His Perfect Trap, My Perfect Revenge

Chapter 27

Third Person POV

"You're awake?"

Chelsea's sleepy eyes fluttered open to find Magnus smiling down at her. Instinctively, she shifted away—just slightly, but enough for his smile to freeze. He didn't miss the way she recoiled.

"How long have you been here?" he asked, forcing casualness into his voice.

"A while," she murmured.

"Still planning to leave?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I heard... you're marrying Alaric?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, congratulations."

"Thank you."

The exchange was brief, but it told Magnus everything. The hope drained from him in an instant. She was really going to marry someone else. Her future had no place for him anymore.

The silence between them grew thick and suffocating until the sound of shattering glass cut through it. Moments later, Michaela's excited voice rang out.

"Magnus! You're awake!"

She rushed in, nearly knocking him over as she threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Magnus looked down at her tear-streaked face and managed a smile. Maybe... maybe this was enough.

Magnus had woken up, but the stab wound Gary inflicted had severed a nerve, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. By the time he was discharged, Chelsea had already booked her flight—she was leaving the next day.

Before departing, she made one last visit to Sabrina, now confined to a psychiatric hospital.

Sabrina sat on her bed, hair tangled, eyes vacant. She clutched a pillow like a child, rocking it gently while whispering to an imaginary baby, a bottle dangling from her fingers. The woman who had once schemed relentlessly to destroy Chelsea was now a broken shell—nothing left but the ghost of a mother who had lost both her child and her mind.

This was the life she had chosen.

As Chelsea stepped outside, a light rain began to fall—soft and misty, like spring washing the past away. She closed her eyes beneath the drizzle.

It was time to let go.

Everything that needed to end... could end now. It was time for a new beginning.

When she opened her eyes again, they held a clarity she hadn't known before.

Somewhere across the world, a man who had loved her for twenty-seven years was waiting.

And she was finally ready to embrace happiness with him.

The moment she stepped out of the airport, Alaric pulled her into his arms, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe. His eyes were red-rimmed. "Chelsea... you're finally back," he whispered hoarsely. "Do you know how much I regretted letting you go? I was terrified—terrified you'd stay with Magnus, that I'd lose you all over again—"

Before he could finish, Chelsea silenced him with a kiss—soft, certain, and brimming with everything she'd never put into words. As their lips met, Alaric finally closed his eyes.

She came back. She was his again.

Every second of waiting had been worth it.

One month later, the wedding between the Malcom and Schneider families became the talk of the city. Alaric gave Chelsea a ceremony straight out of a fairy tale—lavish, romantic, unforgettable.

As all eyes turned to the radiant bride, the officiant's voice echoed through the venue:

"Mr. Alaric Malcom, do you take Miss Chelsea Schneider to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for all the days of your life?"

"I do."

"And Miss Chelsea Schneider, do you take Mr. Alaric Malcom to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for all the days of your life?"

"I do."

Alaric gazed at the woman who had haunted his dreams for years. Then he pulled her close and kissed her with every ounce of love he'd kept locked away.