“Cruella, don’t blame Mariah. No one can predict an earthquake.”
Viggo’s eyes reddened with tenderness. Right in front of me, he brushed her hair back and kissed her gently on the cheek.
“I’m sorry you had to go through this.”
Cruella threw herself into Carmilla’s arms again. “Mommy worked so hard.”
His parents sighed along.
“If he’d married Carmilla back then, none of this would’ve happened.”
As if the earthquake were something I had personally caused!
As if only Carmilla had been injured, and I hadn’t been hurt at all.
I stood there, expressionless.
But inside, it felt like thousands of ants were gnawing at my heart. The pain spread and spread until I could barely stand. Until I nearly broke.
The in-laws I’d bent over backward to please adore Carmilla.
The husband and daughter I gave everything to didn’t recognize me. Didn’t love me. Didn’t even ask about my injuries.
I was a complete joke.
I turned and walked away without another word.
I asked the nurse to start my discharge paperwork.
It wasn’t even finished when someone blocked my path at the corner of the hallway.
“Mariah.”
I looked up.
Carmilla stood a short distance away.
Her makeup was gone. A strip of gauze was taped to her forehead. She looked pale, fragile. In her hand, she held a cup of warm water, like she’d been waiting for me.
“I wanted to apologize,” she said softly. “Back at the company… I didn’t expect Viggo to act so impulsively.”
Mariah’s POV
I didn’t respond. I turned and started to walk away.
“Honestly, the way he rushed over like that scared me, too.”
She continued behind me, her voice calm, not loud, but every word landed clearly.
“I didn’t even have time to react. He was already standing in front of me.”
“Don’t misunderstand,” she added lightly. “It was just instinct. He saved me first without thinking. After all, no matter how much you have, you still can’t win a man’s heart.”
The words were naked provocation. A quiet boast.
My steps slowed, but I didn’t turn around.
Then, suddenly, a dull thud sounded behind me.
A woman’s sharp gasp. The sound of a body hitting the floor.
A bad feeling surged up my spine.
I spun around.
Carmilla was sprawled on the ground, her forehead smashed against the sharp corner of a cabinet. Blood streamed down from her temple.
She lifted her head, eyes red, voice trembling.
“Mariah… why did you push me?”
For a split second, my mind went completely blank.
Then the hospital room door flew open.