Chapter 7 Apology
Sloane's POV
My heart skipped a beat, and my palms were already covered in a thin layer of sweat.
I pulled my hand free from his grip and tried to calm myself. "No, you're overthinking it."
"Then why were you dry heaving?"
I didn't expect Jared to be so observant, to make that connection.
"You were driving too fast, okay?"
He was about to say something more, but I cut him off impatiently, "I'm not going to explain anything to her!"
The car let out a sharp screech as it suddenly braked and stopped by the roadside.
"Haven't you made enough of a scene!" Jared turned his head, his bloodshot eyes full of irritation. "You want to get out of the car now? You want everyone to laugh at the Montclair family?"
My hand froze on the door handle, and I realized we had already left the main road.
"Keira has severe depression and anxiety. The doctor said she can't handle any stress." There was a hint of exhaustion in his tone. "I don't care if you did it on purpose or not—this whole thing started because of you, so you need to go explain it to her."
I looked at him and suddenly felt it was all absurd.
So her illness mattered, but my grievances didn't.
I had to pay for her fragility and sensitivity.
The car fell into a deathly silence, with only Jared's breathing echoing in my ears.
I stared at the night scenery flying past the window, my heart completely cold.
We left the main city road and turned onto a quiet side street, finally stopping in front of a brightly lit hospital building.
I pushed open the car door and got out.
The cold night wind blew past, clearing my muddled thoughts a bit.
Jared followed close behind. He walked ahead of me without a word, his tall figure looking particularly unfamiliar in the cold moonlight.
The hospital room was on the VIP floor. The hallway was completely quiet, with only our footsteps echoing.
I pushed open the door, and the smell of disinfectant hit me.
Soft wall lamps lit the room. Keira lay weakly in the hospital bed, her left leg wrapped in thick plaster and suspended high.
Her face was pale, her eyes red and swollen, looking pitiful.
Isabelle sat by the bed, carefully feeding her with a spoon, her eyes full of worry.
Seeing this scene, my chest felt blocked by something, making it hard to breathe.
Jealousy grew like vines, wrapping around my heart.
This was the maternal love I'd never had, the tenderness Isabelle had never given me.
"Sloane?" Keira noticed me first, her voice so weak it seemed ready to break at any moment. "You came."
I forced out a smile as a response.
Jared quickly walked to the bedside, his brow furrowed, obvious concern in his eyes.
He reached out to touch Keira's forehead but paused mid-air, eventually just gently patting the blanket beside her.
"How are you feeling?" His voice was low and gentle, completely different from the irritation he'd shown me earlier.
Keira shook her head, her eyes reddening again. She looked at Jared, her voice carrying a hint of coquettishness. "I'm fine, Jared, you didn't need to go to all this trouble." She paused, then added, "I just slipped and twisted my ankle."
"Slipped?" Isabelle glared at Keira, her tone reproachful yet unable to hide her distress. "In the middle of the night, sitting on the balcony thinking about what? If Anna hadn't found you early, were you really planning to kill yourself?"
Isabelle's words were like a thunderclap, instantly tearing apart Keira's lie about "accidentally slipping."
Jared's face turned ashen. He pressed his lips together tightly, complex emotions churning in his eyes—heartache, anger, but ultimately unable to blame her. "Keira, how could you be so reckless!"
He reached out and gently stroked Keira's hair, his movements so tender it was like handling a priceless treasure.
That carefulness was so glaring even to me as an observer.
I stood at the hospital room door, watching the three of them gathered around the bed. Rage boiled inside me. What was this? Were they the real family?
I suddenly felt like an unwelcome intruder, completely out of place.
"Since Keira's fine, I'll head back now."
"Stop right there!" Jared's voice rang out behind me. "You haven't explained yourself yet."
"Ridiculous." I muttered sarcastically, turning to look at him, the disappointment in my eyes impossible to hide. "Jared, if you really want to know, go check your phone. Look at that message, look at my reply, look at the time."
With that, I ignored his reaction and turned to leave again without hesitation.
"Get back here!" Isabelle's voice suddenly rose, sharp and piercing.
Before I could take a step, I felt a force from behind. Her hand was raised high, about to land on my face.
My body instinctively dodged to the side while I reached out and caught her wrist precisely.
Her wrist was slender but tensed from anger.
"Mrs. Winslow." I looked at her coldly, my tone so calm it surprised even me. "What exactly do you want?"
My gaze swept over Jared, over Keira lying in bed with tears in her eyes, finally settling on Isabelle's face, twisted with anger.
"What exactly do I need to do to satisfy all of you?" My voice was soft but carried an extreme suppressed despair and accusation, echoing in the empty hospital room.
The atmosphere in the room instantly froze, as if even the air had solidified.
Isabelle was stunned by my sudden firmness. Her wrist struggled in my grip but couldn't break free.
Just as we were at this standoff, Keira on the bed suddenly let out a suppressed whimper, then started crying, successfully breaking the suffocating silence.
Keira's crying was like a hammer, heavily striking Jared and Isabelle's hearts.
"It's all my fault..." Keira said through tears, choking up. "I shouldn't have come back to disturb you. If it weren't for me, my sister wouldn't be angry... Jared, Mom, please don't blame Sloane."
I watched as she spoke while struggling to sit up. "I... I should just go abroad. I don't want to cause you any more trouble."
Her retreat-as-advance tactic successfully directed all the conflict toward me.
But why should I take this?
"Don't talk nonsense!" Isabelle immediately pressed her down with concern, tears falling as well. "How could this be your fault? Silly child, you've suffered so much. Mom's heart aches for you."
Jared's expression also softened. He leaned down to look at Keira, his voice soothing. "Don't say silly things. You're not going anywhere. Just focus on recovering."
The three of them were performing a touching drama of maternal love and filial devotion, while I was like a cold observer, an outsider, an unwelcome intruder.
I couldn't help but mock myself—if I could learn even one ten-thousandth of Keira's acting skills, maybe I could get some maternal love too.
"Since I'm not needed here, I'll leave now."
This time, no one stopped me.
I walked out of the oppressive hospital room, along the empty corridor, until the cold night wind filled my lungs and the suffocating feeling in my chest eased slightly.