me. Her fists pounded against my back. "Audrey said she didn't want you at her grave! You don't deserve to be here!"

I didn't fight back. I just held onto the gravestone, taking each blow.

When she tired, Astrid collapsed beside me, sobbing into her hands.

"What's the point of this?" she asked through tears. "When she was alive,if you'd looked at her just once - shown just a fraction of this concern-none of this would have happened!"

I had no response.

"Do you know what she went through for you?" she continued. "She was always cheerful, even with abusive adoptive parents and biological parents who didn't want her. But after meeting you - to be worthy of you -she endured all the humiliation from your family. Learned to be the perfect Mrs.Parker."

I hadn't known that about Audrey. She never shared those parts of her past.

"She destroyed her health taking care of you, and couldn't even protect her baby!"

"You cheated during your marriage! And in all those years; there wasn't a minute when she wasn't hurt by you. Even after divorcing,you made her design your engagement rings. You kept finding ways to hurt her."

I closed my eyes.

"You drained everything from her, took her life, and now you're here crying - what good does that do?"

Astrid stood, delivering her final blow. "Blake Parker, if you really regret it,just die and join her!"

She left me alone with the weight of everything I'd destroyed.

That night, I finally left the cemetery.

**Audrey's POV**

Morning sunlight filtered through my eyelids and made me squint.I instinctively moved my finger.

*Why am I still conscious?*

The last thing I remembered was holding my jewelry design and Snow,smiling as everything faded away.

"Look! Look!" A child's voice cut through my confusion. "She moved!"

I tried opening my eyes, but couldn't.

Tiny footsteps pattered across the floor. "Come quickly! She is waking up!"

Several sets of footsteps hurried into the room. Someone checked the machines connectedto my body.

"Doctor, how is she?" a woman asked.

"Very good," a man replied. "Her body has finally stopped rejecting the treatment. She should wake up today."

"That's wonderful!" the woman exclaimed.

"Emma, she is about to wake up. Are you happy?"

"Happy!"

I searched my memory but couldn't place these voices. They weren't Astrid,James,or anyone I knew.

"Adrian, I'll take Emma to preschool. I'm counting on you here," the woman said.

"Alright," a man replied.

The door closed, leaving silence.

"Don't overthink it," the man - Adrian - finally said. "You didn't die. We brought you to Australia."

*Australia? How?*

"Now try to open your eyes," he instructed. "You should be able to now."

I forced my eyes open. The brightness stung at first, then shapes started coming into focus.

White walls. Beeping machines. Sunlight through half-drawn blinds.

The man was sprawled in a recliner next to my bed. Blue eyes, expensive clothes, bored expression. Handsome in that rich-guy way,but with something cold in his stare that made me want to look away.

He straightened when he saw me watching him. "Finally awake,huh?"

My throat felt like sandpaper. I tried to speak but only managed a croak.

"Water?" He didn't wait for an answer, just poured from a pitcher and held it to my lips."Drink."

I took a few sips, wincing at the effort. "Who are you?"

"Adrian Knox." He set the glass down with a clink. "My team brought you here from New York seven months ago."

"Seven months?" The words didn't make sense at first.

"Yeah. You've been out this whole time." His tone was matter-of-fact.like we were discussing the weather. "Dr. Clarke wasn't sure you'd wake up.Said if you stayed under for a year, you were probably gone for good."

I latched onto the familiar name."Dr.Clarke?"

Adrian nodded once. "He did the medical part. I handled everything else."

My head was spinning. I tried to sit up but couldn't. "Why would you do that? I don't even know you."

Something shifted in his expression. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Because you have a twin sister. Identical. Same face, same DNA,"

I stared at him, trying to process what he was saying.

"Your parents dumped her at the hospital when they found out she had a heart defect. An Australian couple adopted her."

He spoke flatly, like reading a file. "Four years ago, her heart gave out.They couldn't revive her fast enough. Brain death."

"Her parents and husband - that would be me - couldn't accept it.We looked everywhere for help. Seven months ago, we found Dr. Clarke."

He paused. "And then we found you."