No Second Chances Ex-husband novel Chapter 50

LAUREN'S POV

My eyes slowly slid open, the faint sting of light forcing me to squint. At first, all I saw was a hazy blur, the outlines of shapes swimming before my vision like shadows under water. My breath came slow and uneven, and it took me several seconds before the realization hit me — I had passed out.

For a moment, I just lay there, my mind trying to piece together the events that had led to this. My chest rose and fell as I remembered the last time something like this happened, the first time I collapsed from stress and exhaustion, only to wake up in a hospital bed thanks to a stranger who had taken pity on me. Back then, the doctor’s words had been firm and clear: Don’t overexert yourself, don’t push beyond your limits.

But really, what choice did I have?

With everything Ethan had done… with the betrayal, the humiliation, and now this — how could I possibly stay calm? Stress had become my shadow, following me everywhere, and I was powerless to shake it off.

A soft, distant sound began to pull me out of my thoughts, a voice echoing faintly as though coming from the end of a tunnel.

“Lauren… Lauren, are you okay?”

The voice grew sharper, closer. It was Tessa.

I blinked a few more times, and my vision gradually began to clear until her face came into focus drawn tight with worry.

I tried to sit up, but every movement felt sluggish, my limbs weighed down by the heaviness in my chest. Still, I forced myself to rise, feeling the grit of dust against my skin as I realized my black dress had been smeared with dirt.

A dull, throbbing pain bloomed behind my eyes, and I instinctively pinched the bridge of my nose in an attempt to push back the headache.

“Are you alright?” she asked again, her voice a little more urgent this time.

I gave her a slow nod, though the truth was far from it. And then, like a cruel jolt of memory, the reality of my situation returned, the balance for the burial ceremony had not been paid.

The weight of that truth hit me harder than the fainting spell ever could. My lips trembled as heat pooled in my eyes, and before I could stop myself, tears began to spill down my cheeks. Silent sobs shook my shoulders, each one slicing deeper into the raw wound that was already my heart.

“Come on, don’t do this again,” Tessa murmured, kneeling closer. Her tone was careful, as if I were made of glass that might shatter at the slightest wrong word. “You just woke up, Lauren. You don’t want to stress yourself again.”

She meant well, I knew she did. But how could I not stress when Elena's burial had turned into this — an unfinished, embarrassing spectacle? The only thing that could still my tears now would be an immediate, miraculous solution to this disaster.

I turned my gaze around the cemetery, and a fresh pang of disappointment washed over me. The grounds were almost completely empty. Where moments ago there had been people, faces that I had hoped might offer comfort or assistance — now there was nothing but the stillness of the graves and the whisper of wind through the trees.

Everyone who had come had already left. They had walked away, indifferent to my pleas, unmoved by the desperation in my voice. My begging had been in vain. Not a single person had lifted a hand to help.

So this was it — proof, as if I needed it, of how cold and heartless people could be.

Footsteps crunched softly over the gravel, drawing my attention. I looked up to see a man in a crisp black suit approaching me. His posture was professional, but his expression held none of the warmth or sympathy I craved.

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