From Mob Princess to Mugshot Photographer novel Chapter 89

**Chapter 3**

My heart pounded violently in my chest as I beheld Rhett’s condition; disbelief coursed through me like a cold wave. “Rhett! Are you hurt?” I cried out, my voice quaking with a mix of fear and urgency.

Bright red blood cascaded down from a deep gash on his forehead, obscuring his vision and starkly contrasting with his pallid complexion. The sight was nothing short of horrifying, a surreal tableau that seemed to freeze time itself.

With a shaky hand, Rhett attempted to wipe the blood from his face, revealing a fragile smile that felt almost inappropriate given the dire circumstances. “This time, I finally saved you! Scarlett, I managed to save you just in time!” His words, infused with a mix of triumph and relief, enveloped me like a soothing balm, momentarily alleviating the dread that had gripped my heart.

In that fleeting moment, the heavy burden of worry and guilt that had settled within me began to lift, like fog dispersing under the sun. Memories surged forth from the depths of my mind—our child, so small and innocent, her love for us at that tender age boundless and pure.

I was haunted by the torment of betrayal, by how Ashley’s deceit had driven a wedge between Rhett and me, leaving me and our precious child alone in the biting cold of desolate mountains. I had been powerless, forced to witness life slip away from our child, wandering those unforgiving peaks like a specter for three agonizing days.

When the search party finally found me, I was a mere shadow of my former self, consumed by a madness that threatened to swallow me whole. My thoughts turned to revenge against Ashley, a fire igniting in my heart, and Rhett, in his misguided loyalty, stood as her defender.

Thus began our bitter conflict, a relentless cycle of pain where we struck at each other’s vulnerabilities with merciless precision. For decades, we were ensnared in a web of hatred, until that fateful day when he sacrificed his own legs in a desperate attempt to save me. That proud, noble man was reduced to a cripple, forever altered by his selfless act.

In the aftermath of that tragedy, guilt gnawed at my insides, urging me to reconsider my stance. I resolved to let go of the past, to forge a new path alongside him, but Rhett, in his own way, used that very debt to bind me to him, a chain I struggled to break.

Now, weak and pale, Rhett sat on the hospital bed, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears as he implored me, “Scarlett, spare Ashley, for the sake of my broken legs.”

In that moment, a profound sense of despair washed over me, as if my very essence was being drained away. Silent tears slipped down my cheeks as I murmured, “Fine, I promise you.”

Rhett’s face lit up with a spark of excitement, a flicker of hope igniting in his eyes. Even in his injured state, he clung to my hand as if it were a lifeline. “Scarlett, I told you I would protect you.”

But just then, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. I felt a sudden force push me to the ground, air knocked from my lungs.

Slap—

Ashley stormed forward, delivering a series of sharp slaps across my face, each one stinging like a branding iron. “You jinx, stay away from my brother! He’s MY brother!” Her voice dripped with a venomous protectiveness that sent chills down my spine.

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