That familiar note of threat—low, deliberate—
sank between us like the echo of a locked door.
I gave a small, tired smile. “I haven’t forgotten. But I also remember
the doctor saying that day—
I nearly went into cardiac failure saving you.”
He froze, a flicker of stiffness flashing through his features.
It was the one memory he could never bear to face.
“Don’t bring that up again,” he said coldly. “You saved me, and I gave
you five years of life.”
I lifted my head. For the first time, there was no fear in my eyes.
“Five years?” I said quietly. “That wasn’t life. It was imprisonment.”
For a moment, he couldn’t speak.
His expression twisted—part anger, part guilt—
but the flicker of remorse vanished almost instantly.
“When I’m gone,” he muttered, his voice sinking into a low, restrained
growl,
“don’t cause trouble. If anything happens to Kendall…”
He paused.
“You know the consequences.”
Then he bent down and kissed Kendall on the forehead.
That scene—
one I had imagined in countless dreams—
was never meant to belong to anyone else.
The door closed.
He was gone.
The living room fell silent.
Kendall slumped onto the sofa, her posture lazy, a mocking smile tugging
at the corners of her lips.
“How touching,” she said, her tone dripping with false sympathy. “Five
years of marriage, and he still can’t stand to waste a single glance on
you.”
I didn’t answer.
I simply sat there, scrolling through the listings on my phone.
My calm seemed to infuriate her. She suddenly stood up, laughter
spilling from her lips as she swayed the coffee cup in her hand.
“Did you know?” she said sweetly, “Last night he told me his heartbeat
was even faster than it was after his surgery—because I was in his
arms.”
The cup tilted in my hand—
I dodged, but the scalding coffee still splashed across my clothes.
A few drops landed on my wrist. The pain was sharp, and I gasped,
falling to the floor in a half-cry that sounded almost theatrical.
“Lucas!” I screamed.
Footsteps thundered from the hallway.
He burst in, eyes flaring when he saw my reddened wrist.
“What the hell are you doing now?!”
Before I could speak, his palm came down hard.
The slap rang in my ears, and for a second, the world went white.
He gathered Kendall into his arms and rushed out, leaving me kneeling
among shattered porcelain and spilled coffee.
The heat soaked through my thin nightgown, burning my skin.
But the pain in my chest was worse—