Chapter 2

The surgery dragged on for what felt like forever.

Mason survived, but they had gotten him there too late. The bleeding had reached his brain, and he slipped into a coma. He was a vegetable.

The doctor stepped out, shook his head, and sighed, "I'm sorry. He was brought in too late. If he'd gotten here even a few minutes earlier, his chances of waking up would have been much higher."

Tracy crumbled. She broke down completely, wailing so hard she could barely stand.

Nora felt the blood drain from her body. The cold seeped into her bones, and the world seemed to tilt beneath her.

She wanted to fall apart. She wanted to scream and cry until there was nothing left. But Tracy still needed her, and someone had to handle Mason's paperwork and medical forms.

She couldn't break down. Not yet.

She bit down hard, wiped her face dry, and guided Tracy into a chair.

It wasn't long before Lucas' parents, Gavin and Violet Jameson, rushed to the hospital.

They arrived in a hurry and immediately helped Nora handle all the paperwork and arrangements.

Violet held Nora's hand tight, her face full of heartache.

Violet's voice was soft with concern. "Nora, how did this happen so suddenly? Your father has always been so healthy. And right around the holidays, of all times."

Nora opened her mouth to speak, but her throat clenched shut.

The grief and rage sat heavily in her chest, and she couldn't find the words to let them out.

Tracy jerked her head up, tears streaming down her face as she cut Violet off.

"It was Lucas! He insisted on going to find Claire. Mason tried to stop him, but Lucas shoved him hard, and he hit the cabinet. That son of yours is an absolute bastard!"

Violet was furious and frantic. She pulled out her phone and dialed Lucas' number right away.

Violet's voice was sharp and cold. "Lucas, you get to this hospital right now."

On the other end, Lucas' voice was still lazy and careless, with a hint of amusement behind it.

Lucas let out a low laugh. "So she went crying to you already? Mom, don't listen to Nora exaggerate everything.

"All she ever does is play victim for sympathy. You watched Claire grow up too, and I wasn't going to just stand there and let her dad beat her to death."

Violet's whole body trembled with rage, and her voice shook as she fired back. "Nora's father is in a coma right now. He may never wake up! If you still consider me your mother, and if the Jameson name means anything to you, you get over here now."

She truly could not understand how her son, who had always been so sharp and capable, had let Claire manipulate him so completely that he'd lost every shred of decency.

Violet's voice dropped to a low, dangerous tone. "If you don't come, I will go to you myself and break your legs."

After she hung up, Violet turned to Tracy and Nora, guilt written across her face, and apologized.

But a single apology couldn't undo any of it.

Tracy turned her face away as tears streamed down her cheeks.

She choked out, "If I had known it would come to this, the Evans family would never have agreed to this marriage. Not even over my dead body!"

Nora stood beside her, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

She remembered how it all started. When the Evans family was on the verge of bankruptcy with nowhere left to turn, more than one family was willing to offer a marriage alliance to save them.

But the Jamesons were the ones who came knocking, again and again, practically begging for the arrangement.

Gavin and Violet had promised, over and over, that they would take good care of Nora and never let her suffer.

And back then, Lucas had treated her with nothing but respect.

He remembered what she liked, took her out to dinner, and spent whole afternoons shopping with her.

He put her first in everything, and he was gentle and thoughtful in a way that made her believe every word.

Nora had let her guard down slowly, worn away by Lucas' steady devotion, and she gave him her heart piece by piece.

They had their share of sweet moments together, and Nora even believed it would last forever.

Then Claire came back, and everything changed.

Lucas still bought Nora expensive gifts, but he spent more and more of his time with Claire.

He still brought Nora to business events and gave her all the respect a wife deserved, but behind closed doors, he took Claire out shopping and to dinner.

He sat beside Claire in a pottery studio for hours, patient and tender, shaping clay figures with her like they had all the time in the world.

Nora finally understood that everything Lucas had done for her was never love. He had simply been going through the motions, fulfilling whatever duty the Jameson family had assigned him.

The way he treated Claire, though, was what love actually looked like.

So Nora decided to let them be together, and she brought up the divorce herself.

But Gavin and Violet were convinced that Nora brought Lucas good luck.

They insisted she stay married to him for at least five years.

Once she had seen his fortune through and the five years were up, if they still hadn't fallen in love, she could walk away free, and the Jameson family would give her a settlement.

Nora agreed.

Now, only one month remained.

Soon, she could leave Lucas for good and put this heartbreak behind her.

It took several rounds of prodding and threats from Violet before Lucas finally dragged himself to the hospital.

He strolled into the room with his usual lazy grin, but the moment he saw Mason lying motionless on the bed, every trace of amusement froze on his face.

Only then did he believe that Mason was truly unconscious, and that this wasn't some act Nora and Mason had cooked up together.