Betrayed Bride: His Cruelest Debt

My wedding to the brilliant surgeon, Dr. Kason Ortiz, was postponed again. For the fifth time. This time, it was a car accident, a suspicious one, just like all the others.

Then, I overheard Kason and his ambitious resident, Jaye Hinton, talking. The "accidents" weren't accidents at all; they were meticulously planned acts of sabotage by Kason to avoid marrying me.

He was doing it to repay a debt: his father's debt to mine, who took the fall for his family's legal scandal. Kason, the man I loved, was systematically hurting me, hoping I'd break and call off the wedding myself.

The betrayal cut deeper than any physical injury. My father, who sacrificed his freedom for the Ortiz family, had unknowingly bound me to my tormentor. Kason even used my father's life as leverage, leading to his death in prison.

He then allowed Jaye to "accidentally" destroy my father's ashes and deliberately damage my vocal cords during surgery, leaving me voiceless and broken.

Why was he so cruel? Why did he hate me so much? What kind of man would destroy everything I held dear just to escape an obligation?

But I wouldn't be his victim. I would not be his debt. I would be free.

Chapter 1

The wedding between me and the brilliant surgeon, Dr. Kason Ortiz, was postponed again. For the fifth time. This time, it was a car accident. A suspicious one, just like all the others.

I lay in the sterile white hospital bed, the scent of antiseptic filling my nose. My left leg was in a cast, a dull, throbbing pain radiating from the freshly set bone. It was a clean break, they said. Lucky.

Lucky was a strange word for it.

The doctors and nurses fluttered around me, their voices a low murmur. They were all Kason' s colleagues. They treated me with a gentle, pitying respect. The fiancée of the great Dr. Ortiz.

I tried to sit up, a sharp pain shooting up my spine. My body was a roadmap of clumsy accidents. A fall down the stairs a month before our first wedding date. A kitchen fire that burned my hands just before the second. Food poisoning before the third. A boating mishap before the fourth.

And now this. A car that swerved into my lane on a clear, dry day.

Each time, Kason was the perfect, concerned fiancé. He would rush to my side, his handsome face tight with worry. He would oversee my care, his touch professional and cool. He never seemed to resent the delays. He would just calmly reschedule everything, his voice a soothing balm.

"We have a lifetime, Alicia," he'd say. "Your health is what matters."

I believed him. I loved him so much that his concern was all I saw.

My fingers ached to hold my guitar. I was an indie singer, a songwriter. My music was my life, second only to Kason. But my hands were still stiff from the burns, and now my leg was useless.

I needed some air. The room felt suffocating. I managed to get myself into a wheelchair and pushed myself out into the quiet hallway. It was late, and the corridor was mostly empty, lit by the cold, fluorescent lights.

I rolled past the nurses' station, heading towards a small balcony at the end of the hall. As I neared Kason' s office, I heard voices from inside. The door was slightly ajar.

"You can't be serious, Kason. Another accident?" The voice was light, musical, but laced with an undeniable edge. I recognized it. Dr. Jaye Hinton, Kason' s ambitious resident.

"It's handled," Kason's voice was low, devoid of the warmth he used with me. It was flat and cold.

A wave of nausea washed over me. I stopped the wheelchair, hiding in the shadows of an alcove.

"Handled? She has a broken leg. The wedding will be postponed for months," Jaye sounded impatient. "How much longer are you going to keep this up?"

My breath caught in my throat. What were they talking about?

"As long as it takes," Kason said. He sounded tired. Bored, even.

"What is so special about her anyway?" Jaye' s voice dripped with disdain. "Why do you have to marry this fragile, accident-prone singer?"

There was a long pause. I held my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"It' s a debt," Kason finally said, his voice heavy with resentment. "My father' s debt. Her father took the fall for him, a legal scandal that would have ruined our family. He' s rotting in prison so my father could walk free. This marriage is the payment."

The world tilted. The words didn't make sense. A debt? Payment?

"So you don't love her?" Jaye' s voice was soft now, seductive.

"Love her?" Kason let out a short, bitter laugh that cut me deeper than any physical injury. "Jaye, you know who I love."

My vision blurred. The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the crushing weight in my chest. It was hard to breathe.

"Then why go through with this farce?" Jaye pressed.

"My father is a man of honor. He insists. And the Poole family has nothing. He thinks this is the only way to take care of her, to repay the favor."

"So you'll just keep... arranging these little incidents until she gives up? Or until your father dies?"

"Something like that," he said, his tone casual.

The pieces slammed together in my mind, a horrifying mosaic of calculated cruelty. The fall. The fire. The sickness. The boat. The car. It wasn't bad luck. It was him. It was Kason.

Every rescheduled wedding, every expression of concern, every gentle touch was a lie. A performance.

He didn't love me. He resented me. He was hurting me, over and over, just to avoid marrying me.

A tear slid down my cheek, hot and stinging. It was followed by another, and another, until they were flowing freely. I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob, the movement sending a jolt of agony through my body. I escaped, pushing the wheels of my chair with frantic, clumsy movements, not caring where I was going. My flight was a blur of white walls and humming lights.

He didn't love me. He loved Jaye Hinton.

My father. My dear, honorable father, who sacrificed his life and freedom for a man he called his friend. He did it so I would be taken care of. He thought the Ortiz family would protect me.

Instead, his sacrifice had bound me to my tormentor.

I had believed our love was a fairy tale born from a family friendship. I thought Kason, the brilliant, sought-after surgeon, had genuinely fallen for me, the quiet songwriter. It was a lie. My entire world, the foundation of my happiness, was a lie.

The pain in my leg flared, sharp and intense, mirroring the agony ripping through my heart. My rare neurological condition meant I felt pain more acutely than others. Kason knew this. He knew exactly how much I suffered.

I finally made it back to my room, my body trembling. Just as I was pulling myself back into bed, the door opened.

It was Kason.

He had a tray with a syringe and medication. He was here to change my dressing.

"Alicia," he said, his voice laced with that fake concern that now made my stomach turn. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

I stared at him, my eyes probably red and swollen, but he didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he didn't care.

"It hurts," I whispered, my voice hoarse.

"I know. I'm going to give you a painkiller and change the dressing. You'll feel better."

He prepared the injection. He knew my condition. He knew he was supposed to use a local anesthetic before touching the wound. It was standard procedure for me.

His phone buzzed on the tray. He glanced at it. A small, genuine smile touched his lips. A smile I hadn't seen directed at me in years. It was a message from Jaye. I didn't need to see the screen to know.

He was wearing a keychain on his belt loop. A simple leather cord with a small, hand-carved wooden bird. I had made it for him for our first anniversary. He' d looked at it with polite indifference and thrown it in a drawer.

But now, dangling right next to it, was a shiny, silver 'J'.

My heart, which I thought couldn't break any further, fractured into a million more pieces. He was so careless with my heart, yet so blatant with his betrayal.

He picked up the gauze, his eyes still soft from Jaye's message. He swabbed the area around my wound, his touch rough, distracted.

He didn't pick up the anesthetic.

He was going to do it without numbing the area.

The first touch of the antiseptic on the raw skin was fire. A scream built in my throat, but I choked it down.

"Kason," I gasped, my nails digging into the bedsheets. "The anesthetic."

"It's okay, it'll just be a second," he murmured, his focus elsewhere. He was probably thinking about Jaye. About how he would meet her after he was done with his "duty."

He peeled back the old dressing. The pain was blinding. It was a white-hot, searing agony that consumed me. My body arched off the bed, a strangled cry escaping my lips.

"Please," I begged, tears streaming down my face. "Kason, it hurts. Please stop."

"Almost done, Alicia. Be brave." His voice was distant, impatient.

He worked quickly, efficiently, like a mechanic fixing a machine. Not like a doctor treating a patient. Not like a man caring for his fiancée.

He finished, taping the new dressing down with sharp, precise movements. Then he stood up, grabbing his phone.

"I have to go check on another patient," he said, not meeting my eyes. "Get some rest."

He was gone before I could say another word. He was rushing to her. The thought was another stab of pain.

I lay there, trembling, sweat beading on my forehead. The physical pain was immense, but the emotional agony was a black hole, swallowing everything.

I finally understood. He wasn't just trying to postpone the wedding. He was punishing me for existing. For being the chain that bound him.

Silent tears tracked paths through the sweat and grime on my face. My body, broken and battered, finally gave up. The darkness at the edge of my vision closed in, and I fell into unconsciousness.

I woke to the sound of giggling. The sharp, feminine sound grated on my raw nerves. My eyes fluttered open to a room full of people. Jaye Hinton stood at the foot of my bed, flanked by a group of other young, pretty nurses and residents. They looked like a flock of vultures.

"Oh, look, she's awake," Jaye said, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

"What do you want?" I rasped, my throat dry.

One of the nurses, a blonde I didn't know, stepped forward. "Dr. Ortiz is busy. He asked us to check on you. And to tell you to stop being so clingy. He's a very important man. He can't spend all his time by your bedside."

The words were a slap in the face. Clingy?

Another nurse chimed in, "Honestly, Alicia. Don't you feel any shame? You're holding him back. Everyone knows he's only with you out of obligation."

My head swam. Even if it was true, hearing it said so bluntly, so cruelly, was devastating. I felt a familiar tremor start in my hands.

"You're an obstacle to his happiness," Jaye said, her voice soft and reasonable, which made it even worse. "He deserves to be with someone who's his equal. Someone who understands his world."

She meant herself. Of course, she did.

"My father..." I started, my voice trembling. "My father saved his father."

Jaye's friend laughed. "Your father, the criminal? Please. The Ortiz family was just being charitable. They took pity on you. You should be grateful, not demanding."

"Don't talk about my father that way!" The words came out louder than I expected. My father was a good man. He was framed, forced to take a deal to protect Augustus Ortiz, a man he'd trusted.

"Oh, are we getting feisty?" Jaye's friend taunted. She picked up the cup of hot water from my bedside table. "Maybe you need to cool down."

Before I could react, she made a motion to throw it at me. Instinct took over. I flinched back, my hand flying up to protect my face. In my panicked motion, I knocked the cup. The hot water flew sideways, splashing directly onto Jaye's outstretched hand.

Jaye let out a piercing shriek. "My hand! She burned me!"

It happened so fast. One moment they were tormenting me, the next Jaye was the victim.

The door flew open. Kason rushed in, his eyes wild with panic.

"Jaye! What happened?" He completely ignored me, rushing to her side.

"Alicia... she... she threw hot water on me," Jaye sobbed, cradling her hand, which was barely even pink. "I was just trying to talk to her."

Kason's head whipped around to face me. His eyes, which I once thought held the stars, were now two chips of ice. The look he gave me was one of pure hatred.

"You did this?" he snarled.

I was too stunned to speak. The injustice of it all stole my breath. He didn't even ask. He just believed her.

"Kason, I..."

"Don't," he cut me off, his voice dangerously low. He gently took Jaye's hand, examining it with the utmost care. "It's all right, Jaye. I'm here. I'll take care of you."

He led her out of the room, whispering soothing words to her, leaving me alone with the silent, smirking nurses.

A few minutes later, he returned. His face was a thunderous mask.

"Apologize to her," he commanded.

I stared at him, disbelief warring with a fresh wave of pain. "I didn't do it on purpose. Her friend was going to throw it at me."

"Don't lie, Alicia. Jaye would never do something like that. You've been jealous of her for months."

His words hit me like a physical blow. He thought I was the jealous, petty one. He was so blinded by his love for her that he couldn't see the truth right in front of him.

"So you think I'm lying?" My voice was a broken whisper.

He didn't answer. He just stared at me, his jaw tight. And in his silence, I had my answer. He believed her. He would always believe her.

A humorless laugh escaped my lips. It was a dry, cracking sound. "Fine."

"What?"

"I'll apologize," I said, my voice flat and dead. If this was the game, I was tired of fighting.

I pushed myself into the wheelchair, the pain in my leg a dull, constant reminder of his cruelty. I wheeled myself down the hall to his office. He followed, a silent, menacing shadow behind me.

The door was open. Jaye was sitting on the plush leather sofa inside, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She looked up as I entered, a flicker of triumph in her eyes before it was replaced by a look of fragile innocence.

It was Kason's private office. A space he had never once invited me into. He always said it was for work only. Yet here Jaye was, looking perfectly at home. Another small, cruel twist of the knife.

"Jaye," I began, my voice empty. "I'm sorry you got burned."

I couldn't bring myself to say more. I couldn't admit to something I didn't do.

Jaye looked at Kason, her lower lip trembling. "Kason... she didn't even say it was her fault."

Kason stepped forward. "Alicia, that's not a real apology."

"What more do you want?" I asked, looking up at him. "Do you want me on my knees?"

His expression hardened. "Just apologize properly."

Jaye sniffled. "It's okay, Kason. I'm fine. Don't be mad at Alicia. Maybe she's just upset because of her leg." She was the picture of magnanimity. It made me sick.

"You can go now, Alicia," Kason said, his tone dismissive. He had already turned his attention back to Jaye, his hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder.

I turned the wheelchair to leave, my heart a block of ice. As I moved past the doorway, my wheel caught on the edge of the rug. The chair tipped. I cried out as I fell, landing hard on my injured leg.

Pain exploded behind my eyes, white-hot and absolute. I crumpled to the floor, gasping.

Through a haze of agony, I heard Jaye's soft voice. "Oh, Kason, you should take me to dinner tonight to make up for this. That new French place downtown?"

"Of course," Kason's voice was a low murmur, full of affection. "Anything for you."

He didn't even glance in my direction. He didn't offer a hand. He didn't ask if I was okay. He just stepped over me, his arm around Jaye, and walked out of the office.

I lay on the cold floor, the sound of their retreating footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. Silent tears streamed down my face, not from the pain in my leg, but from the utter devastation of my soul.

Later, a nurse I didn't recognize helped me back to my room. She was kind, her eyes full of pity.

"Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Hinton went out," she said softly, as if sharing a secret. "Heard he booked the most expensive table at 'Le Ciel'. He's never taken you there, has he?"

I just shook my head, unable to speak. Le Ciel. I had asked Kason to take me there for my birthday last year. He'd said it was too ostentatious, too loud.

It wasn't that he didn't like the restaurant. He just didn't want to take me.

That night, lying alone in my hospital bed, I made a decision. This had to end. I couldn't live like this anymore. I would not be his victim. I would not be his debt.

I was going to be free.

The first thing I did after being discharged was visit Augustus Ortiz. Kason's father was a formidable man, even in retirement. He lived in the old Ortiz family mansion, a place of quiet, old-world elegance that always felt more like a museum than a home.

He received me in his study, a room filled with leather-bound books and the scent of expensive cigars. He looked surprised to see me.

"Alicia, my dear. I thought you were still recovering."

"I'm much better, Mr. Ortiz," I said, my voice steady. "I came here to ask you for something."

I took a deep breath. "I want to call off the engagement."

Augustus stared at me, his sharp eyes widening in shock. "Call it off? Why? Did Kason do something?"

I couldn't bring myself to tell him the whole, ugly truth. He was a man of honor. Learning that his son had been systematically torturing me to repay a debt would destroy him. And besides, it was my battle to fight.

"No," I lied. "It's me. Kason is a good man, but we're not right for each other. I've realized I don't love him the way a wife should."

I looked him in the eye, trying to convey sincerity. "My father will be released from prison in a few months. I plan to take him and start a new life, just the two of us. It's better this way."

Augustus looked at me, his expression a mixture of confusion and sadness. He had orchestrated this marriage out of a sense of guilt and responsibility. He truly believed it was the best thing for me.

After a long silence, he sighed, a deep, weary sound. "If this is what you truly want, Alicia, I will not stand in your way."

Relief washed over me, so potent it almost made me weak.

"Thank you, Mr. Ortiz."

"I'll have my lawyer draw up the papers," he said, his voice heavy. "And I'll transfer a sum of money to you. A dowry, of sorts. To help you and your father start over."

"That's not necessary-" I started, but he held up a hand.

"It is. It's the least I can do."

Just then, the study door opened and Kason walked in. He stopped short when he saw me.

"Alicia? What are you doing here?"

Before his father could speak, I answered, my voice bright and casual. "Just visiting your father, Kason. I was feeling better and wanted to get out of the house."

Kason looked from me to his father, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, but he let it go. "I came to pick you up. Dad, we'll be staying for dinner."

Dinner was an excruciatingly tense affair. Kason, playing the part of the dutiful fiancé, sat beside me, cutting my food, placing it on my plate. Each careful, practiced movement was a reminder of his deception. It used to make my heart flutter. Now, it just made me feel sick.

"Now that Alicia is recovering, we can finally set a new date for the wedding," Kason announced to his father, his arm resting on the back of my chair.

Augustus opened his mouth to speak, likely to reveal my decision, but at that exact moment, Kason's phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen. The change in his expression was instantaneous. His carefully constructed mask of calm concern dissolved into genuine panic.

It was a text from Jaye. I saw her name flash on the screen. It was accompanied by a photo of a bleeding wrist.

"I have to go," Kason said, jumping to his feet.

"Kason, what's wrong?" Augustus asked, alarmed.

"It's an emergency at the hospital," Kason lied, his eyes already on the door. He was already dialing his phone. "Jaye? Are you okay? Don't move, I'm on my way!"

He rushed out without a backward glance, leaving a stunned silence in his wake. I sat there, staring at the perfectly cut piece of steak on my plate, a cold knot forming in my stomach. He had left me, his "recovering" fiancée, for her. Again.

I left the Ortiz mansion shortly after, the promise of freedom a small, flickering light in the vast darkness of my heart.

The next day, I visited my father. The prison was a bleak, oppressive place. Seeing him in the visitor's room, pale and thin in his grey uniform, broke my heart all over again.

"Alicia," he said, his face lighting up when he saw me. "You look tired. Is Kason treating you well?"

I forced a smile. "He's wonderful, Dad. Just busy with work."

He nodded, relieved. "Good, good. That's all I want. For you to be happy." He sighed. "I'm sorry I'll miss the wedding. Again."

The lie felt like acid on my tongue. "We'll wait for you, Dad. I told Kason we won't get married until you're out." I reached across the table and took his hand. "When you get out, we're going to leave this city. We'll go somewhere warm, by the sea. Just you and me."

A tear slipped down his cheek. "That sounds nice, my girl."

I returned to the sterile, empty house I shared with Kason. I packed a small bag, taking only my personal belongings. I left behind all the clothes, the jewelry, the life he had bought for me.

He didn't come home that night.

He returned the next morning, looking tired but content.

"There's a charity gala tonight," he said, loosening his tie. "You need to come with me."

It wasn't a request. It was an order. I was his show pony, the symbol of his family's "honor."

I numbly got ready. As we walked to the car, I instinctively moved to the passenger side.

"Not there," he said, his voice sharp. "Jaye is coming with us. She needs the legroom for her... her condition."

I stared at him, my mind blank. My own leg was still in a cast. He had forgotten. Or he didn't care.

"Fine," I said, my voice flat. I climbed into the back seat.

Jaye arrived a moment later, sliding into the front seat with a triumphant smile. "Thanks for waiting, Kason. Alicia, so good of you to come."

The car ride was torture. They talked and laughed, their voices a low, intimate murmur. I felt like a stranger, an intruder in their perfect little world.

The gala was a glittering affair, full of a city's elite. Kason introduced me as his fiancée, his hand a heavy weight on my arm. But his attention, his pride, was all for Jaye. "This is Dr. Jaye Hinton," he'd say, his voice glowing. "My most promising resident."

I couldn't breathe. I excused myself, needing air. I found a deserted balcony overlooking the city lights. I stood there for a long time, just breathing.

When I finally went back inside, I saw them. They were in a dark, secluded corner of the ballroom. Kason had Jaye pressed against the wall, his mouth devouring hers. His hands were tangled in her hair, his body flush against hers.

It was raw, desperate, and full of a passion he had never, ever shown me.

My world, which I thought had already been shattered, broke into even smaller pieces. I followed them, a ghost in my own life, as they slipped out a side door and into a private suite upstairs.