Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Zoe Hawthorne's POV

"Zoe, Adrian's car just pulled into the parking lot downstairs." Briel's voice trembled with panic.

"What if that Beta told him what just happened?"

I'd only meant to frame Iris, but nothing had gone according to plan. Now my face was wrapped in bandages, and I'd completely lost the will to go on living.

The Healer told me the scar would probably never fade. But if this mark stayed on my face forever, would Adrian still care for me the way he does now?

If I'd known it would come to this, I never would've risked the fall. I'd only wanted to frame Iris, to make her lose the baby in her belly from the tumble, but...

Even if Iris got kicked out of the pack, I'd probably never become Adrian's Luna now.

What made it even more unbearable was that Adrian had definitely gone to see Iris during the time he'd left earlier. Why else would he have rushed off so urgently?

The only silver lining was that he hadn't witnessed my outburst when I'd smashed everything in sight. Otherwise, the image I'd carefully cultivated in front of him would've completely shattered.

"Don't worry. No matter what, I'm still the one who saved Adrian's life. He won't do anything that would make himself lose credibility in Adrian's eyes." I let out a cold laugh.

I just needed to convince Adrian that I'd truly been terrified, and that Iris had genuinely hurt me.

"Stop looking like that. Hurry up and rip this gauze off my face. I don't have another chance."

"Alright, Zoe... but you're my friend, I..." Briel approached me trembling, closed her eyes, and yanked hard at the bandage covering my face. The wound that hadn't fully healed began seeping blood again.

Pain flooded my mind instantly, but I didn't dare hesitate. I ran barefoot toward the door.

I glanced at my reflection in the glass window. Blood trickled down the side of my face, making me look even more pitiful.

"You know this makes scarring even more likely!" My wolf screamed desperately. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I don't have any better options now. If I can't become Adrian's mate, how am I supposed to deal with all those debts?" I snapped back viciously.

"Zoe!" My friends rushed toward me. They looked at me with concern, and a few even tried to support me, but I skillfully dodged them all.

"Adrian!" I ran up to him happily, stopping with labored breaths. I deliberately displayed the bleeding wound.

Seeing me like this, Adrian's expression softened slightly.

"Why did you run over here? Didn't the doctor say you should rest?"

But then he noticed Briel still standing in the crowd. His expression turned cold in an instant.

"Why are you still here? Haven't you learned your lesson?"

I shot Briel a glance. If she screwed this up, I'd rather drag her outside right now and let the rogue wolves tear her to pieces!

"They were too anxious earlier and got into a conflict with the Beta, so they drove him away. I wanted to come out and apologize to the Beta on their behalf. Adrian, please don't be angry, okay?" I smiled at him pitifully. Blood continued flowing down my cheek, and my body wouldn't stop trembling.

Fortunately, Briel wasn't completely stupid. She finally understood what I was saying and quickly ran toward the exit. The others didn't dare make a sound, staring blankly at Adrian and me.

I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, blinked, and began crying softly.

"I'm sorry, Adrian. You left your Beta here to help me, and my friends treated him this way. It's my fault." I choked out the words.

"I didn't expect Briel would treat Iris like that either. I should have stopped her, but I was truly terrified at the time."

Part of that was true. I genuinely hadn't anticipated that Briel, as an Alpha's daughter, would be so rude. I'd actually been about to pull her away, but then I'd realized that in the scuffle, Iris might fall and miscarry. My limbs had felt nailed to the spot—I simply couldn't move.

But Adrian just stared at me without saying a word.

What was he trying to do? I suddenly couldn't read Adrian anymore.

Though this was typical of his personality, his current mood felt different from before. It was as if he'd seen right through me, and everything I was doing now was just a performance.

No! He couldn't do this. If he abandoned me, what would I do next?

"Adrian, are you really angry with me?" My voice became even softer and weaker than before.

"How could I be?" He seemed to suddenly realize I was standing in front of him and turned to look at me.

The faint sadness on his face vanished, replaced by a complicated smile.

"What happened to your wound?"

My wound?

I was confident my friends must have fabricated an appropriate story. After all, I'd grabbed Iris's arm at the time.

Though she hadn't actually shaken me off, with so many people around, no one could see clearly from other angles.

So what exactly was he trying to say?

I had so many questions I wanted to ask him, but in the end, I could only maintain my usual gentle image.

"Don't blame Iris. What happened today was my own carelessness." I sighed and smiled bitterly.

"But I'm afraid I'll be stuck with this scar forever. If only I'd stood more steadily. At least then Iris wouldn't be under suspicion today. She must be terrified."

Adrian fell silent again. He watched me quietly, his expression even colder than before.

"So you're saying that Iris did push you?"

Why was Adrian thinking this way? Before, he'd always stood by my side, never demanding I explain anything so clearly. He'd always prioritized my feelings.

And precisely because of that, I could make everyone believe I was the one Adrian truly cared about, and they'd believe my version of events based on his behavior.

"That's right, Alpha Adrian. That's exactly what happened. Otherwise, how could Zoe have fallen so badly?" Someone behind me suddenly spoke up.

Adrian's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"So you saw it?"

Was he doubting me, or did he simply not want Iris to be wronged in this matter?

I froze in place, unsure how to respond.

"This happened because I was careless. Don't blame Iris." I lowered my head, putting on an even more pitiful expression.

"I see." Adrian's gaze returned to me, his tone remarkably casual.

"In that case, be more careful next time."