Chapter 3

Fueled by fury, Sophie charged at Kadence again, but without warning, Justin slapped Sophie hard across the face.

Justin's temper snapped. "Sophie, quit spouting nonsense! What could be wrong with Carly? What life-saving medicine are you talking about? If something ever happened to her, Matthew's the best surgeon you can find. There's no way he'd just ignore her.

"You're always coming up with new ways to pick on Kadence. What did she ever do to you that makes you so determined to mess with her?"

Sophie's eyes were bloodshot, her heart aching as she glared at the man who'd once promised to protect her for life. Now he was like a blade turned against her.

Her voice shook with fury. "Justin, you saw it with your own eyes. She smashed the medicine on purpose. Carly risked her life to save you. Your stepmom tried to kill you back then, and she took the hit for you. She's still got the scar on her stomach!

"You don't even care about her, but you rush to defend Kadence, the one who destroyed her life-saving medicine. Do you even have a conscience?"

The crowd around us buzzed with whispers.

Justin looked furious, but he stood his ground, stubborn pride written all over his face.

"Are you finished? Say sorry to Kadence right now, or we're over," he shot back.

Sophie scoffed, her voice laced with mockery. "Go ahead! Who would ever want a backstabbing mutt like you?"

"You—" Justin was absolutely fuming, practically shaking with rage.

Just as he raised his hand to strike, I yanked Sophie behind me and landed two harsh slaps right across his face.

"You're out of your mind! Bullying the very woman who saved your life? How do you even have the nerve to face anyone after what you've done?" I snarled.

Justin automatically moved to strike back, but the moment he realized it was me standing there, he held himself back.

After all, I wasn't just his brother Matthew's wife. I was the one who'd pulled him back from the edge more than once.

"Carly," Justin blurted out, his eyes locking onto my hospital gown. A deep frown creased his brow. "Wait, are you really sick?"

Sophie caught sight of how drained and fragile I looked, and she burst into tears, completely overwhelmed.

"I'm so sorry, Carly," Sophie sobbed. "I messed up and lost the medicine the system gave me.

"The system only came online for a moment, and I barely managed to get the medicine. I begged Kadence to give it back, but she refused. She said Matthew gave it to her, and she'd rather die than hand it over.

"I... I can't get another bottle. I can't do anything to help you anymore."

I soothed her, rubbing her back gently, and when I saw the red handprint on her cheek along with the fresh glass cuts on her hands, my heart ached so much that I could barely hold back my tears.

"Hey, you little fool, I'm really okay," I said softly, trying to comfort her.

Then I fixed my glare on Kadence and Justin, walking toward them.

I'd always been the gentle type, but for the first time, I was overwhelmed by a murderous rage.

Kadence, that little snake, always had her fake sweet talk and kept both Matthew and Justin wrapped around her finger. Normally, that kind of drama wouldn't even bother me.

At worst, it just meant I had terrible taste in men.

But this time, she hurt Sophie. That was unforgivable.

Kadence bit her lip, her eyes shining with innocent tears as she ducked her head, putting on her trademark pitiful act while she softly apologized.

"I'm really sorry, Carly," she whimpered. "I didn't know you were sick. I genuinely thought the medicine Sophie had was the one Matthew gave me, so I got upset and acted without thinking. I broke it by accident. If you want to hit me—"

I didn't even let her finish talking before my hand whipped across her cheek. A crisp slap rang out loud.

I followed up with a second slap, even fiercer than the first.

Kadence was left dazed and confused, big fat tears rolling straight down her cheeks.

Justin's expression turned stormy, and he pulled Kadence into his arms tightly.

He yelled, "Carly, have you lost your damn mind? Try touching Kadence again and see what happens."

Without missing a beat, I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

I snapped, "Shut up, you scumbag!

"She begged for it, so what's wrong with giving her exactly what she wanted?"