Chapter 115
Anna’s POV:
My legs felt numb as I heard Blake cough inside the ward. Down was breaking outside, casting a pale glow through the windows of the otherwise dim hallway.
I’d been waiting all night, my body cold and stiff, only now warming up from my racing heartbeat.
The hospital corridor was eerily quiet at this hour, with only
ly the occasional beep
beep of distant monitors breaking the silence.
Should I go in and get him some water? The thought barely formed before my legs turned to jolly beneath me.
I lifted the hem of my floor–length dress to look at my feet, which suddenly refused to move.
Slowly, I stomped them against the floor, trying to regain feeling. The smooth marble felt cold even through my shoes.
inded from inside the room, followed by the sound of water being poured into a glass. The soft clink of crystal against
Footsteps sounded
a surfte.
“You really don’t take care of yourself at all,” a woman’s voice said–scarlett’s voice.
I noticed the door wasn’t fully closed. Perhaps deliberately left open to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
The feeling was returning to my legs, but now my c chest felt tight, as if someone had wrapped a belt around my ribs and was slowly cinching it tighter. I straightened up slowly, my fingertips tingling as circulation returned.
I did it for Claire,” Blake said after taking a drink. His voice had that tone–the one reserved exclusively for when he spoke about
his sister.
Scarlett laughed. “But you got hurt so badly. If that knife had gone any closer to your kidney, what would you have done for the rest of your life?”
“I know what I’m doing,” Blake replied with that infuriating confidence he always had. “If I hadn’t gotten hurt, how would she feel had enough to soften up?”
d gotten hurt on purpose? For Claire? The pieces weren’t fitting together in my mind.
My eyebrows shot up. Blake had gotten
*I really envy Claire for having a brother like you, Scarlett said, heroice taking on a warmer tone. “Though your wife is pretty pitiful too. I saw her when I came in with Caroline today. When you see her again, you’ll have some serious making up to do.”
Blake chuckled confidently. “I understand her. She’s stubborn, but she loves me
I gripped my dress tightly, my knuckles turning w
ng white as I imagined the smug look on his face as he said those words.
How dare he talk about love so casually? As if it were a toy he could play with. As if my feelings were just another business asset he
could leverage.
“My God! Love?” Scarlett sounded shocked. “I never thought I’d hear that word from your mouth. Aren’t you the one who despises
all that?”
“I don’t despise it,” Blake said. I could almost picture him shrugging as he spoke. “Humans have emotions, naturally there’s love.”
Blake, you’ve changed.” Scarlett’s voice had an edge of curiosity now. So, do you love your wi
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Chapter 115
There was a long pause. I held my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs,
Π
Blake was silent for a moment. “I don’t have such abundant feelings ove is a luxury. But being with her is nice right now. I find
It… Fresh.”
Fresh.
The word hit me like a slap. Four years of marriage, and I was still just something fresh to him? Like a new pair of shoes or the season’s latest fashion trend? 1 bit my lip hard enough to taste meta
“Really?” Scarlett’s voice turned flirtatious, with that cuyness that made my skin crawl. “Claire has been the sister you’ve protected all these years, and now you’re sending her abroad just for a woman you find fresh ? Remember, today you might find her fresh, but tomorrow you might find me fresh instead, you jerk!”
They both laughed at that, the sound echoing in the empty hallway like a cruel taunt.
Nice, Fresh. Blake’s words echoed in my mind. That’s all I was to him a DaisyNovel.
Something new and interesting while Claire was the one who truly mattered. The pretty new toy he’d eventually tire of and discard when Jomething newer came along
I’d been played for a fool. All this time, I thought I was setting a trap for Blake to get Claire brought to justice.
one pulling the strings, but his game was more sophisticated than mine. I wasn’t the puppet master–I was the
I thought I was the a puppet.
And his watch on Scarlett’s wrist. When I m married Blake, I had nothing to hide from him. My friendship with Seth was always out in the open. But when did he suddenly have such a close female friend that I knew nothing about?
Had they been in touch all along, behind my back? Had he told her about me? About us? About how he viewed our marriage as nothing more than a temporary diversion?
I’m not sincere either,” I tried to console myself. This was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, after all, A strategic
alliance
But
the pain was unbearable anyway. It cut deeper than I could have anticipated, sharp and raw like a fresh wound being salted.
y to
At least Seth was honest in his awfulness. Even when we were children, constantly at each other’s throats, there was an honesty
his antagonism.
He never tried to trick me into eating glass shards thinking they wer candy. Blake was worse–promising me sugar me poison with a smile. Giving me a ring while keeping his heart locked away for someone else.
w
while feeding
The pain was excruciating, like knives stabbing into every inch of my body. My lungs felt too small for the air I needed. My throat constricted as I tried to swallow down the bitter taste of betrayal
Without realizing it, I was twisting my dress in my hands, fingers clenching and unclenching around the expensive fabric. The material suddenly tore with a loud ripping sound that seemed to echo through the silent corridor like a gunshot.
The laughter inside the room stopped abruptly, I froze, not even daring to breathe.
“Who’s there?” Blake barked coldly, his voice suddenly all CEO and no charm. “Conte in! Now!”
I jumped, startled, and tears sprang to my eyes, before I could stop them.
God, this was humiliating.
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Chapter 115
To be caught eavesdropping like some jealous, pathetic wife which realized with a sinking heart, was exactly what I was. I blinked frantically, trying to hold back the tears as 1 turned to leave
My torn dress dragged behind
the tipped fabric a perfect metaphor for my dignity.
Every instinct screamed at me to ran, to flee before he saw me like this–vulnerable, hurt, betrayed. I took one step, then another, my legs finally cooperating when I needed them most.
“Anna?”
Blake’s v
voice, suddenly trembling, called out from the room
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