📖 The Story Continues
The story doesn't end here.Continue reading the full story adaptation below and discover what happens next.
Snatched a Billionaire to Be My Husband — Episode 5
Dr. Kim did not soften the truth. Seated across from him in a small consultation room, Cora listened as he explained that waking from a coma was only the first step in her mother’s recovery. The relief she had carried from the hospital room slowly hardened into dread.
“I’ll be frank, Cora,” he said. “Your mother’s treatment will involve a lot of aftercare for stroke patients.” Physical therapy, neurological monitoring, medication, and daily assistance formed a daunting list. Each item represented another chance for her mother to heal—and another expense Cora had no idea how to meet.
“She’s been on life support for three weeks now,” Dr. Kim continued. “This isn’t going to be an easy recovery.” Cora nodded, forcing herself to focus. She had learned that grief made people speak around her as though she might shatter. She preferred the truth, even when it cut.
“I understand.” Her voice sounded steady enough. “How much are we talking, Dr. Kim?” Money had once been the easiest problem in Cora’s life. Now she had to brace herself before asking the price of keeping her mother alive.
The doctor glanced at the file. “Your insurance will cover some, but I would estimate about fifty thousand dollars out of pocket.” The figure seemed to fill the room. Cora had jewelry and designer clothes she could sell, but most major assets had been frozen or claimed by creditors after her father’s death.
Dr. Kim’s expression softened. “We’ve discussed your situation, and I know this is going to be a lot of money for you.” Cora hated the compassion in his eyes, not because it was unkind, but because it confirmed how completely the world now viewed her as ruined.
“We could try a more conservative approach,” he offered, “but—” Cora knew what the unfinished sentence meant. Cheaper care might keep her mother stable, but it would not give her the best chance at reclaiming an independent life. After everything she had lost, Cora refused to gamble with the one person she still had.
“No.” The answer came without hesitation. “I’ll get the money.” She had no plan, no access to the fortune that once made fifty thousand dollars seem insignificant, and no one she trusted enough to ask for help. None of that mattered.
She rose and looked through the glass toward her mother’s room. “You just focus on making my mom better,” she told Dr. Kim. “She’s all that I have left.” The words exposed a fear Cora rarely allowed herself to acknowledge. If her mother did not recover, there would be no one left to remember who Cora had been before the scandal.
Outside the hospital, she made calls until her phone grew hot against her ear. Banks cited the Lane investigation. Former family friends offered sympathy and excuses. Items she had once purchased casually would take time to appraise and sell, while treatment could not wait.
Then Cora remembered Easton. Over the years, she had paid for gifts, trips, and expenses without keeping score because they were supposed to share a future. The luxury items she had given him and his family were worth far more than fifty thousand dollars. Asking for part of that value was not charity; it was reclaiming what they had gladly accepted from her.
The Hansen residence had once felt like a second home. As Cora approached it now, the elegant façade seemed hostile, every window reflecting the life from which she had been expelled. She ignored the humiliation tightening her stomach and reminded herself why she had come.
Voices carried from inside before anyone noticed her. Easton was not alone, and the intimate tone made Cora pause. Only days had passed since he demanded their ring back. Apparently, his grief over their broken engagement had been remarkably brief.
She entered before courage could desert her. Easton turned, surprise flashing across his face. “Cora, what are you doing here?” The question made her sound like an intruder in a place where she had once planned holidays, a wedding, and an entire married life.
“Hey, Cora. Now’s not a good time.” He shifted as though trying to block her view of the room behind him. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.” His discomfort confirmed that whoever waited nearby was someone he did not want Cora to see.
She refused to be diverted. “Look, Easton, I just need one simple thing.” Pride warned her not to reveal desperation, but her mother’s face rose in her mind. Pride would not pay for rehabilitation or medicine.
Easton’s gaze narrowed. He had already decided that her presence meant she wanted him back. The arrogance might once have hurt her. Now it only made Cora wonder how she had mistaken entitlement for confidence for so many years.
“I need the fifty thousand dollars you owe me,” she said. The number hung between them, transforming his unease into open annoyance. Cora pushed onward before he could dismiss her. “So that I can…”
A movement behind Easton drew her attention. A familiar woman stepped into view with the unmistakable ease of someone who believed she belonged at his side. Cora recognized her instantly, and every word she had prepared vanished.
The betrayal was almost too predictable to be believed. Staring at Easton and the woman he had replaced her with, Cora closed her eyes for one furious second. “Fuck my life.”
