Chapter 103: Hundred and four

Ethan’s POV

Hospitals had a way of suffocating you, pressing down on your chest until it felt like you couldn’t breathe. Maybe it was the sterile white walls or the artificial scent of antiseptic clinging to the air. Maybe it was the quiet... too quiet, like the walls absorbed every sound, turning everything into a deadened hum.

I hated hospitals.

But here I was, walking down the long, pale corridor, my hands shoved into my pockets, my jaw clenched tight. Every step echoed around me, each one heavier than the last.

Sophia... She had fainted... Collapsed under the weight of her own desperation to prove herself innocent. And for what? For Henry?

That thought made my stomach turn.

I wasn’t here because I cared about her well-being. No, that wasn’t it. I was here because I needed answers, because I had seen something in her today, something that made me question everything I thought I knew.

Something that didn’t sit right. The moment I reached her room, I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the door open and stepped inside.

Sophia was sitting up in bed, looking pale against the hospital sheets. An IV was attached to her wrist, her dark hair tangled, her expression unreadable. But the second she saw me, something in her eyes darkened, sharpened, like a knife being drawn from its sheath.

I smirked. “Missed me?”

Her reaction was instant.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Her voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet like a blade.

I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms over my chest. “Checking in on you.”

Her hands gripped the blanket so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Get out.”

I chuckled, pushing off the doorframe. “Not even a ‘thank you’ for visiting? I’m hurt.”

She scoffed, shaking her head. “I don’t want to see you.”

I took a step forward. “Why? Afraid of what I might say?”

“I’m afraid of what I might do,” she snapped, her voice laced with barely contained rage.

I tilted my head, studying her. “You’re mad.”

“No, I’m furious,” she corrected, her eyes burning with something deeper than just anger.

I exhaled, dragging a hand through my hair. “And why is that?”

Her lips curled into a sneer. “Because you’re a liar, Ethan.”

That made me pause.

I let the words sink in, rolling them around in my mind, trying to figure out where she was going with this.

I smirked. “A liar?”

“Yes,” she spat. “You knew something about the accident, didn’t you? You knew something, and you kept it from me. You let Henry believe I killed his brother.”

My jaw tightened. I had expected this conversation, but hearing it from her, seeing the raw betrayal in her eyes, it was irritating.

I shrugged. “So what if I did?”

Sophia’s whole body tensed. “You let Henry think I was responsible. You let him hate me for something I didn’t do.”

Something inside me shifted.

I stepped closer, my voice low, controlled. “And why do you care so much about what Henry thinks?”

Silence... her reaction was instant...too instant... her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked away, her jaw clenching. That hesitation... it told me everything.

I narrowed my eyes.

“Why are you so desperate for him to believe you?”

Her gaze snapped back to mine, filled with warning. “Because I’m innocent.”

“Bullshit,” I said flatly. “This isn’t just about proving your innocence.”

Her breathing hitched, and for the first time, I saw something flicker in her expression, something uncertain, something fragile.

I leaned in slightly, my voice dropping. “Tell me the truth, Sophia. Is this really about clearing your name? Or is there something more?”

She said nothing. And that silence was deafening... Then it hit me.

Like a punch to the gut. I took a slow step back, my mind piecing together fragments of moments I had ignored before, little things, insignificant things, until now.

The way she reacted to Henry. The way Henry reacted to her. The anger. The tension. The way their fights always seemed to hover on the edge of something else, something dangerous.

I felt my stomach twist.

I exhaled, shaking my head. “You and Henry…”

Sophia’s body went rigid. I stared at her, waiting for her to deny it, waiting for her to call me crazy, to laugh in my face. But she didn’t.

She didn’t say a word. And that silence? That silence was all the confirmation I needed. A cold, ugly feeling twisted inside me, creeping up my spine like poison.

Henry.

Henry Knight.

The man who had everything. The power, the respect, the control. And now Sophia? No... No, this was wrong. This was twisted. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Sophia’s fingers curled into the hospital blanket. “What are you talking about?”

I took a slow breath, my pulse pounding. “You.” My voice was dangerously low. “And Henry.”

She flinched. Just slightly. But I saw it. She didn’t deny it. Didn’t fight me on it. Didn’t curse at me like she usually would. She just sat there, her face pale, her breathing shallow, refusing to look at me. My chest tightened, the air around me suddenly feeling too thin.

I took a step back. “You’re disgusting.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “Go to hell, Ethan.”

I smiled. But it wasn’t a nice smile. It was slow, cold, empty. “I’m already there, sweetheart.”

She turned her head away, dismissing me, but I wasn’t done.

I leaned in just a little closer, my voice barely above a whisper. “And when I come back…” I let the words drag, savoring the way her breath hitched. “It’s going to be disastrous.”

For a split second, I saw fear in her eyes. Good. I stepped back, straightening my sleeves, and without another word, I walked out of the room. But my rage didn’t leave me. It followed me down the hallway, out the hospital doors, into the cold night air.

Henry.

Sophia.

They were hiding something. And when I found out what it was? I was going to burn their world to the ground.