No one saw the blood pooling beneath her, spreading wider and darker by the second.
Her vision began to blur.
She could hear their voices, Willard’s worried tone calling Kendra’s name again and again, but it was like listening from underwater.
She tried to open her mouth to call for help, to say anything.
But the sound that came out was barely audible, even to herself.
The footsteps faded.
The room fell completely silent.
In that stillness, Daisie felt something inside her finally shatter.
Hatred bloomed in her chest like wildfire, spreading until it filled every corner of her being.
Once she went abroad, she swore she would make Willard and Kendra pay—strip them of everything, down to their skin and bones.
And when Daisie made a promise, she always meant it.
But before she could think another thought, the pain overwhelmed her. Her body gave out, and one more time, she fell into unconsciousness.
How long she lay there, Daisie didn’t know. She was just jolted out of unconsciousness by pain.
The burn on her skin had been wrapped in a few hasty turns of gauze. It was so thin she could still feel the swollen outline of the blisters underneath. The bandage at her abdomen was tied tight and crooked; she could feel a faint seep of blood through the layers.
Just then, the door burst open.
Kendra barged in. Her cheeks were flushed, her step light and composed. There wasn’t a trace of the frailty she used to pretend to have.
“Hey there, Daisie. Feeling any better?” Kendra mocked.
Daisie’s eyes reddened. She glared at Kendra, the hatred in her chest so fierce she could barely breathe.
Kendra didn’t seem to care. She sat at the bedside, crossed one leg over the other with casual ease, and lounged as if she were visiting a friend’s home, not a hospital.
“I heard… you’re planning to leave?”
Daisie’s heart tightened.
How did she know? Was she just guessing, or had someone told her?
Leaning closer, Kendra lowered her voice. “Don’t kid yourself. You really think that old woman’s going to help you? If she dares send you away behind her son’s back, Willard will turn against her in a second.”
Daisie felt her world drop as she realized that Kendra knew. Of course, she knew.
“But,” Kendra’s tone shifted, and she twirled a lock of hair around her finger, “if you really want to go, it’s not impossible.”
Daisie kept her eyes locked on her, waiting for the catch.