Chapter 4

That night, Grady did something he'd never done before. He stayed with me until I fell asleep, then went to see Erica.

In my dream, I saw Peter again. He was wearing that faded shirt, standing in front of the house with a yard we'd always dreamed of. The morning light gave him a golden glow.

"Zoe," he called, waving with a smile, his eyes clear and untouched by the world. "What took you so long? I've been waiting for you."

I smiled back, but as I did, tears started to fall. "Peter," I whispered, "I miss you so much. Will you wait for me to find you?"

*****

A few days later, I was discharged from the hospital and came back to the villa, only to discover that Erica had already moved in.

She sat in the garden, playing with a fluffy white Pomeranian at her feet, not even bothering to look up at me. "Miss Clark, you're so delicate. Why didn't you stay in bed a little longer?"

I gave her a polite smile. "How thoughtful of you, Miss Torres. I'm feeling much better now."

She didn't respond, just kept scratching the dog's chin, her words meaningful. "Coco's such a sweet thing, but in the end, she's just an animal. Nothing she does will ever change a thing." Then she let out a shrill laugh.

I stood there, keeping my face blank.

Sure enough, Coco suddenly went wild, broke loose from Erica, and charged right at me. With everyone shouting in shock, it sank its teeth deep into my calf.

Pain shot through me, and I cried out.

Mila rushed over, pried Coco off me and flung it aside. Coco whimpered and ran away, leaving my calf bleeding and torn.

Erica was startled, then her face twisted with fury. She pointed at Mila. "Who do you think you are, touching my dog?" Then she shot me a look full of disdain. "So what if it bit you? You're nothing compared to Coco."

"Oh? Why don't you tell me who can compare to your dog then?" Grady's voice sounded behind us, cold as ice.

I hadn't even noticed him coming in. He was still in his suit, his expression gloomy.

Erica instantly panicked. "Grady, that's not what I meant. Coco just suddenly snapped—"

"Your dog went crazy and you're insensible too?" Grady interrupted, his eyes flicking to my bleeding leg, his gaze growing even colder.

He remembered all the injuries I'd suffered before, and how Erica was always so bossy and overbearing.

"It was just a bite. She's not dying or anything. You seriously want me to apologize to her?" Erica huffed, trying to sound tough and cover up her guilt.

Grady looked at Erica's face, twisted with jealousy and anger, then glanced at me. He remembered how pale and gentle I was in the hospital bed, even willing to let him go for his happiness and leave quietly. In that moment, the scales in his heart tipped hard.

He didn't spare Erica another glance. Instead, he strode over and swept me up into his arms.

"Call the doctor," he ordered the servants, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Grady!" Erica shrieked after him, her voice cracking with rage.

But this time, Grady didn't look back.

That very night, Erica was asked to leave the villa, and Grady began giving her the silent treatment.

Meanwhile, I, playing the thoughtful card, suggested we take a short trip to "clear my head." It was the perfect excuse to get Grady away from all the drama, making it even clearer to him who was the sensible one and who was just trouble.

The day we got back, something happened to Erica.

On the phone, her voice was thick with tears and still burning with anger. "Grady, I was in a car accident. I'm on Hill Street. You need to come right now."

Grady motioned for me to be quiet, keeping his voice calm. "What happened?"

"I... I've just been in a bad mood these past couple of days, and I was driving a little too fast," she mumbled, her voice full of guilt.

"You were racing in the city?" Grady's brows knitted together instantly.

That was all it took to set Erica off. She started yelling, her voice shrill. "This is all Zoe and your fault. If you two hadn't ditched me, none of this would've happened. Just come fix it. I don't want the cops involved. And I definitely don't want the paparazzi catching wind of this."

Grady called in favors, quickly locked down the news, and paid off the victim's family with a fat settlement. He twisted the whole reckless driving mess into a simple "accident," so in the end, Erica just paid a fine and that was it.

On the way back, Erica sat with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes without a shred of guilt. "The family of the victim got paid off and they're still whining and sobbing? Ugh, how annoying can they get?"

Grady drove in silence, his face dark and stormy.

Erica kept pushing it. "Fine, whatever, I'll let this one go. But you need to cut ties with my substitute Zoe for good. I wouldn't have been so freaked out if it weren't for you."

Seeing she showed no sign of remorse, Grady finally cut her off, his voice cold as ice. "That's enough."

Erica froze, then smacked his arm. "Grady, what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying this is my fault?

"I only got into the accident because you were off living it up with Zoe. It was just some random nobody I hit. We've dealt with stuff like this before, so why are you playing the good guy now?"

Grady pulled over abruptly and lit a cigarette. Silence hung in the air, heaving with tension.

Erica figured this was just another round of drama. Like always, Grady would end up backing down and letting it slide.

She didn't understand that Grady was seriously done with her. She never admitted she was wrong, and was always making a mess for him to clean up.

Almost without thinking, he stacked her up against me. Erica always sucked up his time and cash, even put his family's reputation on the line. Meanwhile, I was quiet, sensible, and always gentle. I never caused trouble, even when he got engaged, just supported him in silence.

Inside the Wilson family, plenty of people were waiting to pounce, all hoping to knock the golden boy off his throne.

Grady had been bending the rules and burning through family resources for Erica lately, and the whispers were getting louder. They questioned whether an heir who was always cleaning up Erica's messes really worth betting the family's future on.

Erica was tanking her own worth, one dumb move at a time. And every time she screwed up, my stock just kept rising in comparison.