Chapter 3
She followed Vanessa to what was supposed to be a restaurant, but they ended up at an abandoned factory instead.
The second they arrived, a massive guy grabbed her and tied her up. He shoved a towel in her mouth before she could scream.
Vanessa's voice turned cold and vicious. "I brought her like you asked. She's younger and prettier than me. Take her and leave me alone."
That was when Lily realized she'd been tricked.
One lie about Simon, and now she was trapped.
"You bitch, I gave you so much money, and if I don't get this girl today, you can forget about divorcing me for the rest of your life." The man cursed and groped Vanessa while he was at it.
Vanessa frowned and held out her hands impatiently. "Just tie me up already. Simon will save me as soon as he gets here."
Lily finally understood what was going on between them.
But she didn't have time to think about it. She didn't want to go with this man, and she didn't want to face whatever choice was coming in a few minutes.
She tried to move, but the man kicked her in the stomach. Her stitches tore open, and the pain made her gasp. Her face went white.
"Shit, did you bring me a girl who's half dead?" William Turner swore and yanked Lily to her feet.
Vanessa was about to say something when she caught sight of Simon approaching. Tears came before words did.
"Simon, you're finally here. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die." She started moving toward him, but William grabbed her ponytail and pressed a fruit knife against her throat.
William said, "Don't move. Take one more step and I'll kill her."
Simon's face darkened, and his eyes filled with worry. "Don't touch her. I'll give you whatever you want."
William snorted and kicked Lily where she lay half-conscious on the ground. "Only one of these two walks out alive today. Pick one. Ransom's 3 million dollars."
"I'll give you 6 million dollars. Let them both go."
William's blade pressed into Vanessa's neck, and blood started streaming down her skin. "No. You only get to save one."
"Simon, save me. Please, I don't want to die." Vanessa's voice cracked. "I want to marry you. I've been trying to tell you—I love you. I can't lose you again."
Simon's eyes turned red, and he looked between the two women who mattered most to him. His jaw clenched as he struggled with the choice.
Lily lay on the ground and let go of all hope. Despair clouded her eyes, and she laughed bitterly.
She'd planned to fake her death and disappear, but it looked like today she'd actually die here.
She should've listened to that person back then and stayed far away from Simon.
"Choose now." William cut deeper into Vanessa's neck.
Vanessa sobbed harder. "Simon, please."
Simon's whole body shook with rage. His fists clenched until his knuckles went white, then loosened and fell helplessly to his sides. He looked at both women one last time, closed his eyes, and sighed, "I choose Lily."
Lily's head snapped up, but all she saw was the grief written across Simon's face.
"Simon, how could you—" Vanessa froze in shock, then shoved William away and tried to run. The rope around her legs sent her crashing to the floor.
"You lying bitch." William lunged after her and aimed the blade straight at her heart.
The knife should've killed Vanessa right there, but Simon threw himself between them and took the blow with his own body. "Simon!"
He gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "How could I ever give you up? But I owe Lily my life. I have that responsibility."
The love in his gaze was something Lily had never seen before.
He chose to save her out of duty and debt.
But for Vanessa, he'd die without hesitation.
Lily watched it all unfold, and the cold spread from her heart through her entire body.
Simon had chosen to save her. She should've been happy about that.
But everything felt fake, and the only thing that felt real was the pain in her lower abdomen, reminding her this wasn't a dream.
The ambulance arrived quickly, and a few paramedics rushed toward her.
"That's impossible." William staggered back two steps in disbelief, but the police who'd just arrived tackled him to the ground.
"We've got an injured woman here. Grab a stretcher!"
But Simon blocked the two paramedics and pointed at Vanessa, who only had a few scrapes. "Help her first."
The paramedics looked confused. One of them gestured at the pool of blood beneath Lily. "The victim's hemorrhaging badly. If we don't treat her now, she'll go into shock."
Simon didn't budge. He stood there like a wall, refusing to let them pass.
Bitterness washed over Lily. She wanted to tell the paramedics she was fine, but she didn't even have the strength to open her mouth. Everything went black.
"Move! She's going to die!"
"I said help her first," Simon insisted. He already owed Vanessa once. He couldn't let her down again.
But Lily had no idea that the debt he owed would end up being paid by her.
The attending physician couldn't stand it anymore and waved two paramedics over to load Vanessa into the ambulance. They disinfected her scrapes and put Band-Aids on them, and Simon even bent down to blow on her wounds.
The young paramedic carrying Lily's stretcher rolled her eyes at the scene.
"What a pair of lunatics. One's been stabbed and bleeding out but doesn't care, and the other's crying over a damn scratch and making everyone else suffer. I swear, you see all kinds of crazy people in this job."