Chapter 4
In the end, that team of top specialists performed the surgery on me.
As expected, not even the best in the world could fully restore my shattered limbs.
From now on, I wouldn’t be able to lift anything heavier than two pounds. Running or dancing would be completely out of the question.
When the anesthesia wore off, I endured the searing pain of having my hands and legs cut open all over again.
Then Celia showed up, flanked by doctors, nurses, and the expert team, as if she were some kind of royalty.
“Vivian, I know you hate me,” she began, her voice soft and tearful, eyes glistening with fake emotion. “But hurting me out of spite is only going to make Mr. Hartley retaliate even more. Why put yourself through that?”
Those smoky, pitiful eyes of hers and that delicate, trembling look were exactly how she’d wrapped every man around her finger, including my father and brother.
I still remembered when she first arrived at the Sinclair residence. Her fingers were rough, callused, and cracked. With no man to depend on, she and her mother had eaten leftovers and even slept on the streets.
But after ten years of being pampered in our house, she now had flawless skin and carried herself like a perfect little debutante.
“This time,” she said sweetly, “I let the specialists operate on you for Sammy’s sake. But next month, during my birthday party, I expect you to apologize to me in front of everyone. That was the condition for saving you. I hope you won’t go back on your word.”
I looked up at her, my tone cold. “Who said I agreed to that?”
Samuel stepped forward. “I did
He looked at me with the same calm expression, as if this whole thing were my fault.
I let out a cold laugh. “Get out, all of you.”
This man I’d loved for three years? I didn’t want him anymore.
Celia’s tears finally spilled over. “Vivian, I did this for your own good. If you refuse to apologize, do you want Mr. Hartley to take matters into his own hands?”
She cried even harder as
her
gaze swept across my broken body.
She really could put on a show–looked like genuine heartbreak.
Samuel frowned, clearly annoyed. He gently stroked her back. “Celia, go rest. I’ll make sure she apologizes at your birthday party.
Celia looked pleased. As she lowered her head to wipe away her tears, I caught the cold, triumphant smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
When she looked up again, her eyes were clear. “I trust you, Sammy!”
I bet her look made Samuel’s heart melt on the spot.
I waited until he turned back toward me after watching her leave, and I smiled, “So if I refuse to go, what then? Planning to drag me there yourself?”
Samuel’s expression darkened. “Celia didn’t have to let those doctors treat you?
So that was it. In his eyes, I was ungrateful, someone who didn’t know how to repay a favor.
‘I already told you. I was ready to die. I never asked anyone to save me. Not even you,”
1/3
Chapter +
Samuel flinched. Something must have struck him, something that made his whole body tremble. His face went cold and hard in an instant, but he didn’t say another word. He just turned and walked out in silence.
News that I’d made Celia cry again quickly reached Matthew.
The brother who hadn’t shown up once while I was hovering between life and death suddenly burst into my hospital room
“Mr. Sinclair,” I said coldly, “are you here to claim your sister’s body? At a time like this, should I say you’re too early or far too late?”
Matthew’s brows drew together. “Vivian, even now, you still don’t think you did anything wrong?”
That accusatory look in his eyes made my skin crawl.
My voice turned icy. “Are you the one who told me to apologize to Celia?”
He arched an eyebrow,
And just like that, all the rage Td been holding back surged up in my chest. “Matthew,” I said through clenched teeth, “you’re seriously telling me to apologize to the mistress who killed our mother? The one who smashed her urn on purpose? Seriously?*
“You really outdid yourself. You think Mom would be proud?”
Smack. The slap came with full force, I was already weak, and that blow hit hard enough to send my head spinning.
My vision blurred. Through the fog, I saw Samuel raise his hand, then pause, let it fall, and stand there, unmoved, watching coldly from the side.
A bitter laugh rose in my throat. This was the man I had saved out of the rain, the one I paid to protect me for three years.
Blood spilled from the corner of my mouth, staining the white sheet beneath me. The taste of rust filled my mouth.
My head spun. I clenched my eyes shut.
Matthew instinctively moved to catch me, but I pulled away.
When I opened my eyes again, I stared straight at him.
This was the first time Matthew had ever laid a hand on me. Even he hadn’t expected himself to hit me that hard.
He was probably a little sorry. But regret wouldn’t change a damn thing, not his stance, and not his loyalty.
Matthew tried to hide the slight tremble in his fingers. “Vivian, cut the act. Even if you died right in front of me, I wouldn’t feel a shred of pity.
“Celia isn’t the kind of person you make her out to be. And if you ever slander or hurt her again, before Mr. Hartley deals with you, I’ll do it myself.”
I laughed.
My brother was threatening to kill me for the sake of that vile stepsister.
What a joke. What an absolute farce.
Don’t worry, Matthew,” I said with a smile that made my whole body tremble. “Even if I die, I’ll drag down the mistress who killed Mom with me”
My wounds, freshly stitched, tore open without warning. Blood soaked through the bandages like ink spilled on paper.
The monitor blared with a shrill alarm, piercing the air.
Matthew and Samuel panicked at the same time.
Two pairs of hands pinned me down.
2/3
Chapter 4
“Vivian, don’t move. I’m ordering you–do not move,” Samuel said, his voice taut with panic.
“Doctor? Where the hell is the doctor? Matthew shouted, frantic.
田
