His voice was tight and urgent, his brows tightly furrowed.
“She’s timid. She’s never been through anything like this. That crash must have terrified her. I need to go check on her.”
Verity’s POV
The nurse tried to stop him. “Sir, you have multiple bruises—”
But he had already pushed past her. The movement was too abrupt and pulled at his injuries, his face turning pale instantly.
Only then did he notice me standing in the doorway.
The second our eyes met, he paused.
It was guilt he didn’t have time to hide.
“Honey… you’re here.”
He explained almost instinctively. “I’m just going to check on Kelsey. I’m worried she’s scared.”
He looked at me as if he’d already expected me to object, prepared with what he’d say next.
But I just nodded.
He froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.
Still, without saying anything else, he hurried toward the room next door.
I stood in the hallway, lowering my gaze to the ring on my left hand.
I’d worn our wedding ring for many years.
At first, it felt unfamiliar. Later, I didn’t even want to take it off to shower or sleep.
Now, it felt light—like an unnecessary piece of metal.
I took it off without hesitation and dropped it into the trash can at the end of the hall.
A clink sounded.
It was soft, but it felt like a period being placed inside my heart.
Inside Kelsey’s room, she was sitting on the hospital bed.
She looked clean and neat, except for a faint smear of dried blood near her cheek.
Her two brothers stood on either side of her.
“Are you still dizzy?”
“What did the doctor say? Do you need another check?”
Tucker walked over, his voice tense.
“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
I went in, set the fruit basket on the cabinet, and was about to leave.
“Verity.”
Kelsey suddenly called out to me.
Her voice trembled, her eyes red, looking both wronged and helpless.
“I’m sorry… I really am.”
She struggled to get out of bed, her voice shaking.
“If it weren’t for me, Tucker wouldn’t have been hurt this badly.”
“I didn’t mean it. It’s just that earlier today… someone spread rumors about me—really ugly ones. My brother heard them and got so angry he wanted to hit someone.”
“He said he couldn’t let people hurt me like that, but I stopped him. I was afraid he’d get hurt.”
“Then that man provoked him, asked if he dared to race.”
“So my brother agreed.”
“He said that if I sat in the passenger seat and helped guide him, he would definitely win.”