The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 235: Her Last moments

The door clicked shut behind them, muffling the distant noise of the courthouse. The quiet of the private room felt sacred somehow, heavy with everything that hadn’t been said for years.

Maria sat down slowly, her breath shallow, her fingers trembling as she brushed a strand of hair from her face. The paleness of her skin had deepened, a sheen of sweat clinging to her brow. Still, she forced a faint smile when Ethan entered.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice thin but steady. "Thank you for helping me... after everything I did to you."

Ethan didn’t respond immediately. He stood by the wall, hands in his pockets, eyes weighed with regret. Then he stepped forward and sat across from her, slowly.

"We both made mistakes, Maria," he said. "We all carry things we wish we could undo. My prayer... my hope is that one day, we can move past it all. Not just for us."

He hesitated, his eyes flickering.

"For the children."

Maria blinked, confused. "The children?"

Ethan nodded, his voice growing quieter. "Mara... was pregnant. She didn’t tell you, did she?" His throat tightened. "She was carrying twins. Our twins. The night she left — I didn’t even know until weeks later."

Maria’s hand covered her mouth, a soft gasp slipping through her fingers. Her body folded inward slightly, from shock, from pain — from shame.

"I didn’t know," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Ethan... I didn’t know..."

"It’s okay," he said quickly, gently. "None of that matters now. What matters is what comes next. Maybe, just maybe... our kids will grow up and be friends. Like you and Mara used to be."

Maria’s eyes shimmered, but she said nothing.

Then, suddenly, she turned her head sharply and coughed into her sleeve. A sharp grunt escaped her as she doubled over slightly, and Ethan rushed forward to steady her. She wiped at her mouth with trembling fingers.

The red smear told them both the truth.

Maria turned her head away, ashamed. "I’m sorry," she murmured hoarsely, tears rising but never falling. "I didn’t want you to see that."

"Maria..." Ethan said gently, the concern in his voice deeper now.

"Please," she interrupted, swallowing the pain as best she could. "One last favor."

Ethan knelt beside her, listening.

"In my old apartment," she said with effort, "top drawer in the corner of the bedroom... if the police haven’t destroyed everything, there’s a letter. A letter for Mara."

She looked at him now, her eyes burning with desperation. "Could you give it to her? Please. I know she’s angry. She has every right to be. But maybe... maybe after the anger fades, she’ll read it. Maybe it’ll help her understand."

Ethan nodded solemnly. "I’ll make sure she gets it. I promise."

The room went still for a moment.

When the door opened, Rafael was standing there with Isabella in his arms, her tiny face pressed against his chest. The little girl immediately reached for her mother.

The three of them — Maria, Ethan, and Rafael — stepped out together.

And then the chaos met them like a wave. freёweɓnovel_com

Cameras flashed, microphones were shoved forward, and voices barked questions:

"Maria! How do you feel about today’s ruling?"

"Do you have anything to say to your supporters?"

But Maria said nothing. She held Isabella close, shielding her from the lights. Her steps were slow, but they were steady. Rafael stayed at her side, eyes scanning for a path through the crowd. Ethan raised an arm, trying to clear space.

Maria could barely stand, her legs shaking beneath her. The crowd was a blur of flashing cameras, shouted questions, and blinding lights. Her breaths were shallow now — her lungs struggling to keep up, her heart pounding like a final drumbeat echoing in her chest.

But she raised her head.

With the last of her strength, she looked straight at the cameras — not at the reporters, not at the noise, but past them. As if she was searching for someone.

"Mara..." she whispered, her lips barely moving, her voice almost lost in the noise. "If there is another life... let me make it up to you."

Tears welled in her eyes, her body trembling as the world tilted around her.

"Forgive me... forgive me... I’m sorry..."

Her words cracked like porcelain.

Silence didn’t follow — instead, the press leaned in closer, sensing a story. A scandal.

"Who’s Mara?" one reporter shouted.

"Why does she need your forgiveness?" another demanded.

Even Rafael stood frozen for a moment, his eyes narrowing. Mara? He looked at Maria, then down at the child in her arms. Pieces of a long-scattered puzzle began to slide into place.

But before he could speak, Maria bent down gently and placed Isabella on the ground.

Her arms, once strong and fierce, now trembled with weakness. She brushed a soft kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

Then her legs gave out.

And she collapsed.

"Mama?" Isabella cried, reaching out.

"Maria!" Ethan shouted, rushing to her side as the crowd erupted. He dropped to the ground, shaking her shoulders. "Maria—stay with me! Maria, stay awake!"

She didn’t respond. Her eyes fluttered once—then stilled. Ethan fumbled for his phone with trembling fingers. "We need an ambulance! Now!" Everything happened in a blur.

Reporters shouted. Cameras clicked furiously. Isabella wailed, trying to shake her mother awake, curling herself over Maria’s motionless body.

Then, through the commotion—

A scream shattered the air.

"Maria!!" It was raw. Familiar. Agonizing. Rafael turned, his blood running cold.

The crowd began to part, slowly at first, then urgently, as if the air had shifted — heavy now, saturated with something beyond tragedy.

Mara shoved through bodies, her eyes wide and brimming, her breath coming in short, broken gasps. Her face twisted in disbelief, as if reality hadn’t fully formed yet. Her voice trembled in her throat, unable to scream, unable to speak.

"Stef?" Rafael’s voice cracked behind the chaos, the name slipping from his lips like a memory suddenly reignited.

Stefania.

It all made sense now — the name Maria whispered, the letter, the strange timing, the unbearable weight of the grief. Mara was Stefania. The woman he loved... the sister Maria had begged for forgiveness from... they were the same.

Police had begun setting up barriers. The scene had drawn too many eyes, too much noise, too many cameras.

Mara reached the edge of the barricade just as a social worker leaned down to pick Isabella up from her mother’s lifeless arms.

"No—no! Wait!" Mara cried out, reaching through the barricade. "Please—let me through!"

The officer held his hand up. "Ma’am, please stand back. We need to secure the area—"

"She’s family!" Rafael suddenly shouted, rushing toward them. "She’s family! Let her through!" The officers hesitated—then stepped aside.

Mara stumbled forward, every step slow, as if she were walking underwater. Her eyes locked onto Maria’s body—still, pale, still warm but empty. She covered her mouth with both hands, the air leaving her lungs in ragged sobs. The world around her blurred at the edges.

She didn’t even notice the cameras anymore. Only her sister. Only the small figure of Isabella, now convulsing in the arms of the panicked social worker.

"Seizure—she’s seizing!" someone yelled.

"Clear the way! Clear the way!" a paramedic barked as the stretcher was rolled in, fast and clattering against the pavement.

Mara cried, falling to her knees beside them, her hand reaching for Isabella’s tiny trembling fingers. The paramedics worked quickly, placing Isabella on her side, securing her airway, checking vitals, calling ahead to the hospital.

Mara’s sobs tore through her chest. She could barely breathe. Her body shook as she tried to hold onto something—anything—but all she felt was the cold ground and the crushing ache of being too late. Too late to save Maria. Too late to protect Isabella. Too late to make it right.

Rafael approached from behind, trying to reach her. But she stepped back from him, shaking her head violently.

Ethan stood nearby, silent and still, his face unreadable. He didn’t try to speak. He didn’t know how to. He just watched the woman he once loved fall apart over the woman he once lost. And for the first time, he truly understood just how deep the bond between Mara and Maria had run — even now, after everything.

"I’ll come," Mara whispered suddenly, her voice small but certain.

"What?" Rafael asked, stepping forward.

"I’ll come with her," Mara said again, pointing to the ambulance where Isabella now lay, sedated, oxygen mask over her face.

She didn’t look at either of them — not at Rafael, not at Ethan. She couldn’t. Her grief was too raw, her guilt too deep. And without another word, she climbed into the ambulance and sat beside Isabella, gripping her tiny hand as the doors shut.

The sirens wailed into the sky. And just like that, they were gone.

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