Piper tilted her head sweetly, hiding the smirk playing on her lips.
“Colin… the dead deserve peace. Maybe we should let this go?”
He turned to her with a sigh. “You’re too soft. That’s why she walks all over you.”
Then he looked back at his men. “Well? What are you waiting for? Do you need me to show you where the funeral home is?” he barked at the guards.
His voice cut through me like broken glass, scattering the last remains of the love I’d held onto for ten long years.
He knew. He knew my mother was my only weakness. And he didn’t hesitate to crush it underfoot.
I broke.
I bowed.
My spine bent, my head dropped, my pride bled out on the floor at Piper’s feet.
“Please,” I whispered, tears falling hard. “Please just leave my mother. Let her rest in peace.”
Each word was a blade in my throat. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Wrong for hoping for fairness.
Wrong for believing—foolishly—that maybe, just maybe, he’d choose me over her.
As I bent forward, the blood-soaked back of my collar showed.
Colin’s eyes flickered. For a split second, he seemed stunned.
“Is this enough for you?” I straightened with every last ounce of strength I had left–staring him down with disgust I couldn’t barely concealed.
His jaw tightened. He gestured to his assistant. “Bring the agreement.”
Only when I pressed my bloody fingerprint onto the page did his brow finally ease.
“You’re bleeding,” he said. “I’ll call a doctor.”
He let go of Piper and moved toward me.
I slapped his hand away.
“Save it. Go get your precious girl's injuries checked instead—if you wait any longer, the fake bruises might fade.”
I turned to leave, but Piper stuck out her foot.
I tripped hard, crashing forward.
Colin’s instincts kicked in. He reached out—but stopped himself just inches away.
His hand froze mid-air. Then he stepped back.
“Alright. Handle your wound yourself,” he said stiffly.
I forced myself to stand tall, even as pain shot up.
He looked at me as they reached inside the elevator. “I’ll go with you to the wedding boutique tomorrow,” he said, before the elevator doors closed behind them.
My body swayed, the dizziness from blood loss rising in waves.
In the blur of pain, I was pulled back to a memory—back to college.
Colin was just nineteen when he took over the family business. He’d worked through endless nights, eyes rimmed with exhaustion. One day, I burned my hand slightly while making soup for him. Just a tiny blister.