5
woke to the sterile smell of antiseptic. The first thing I saw was Perry’s grim face. Up close, I could see the dark circles under his
eyes.
“See? I told you she was faking,” Bianca said coldly from a chair nearby. Her face was an open book of disdain. “The doctors did a full workup. There’s not a single thing wrong with her. You’re too soft, Perry. Girls from her class are full of tricks. That was probab- ly just paint.”
Seeing me awake, Perry let out a quiet sigh of relief, but his expression remained severe.
“Zoe, do you have any idea how selfish this is?” he said, his voice tight. “You made a huge scene. Are you happy now, seeing me
worry about you?”
“Why can’t you understand that you can’t force love…”
I stared blankly at the ceiling, my heart a dead, hollow thing. I closed my eyes, wishing I could just slip away forever.
“Get out,” I choked out, cutting him off.
The air in the room went still.
“Perry, look at her! So ungrateful!” Bianca huffed. I could feel her venomous glake on me.
Perry, a man used to being adored and obeyed, couldn’t handle being spoken to like that. There was a loud scrape as a chair was shoved back violently. The door slammed shut behind him.
Silence returned. I thought my heart was already numb, but his reaction still made it ache with a pain so sharp I couldn’t breathe. A silent tear slid from the corner of my eye, soaking into the pillow. I tried to stop, but the sobs came, wracking my body. An unprece- dented wave of grief and anger washed over me, and I wept, alone in that cold hospital room, feeling my life slowly fade.
I don’t know how long I cried. The door opened again.
Perry had returned, carrying a thermal container. His gaze, complex and unreadable, fell my tear–stained pillow. He sighed.
“Zoe, get up and eat. I brought your favorite.”
I ignored him, keeping my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. Suddenly, I felt him lift the blanket. My eyes flew open and I instinc- tively recoiled. His handsome face was inches from mine.
A small, triumphant smile played on his lips. “You’re still the same. Your reactions are so cute.”
His words were a gut punch, reminding me of how he used to tickle me to wake me up when I refused to
d just managed to stop welled up again. I sat up quickly, using the motion to furtively wipe them away.
bed. The tears I‘
Chapter 2
“Why did you
come back? Afraid I’ll try to ‘force‘ you with more fake paint?” My voice was hoarse from crying.
06:43
For once, Perry didn’t get angry. He scooped a spoonful of food and held it to my lips, his left hand automatically cupping my chin, a habit from a time that felt like a different life. The familiar gesture made us both freeze.
“Ahem… don’t be angry with Bianca,” he said, awkwardly pulling his hand back. “She’s just very protective of me. She was once so sick, she almost didn’t wake up. The day of the chapel wedding, I was on my way, but she had a sudden relapse. I had to… I had to get engaged to her, to calm her down.”
He looked away, a flicker of something unreadable in his deep eyes. “You’re a good person, Zoe. I never wanted to hurt you. I’m
sorry.”
“The doctors said that even though you have no injuries, your body is extremely weak. I’ll find some specialists to help you recover.”
I said nothing the entire time. But that night, he seemed to have a lot to say.
