Chapter 2

I sighed, feeling helpless. "Eleanor, he's a patient James and I took in."

Eleanor was punching numbers into her calculator, muttering to herself, "Well, yeah, he's all looks and no substance. Just a slacker, not like your James, who's solid and hardworking.

"Once James gets better, you won't have to worry about being left alone if you ever get sick or something."

I lowered my head, my eyes stinging with tears.

Everyone knew about James's illness. They all thought he wouldn't make it.

Everyone just assumed Dylan was the guy James picked to take his place as my husband.

Since we were pretending to be siblings, we had to act like strangers every day to keep up the charade.

Poor James. He really had to put up with so much because of me.

I popped a piece of candy in my mouth and headed to the hospital.

As I pushed the door open, James's hand shook, and he spilled water all over his chest.

He tried to wipe it off in a panic, but just made it worse, ended up revealing way more skin than he intended.

He looked up at me, helpless. "Victoria, I'm so useless right now. I can't do anything right."

My heart was racing, and before I knew it, I pressed him down onto the bed and kissed him right on the lips.

James mumbled, caught completely off guard.

"Just stay quiet for a sec, okay?" I whispered against his lips.

After the kiss, I kept my lips pressed against James's, smiling at him. "Did you like it?

"I made sure to eat a strawberry candy beforehand, so it'd taste sweet for you."

James nodded, still a little out of it, but then something popped into his head, and his voice got a bit anxious. "I heard that guy left. Are you feeling okay?"

I nuzzled his nose, grinning. "What silly thoughts are running through that little head of yours?

"If it weren't for selling his watch to cover your surgery, I would've tossed him out way earlier. No way I'd put up with all that hassle for nothing.

"I won't ever let anything happen to you, so quit worrying about the worst. We'll always be together, always and forever."

As for Dylan, the first thing out of his mouth was pure nonsense.

The moment he laid eyes on me, he started spouting crazy stuff.

He was not just crazy. His morals were a mess too. No way I'd ever ditch James for a guy like him.

"Hey, let's get out of here and head to the big city for your treatment," I said.

I handed Eleanor three hundred dollars to look after my dog, then took James with me and we headed straight for Bayview City.

The doctors in the big city didn't waste any time. They nailed down exactly why James's valve was acting up after surgery and set a date for his second open-heart procedure.

And the best part is it didn't cost us a dime.

The doctor, Logan Pierce, told us. "The hospital founder's long-lost grandson finally showed up, so Mr. Cooper's in a great mood.

"He's paying all the medical bills and doing some good deeds.

"Mr. Cooper's a top cardiologist himself. If you're lucky, you might even run into him during his rounds."

Hearing Logan say that, I finally felt at ease.

While I was sorting out the hospital paperwork for James, I ended up bumping into someone.

"Are you blind? You ran right into Miss Mitchell," someone snapped.

"Sorry, sorry," I blurted out.

From the way they spoke, I could tell this was someone I really didn't want to mess with, so I quickly apologized and tried to make my escape.

But when I looked up, I saw Dylan staring at me, totally shocked. "Victoria? You actually followed me all the way here?"

I was feeling pretty uneasy. What if Dylan figured out we were pretending to be siblings to scam him for the surgery money?

And what if he decided to get back at us for it? And the worst was…

Dylan stared at me for a moment, deep in thought, then turned his gaze my way. "How the hell did you track me down here?

"So saving me was all part of your scheme, huh?

"And James, he's not actually your brother, is he?"

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I hurriedly blurted out, "He's my brother."

"I'm just here so my brother can get treated."

Dylan narrowed his eyes. "His surgery was done ages ago. You're lying.

"Whenever you lie, you always fidget with your shirt and can't look anyone in the eye."

Dylan had changed. It wasn't his attitude or the way he dressed. His whole presence felt different.

He was smarter now, too. But honestly, I couldn't figure out why he was giving me that look.

Seriously, I saved his life, didn't I?

I stopped backing down and met his gaze head-on. "What's it to you? I'll go wherever I want."

Dylan frowned and turned to leave.

But then the woman next to him spoke up. "Dylan, do you know her?"

She was gorgeous, smelled amazing, and stood there with an air of confidence, giving me a once-over like I was barely worth her attention.

Dylan kept a straight face. "She's a liar. Nobody important to me."

Hearing that, I let out a sigh of relief and was about to leave.

But Charlotte just stared at me, then lifted her hand gracefully to cover her nose. "Ugh, what's that smell? It's disgusting."

The whole place went dead silent, and every single pair of eyes in the room snapped to me.

Shame hit me so hard I felt like I couldn't even breathe.

I turned my head and sniffed my clothes. All I could smell was the fresh scent of laundry detergent.

"It's not me, I swear," I said.

Dylan looked uncomfortable, frowning as he gave me an awkward once-over.

After that, he turned away and softly ran his fingers through Charlotte's hair. "Grandpa's waiting. Come on, let's go."

Charlotte stayed put, coughed twice in a showy, exaggerated way, then gave him a playful, pouty look. "Ugh, this smell is so bad. My sinuses are acting up.

"Seriously, your family's private hospital is so unprofessional. Anyone can slip in here."

Dylan sighed, massaging his forehead and shooting me a tired look. "Five minutes. Get out.

"Either you walk out on your own, or the security throws you out. Up to you."

He was trying to kick me out of the hospital. But I was only here because James needed treatment.

As soon as we checked in, they scheduled James's surgery for the day after tomorrow.

I quickly handed him the test results. "I'm really here for treatment.

"These are my medical forms. If you don't believe me, just take a look.

"Seriously, I saved your life. You can't just kick me out without even caring what's really going on."

But Dylan didn't even glance at the papers, his face full of disappointment. "Seriously? You forged medical records?

"What, did you even get someone to act sick for you?

"The Cooper family's medical resources aren't for you to waste. Keep this up, and I'll take back that 300 thousand dollars I gave you."

My throat burned with bitterness, and I stood there, staring at him, speechless.