Chapter 8

I walked into the hospital room and sat down by Bruce's bed.

Bruce looked at me, his face pale and weak.

I kept a straight face and didn't say a word to him.

After a long silence, he rasped out, "I'm fine."

I shot him an angry glare. "Did hitting him even change anything?

"He's still walking around as if nothing happened, but you're the one facing jail time.

"And you're the one who's sick, and you might not even get help when you need it."

Bruce looked guilty, but there was still a frustrated resentment in his eyes. "Whenever I see him, I can't hold myself back.

"Just wrecking one of his legs isn't nearly enough for me. He's such a monster."

My eyes were red with anger as I snapped at him, "How many times do I have to tell you? From now on, let's stop worrying about all that and try to live our lives, okay?"

Bruce looked at me, his voice barely above a whisper. "But Zoe, can you really go back to living like everything's fine?"

I was at a loss for words.

He sighed softly. "You really think Bruce's clueless? I know more than you think, Zoe.

"You've been pretending to be with Chris, and you keep saying your depression's basically gone.

"All these years, you've been telling me you're fine, but are you really? Have you actually been okay?

"And that vitamin C bottle on your nightstand? It's full of sleeping pills."

I shot him a look, startled. Our eyes met, but I looked away, panic rising in me.

My fingers pressed hard into my palm, and I couldn't stop my hands from shaking.

Bruce's voice was thick with hatred. "You think I went after that bastard to blow off steam, not giving a damn about what happened next? You think I wanted to cripple both his legs?

"I really wanted to kill him, Zoe. That's all I wanted.

"As long as he's alive, he'll never stop coming after you.

"You'll never truly heal from this.

"Only the dead can never hurt you again.

"Zoe, I'd do anything for you, even if it costs me everything.

"He has to die. Only then will you finally be able to move on with your life."

Bruce started coughing violently. He lost control again, coughing violently, struggling for breath.

He continued, "Damn it, I should've killed him three years ago.

"Now it's too damn hard."

The heart monitor blared piercingly.

My heart raced as I tried to soothe him. "Bruce, calm down. Please, calm down."

He couldn't even see me anymore. His face was twisted in pain, and he kept muttering under his breath, "I'm still here. I'll kill him. I'll kill him for you."

He started coughing again, then suddenly threw up. He threw up blood again.

Three years later, Bruce finally came face-to-face with Nathan Hart again.

For three years, Bruce and I had been trapped in this mess, while Nathan, the bastard who ruined everything, was still out there.

"I can't stand it. I can't let it go," Bruce muttered.

The medical staff rushed in.

They wheeled him back into the emergency room, and once again, the doctors handed me another critical condition form to sign.

I sat outside the ER.

I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

If Bruce went back to prison, it was a dead end for him. He wouldn't make it out alive.

Bruce always said I'd only have a future if Nathan was dead.

But if Bruce had passed away, there would have been no future for me, either.

Bruce was finally wheeled out of the ER and into the ICU, still unconscious.

I stayed by his bedside, my heart pounding with worry, and I nearly passed out more than once.

Chris dropped to a crouch in front of me.

When I started to collapse forward, he reached out and grabbed me before I could hit the floor. "Zoe, you need to eat something."

Completely spent, I leaned into his shoulder, unable to hold myself up anymore.

My gaze flickered, and I caught sight of Leon standing outside the hospital room door.

His eyes were cold as ice, but the fury, hatred, and unwillingness burning in them were impossible to hide.

*****

Early the next morning, Chris went downstairs to grab some breakfast.

I stayed in the hospital room, keeping vigil by Bruce's bedside.

I hadn't slept a wink all night, and as the sun came up, a wave of exhaustion hit me hard.

I was nodding off, head down, when someone suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet.

My brain felt like mush, and for a second, everything went black.

Struggling to open my eyes, I saw Leon grab my hand and march me out of the hospital room, dragging me toward the end of the hallway.

Even his back radiated barely contained anger.

I forced myself to speak, my voice barely above a whisper, "Let go."

When I finally managed to speak, all I could taste was blood in my mouth.

I'd been keeping vigil by Bruce's side for two days and nights, and I hadn't slept a wink.

I was so drained that I could barely get a word out.

Leon stayed silent, walking straight to the elevator.

As we got closer to the elevator, I finally noticed Nathan standing not far away.

Leon dragged me straight over to Nathan, not letting me go for even a second.

Then, all of a sudden, right in front of Nathan, Leon let go of my wrist. He released my wrist and intertwined our fingers, locking them together.

My scalp prickled with discomfort, and I tried frantically to yank my hand back.

But Leon's grip only tightened, his fingers clamped around mine, not letting me escape.

Nathan stood there, smiling gently, like he hadn't noticed a thing.

Leon said, "Nathan, I broke off the engagement with the Wynn family."

Nathan gave a soft smile. "What made you change your mind all of a sudden?"

Leon finally stopped pretending. "You know I'm into someone else. I'm over those arranged marriage games."

Nathan kept his gentle smile. "Oh, really?"

Leon held my hand tightly as we walked past Nathan and stepped into the elevator.

My phone buzzed in my hand, and a new message had come in.

The screen lit up.

Leon glanced over and caught sight of my phone's lock screen, a photo of Chris and me.

Chris had his arms around me, both of us looking at the camera, all cozy and close.

That picture was for show, something I used to fool Bruce and keep him from worrying. But Leon didn't know that.

Leon's anger flared up in an instant. Without a second thought, he reached out and snatched my phone right out of my hand.

He yanked my hand over and pressed my finger to the sensor, unlocking the phone himself.

The message was from an unknown number. Just two words: [Come back.]

No name showed up, but I knew it could only be Nathan.

Leon's face twisted with even more anger. "Let me guess, that's from Chris, isn't it?

"You actually got together with him? Zoe, how could you do this to me?

"Was everything you did to screw over the Hart family three years ago so you could run off with him?

"You even went so far as to burn my name off your skin with a cigarette."

I couldn't afford to waste a single second. My mind was completely consumed by worry for Bruce, who was still lying in that hospital room.

My voice trembled with panic, even more than anger, as I cried out, "Give me my phone. Let me go."

Leon's eyes burned red with fury. All the anger and bitterness he'd been holding back for three years came pouring out in a sudden, uncontrollable rush. "What makes you think you deserve it all?

"Zoe, back when the Turner family was falling apart, I risked everything, hiding from the Hart elders to help you, year after year.

"You turned your back on the Hart family. Whenever you felt like leaving the country, you left. Whenever you wanted someone new, you went for it.

"Zoe, you can't expect the world to hand you everything."

His face twisted, wild with anger. "Bet you're thrilled I've got a fiancée now, huh?

"I must've been crazy to think you'd actually feel bad about it.

"Let me tell you, none of it was real.

"That engagement? I ended it, just a sham, all for show.

"Zoe, you and Chris? Forget it. That's never happening again."