Chapter 248 Zev Lied to Kelly
Zev’s nerves instantly tensed as he stared at Kelly anxiously. “What do you mean?”
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A hint of panic flickered in his eyes. “Are you mad at me? Or did my grandpa upset you? If I’d known, we wouldn’t have come back… We can leave Seaville; we’ll go tomorrow
He was getting flustered.
Kelly shook his head. “Don’t rush; that’s not what I meant. What Ken said today made sense too. Your grandpa doesn’t have much time left to stir up trouble. Why don’t you pretend to go along with him for now? Once everything is over-”
“I knew he was up to no good! Don’t listen to his nonsense!” Zev pulled Kelly into a tight embrace, his breathing unsteady.
He wouldn’t allow Kelly to say such things.
He wouldn’t allow Kelly to utter the word “divorce“.
Absolutely not.
“I’m just discussing it with you; don’t get upset… If you don’t agree, we’ll think of another way. Worst case, I’ll agree to let your grandpa take Jasper for a paternity test first.” Kelly reassured him softly.
Zev’s arms tightened around him. “From now on, don’t ever bring up divorce again … ”
He was afraid he’d lose control.
Kelly nodded. “Okay…”
”
After everything they had been through, Kelly wasn’t the only one with trauma.
Zev had survived countless life–and–death situations, working undercover in high–pressure environments. His trauma and psychological wounds ran far deeper than Kelly’s.
But he always acted carefree, as if as long as he was alive, nothing else mattered.
But did it really not matter?
He lacked any sense of security, desperately seeking it from Kelly. So the moment Kelly showed even the slightest inclination of leaving, he felt a suffocating panic unlike anything he had ever known. He felt like he would go insane.
Kelly was like his medicine, his salvation in the darkness.
If he ever lost Kelly, he wasn’t sure what kind of madness he’d succumb to.
Just like these past two years in Stoneville–if he hadn’t been confined to a hospital bed, if he hadn’t known that Kelly was safe and well …
He feared he truly would have lost his mind.
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Chapter 248 Zev Lied to Kelly
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His body felt numb. The old wounds ached–not with sharp, searing pain, but with a dull, maddening throb.
Every bone in his body ached, particularly his once–broken fingers. It was as if tiny ants were gnawing at them.
Kelly noticed something was wrong. Worried, she reached out and grasped his fingers.
Since their reunion in Stoneville, Zev had been basking in the joy of being together again. But today, for the first time, Kelly saw something different in him–something unsettling.
Had she triggered him by mentioning divorce?
Why did she suddenly feel a pang of unease, even fear?
Something about Zev’s state felt off.
“Honey … I’m hungry.” Zev forced a stiff smile, his voice carrying a rare trace of vulnerability as he acted coy with her.
Kelly’s heart clenched, but she kept her expression neutral as she turned toward the kitchen.
Zev walked over to his son. While Jasper was distracted, he secretly pinched him.
Jasper let out a sharp wail, bursting into tears.
Zev exhaled slowly, as if releasing a breath he had been holding for too long. It wasn’t a dream … His son was real.
His wife was real.
As long as he could feel pain, this wasn’t a dream.
Jasper, utterly innocent, stared at his father with teary, accusing eyes.
Zev chuckled softly and held a finger up to Jasper’s mouth. “Daddy was wrong. Want to take a bite?”
Jasper chomped down with a loud cry.
It was a tingling kind of numbness–but it hurt.
So it really wasn’t a dream.
He had taken a bullet to the chest from Cecil. Just a little closer … and he would have died.
He had been unconscious for a long, long time–so long that Zev couldn’t even remember how ! slept.
he had
For a while, he thought he would never wake up. He had been trapped in illusions, unable to tell reality from dreams …
Kelly stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Zev with a complicated expression.
Maybe he was never as thick–skinned or carefree as she had assumed.
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Lynch Residence.
Clarissa sat on the sofa, her gaze fixed on the assistant who had just walked in. “Did you find anything?”
“Yes. A little over two years ago, Zev escaped from Mr. Wade’s control and went to Oasisvale, where he was seriously injured. After returning to the country, he was hospitalized in Stoneville. Through my connections, I managed to obtain his medical records. There’s one thing… worth noting–Zev has been diagnosed with severe PTSD, post–traumatic stress disorder.”
Clarissa narrowed her eyes and reached for the medical file the assistant handed her.
Due to the Lynches‘ connections, she was able to obtain all medical records, despite their supposed high level of confidentiality.
After carefully reviewing a thick stack of Zev’s psychological treatment records, a smile curled at the corner of Clarissa’s lips.
Zev had actually woken up a year ago, and his physical condition had mostly recovered. Yet, instead of leaving the hospital immediately to look for Kelly, he had chosen to stay for further treatment.
He had deceived Kelly. What he was treating wasn’t physical trauma–it was PTSD.
Kelly’s departure, the news of her supposed death, and the fact that she had been taken away by Lucas’s people… all of it had caused Zev to develop severe anxiety.
He was terrified of losing Kelly. He could endure the cruel torture from Lucas’s men, withstand having his fingers and bones shattered one by one …
But he didn’t dare imagine what Kelly might have suffered in their hands.
For a long time, Zev was trapped in recurrent nightmares, unable to distinguish between reality and dream.
“This makes dealing with Zev much easier…” Clarissa’s smile deepened.
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