Chapter 8
My aunt’s words snapped me out of it, shattering any lingering tenderness I had felt.
Yet I couldn’t help but worry about James. In his current weak state, he reminded me of the
moment he had pulled me out of the collapsing building.
It had happened during a storm of the century. Everyone said it was too dangerous, yet he risked
everything to save me.
Afterward, he had lain in bed with a high fever for nearly two weeks before fully recovering.
James had been unconscious for two full days. It was only after the fever broke the next evening that he had finally managed to wake.
The first thing he tried to do upon opening his eyes was rip out the IV and come to me.
Chris, seeing how frail he was, immediately stopped him and called me over.
As soon as James saw me, he wore that same pitiful expression again.
He had been a famously handsome young pianist in his youth. Seeing him helpless and weak like
this was heart–wrenching. In the past, I could never bear to see that expression on his face.
I lowered my eyes, set the freshly brewed herbal soup on the table, and silently watched him
perform.
“Hailey, do you believe now that I still love you?” His voice was hoarse. “Even if you refuse to
reconcile, I’ll stay here waiting for you until you change your mind.”
He reached for the needle on the back of his hand.
“Enough.” I stopped him. “Do you think hurting yourself will make me turn back? James, you swapped my prenatal vitamins for contraceptives, defended my mortal enemy in front of me, brought her into our company, and even forced me to apologize to her.
All of this crosses a line I cannot forgive. You saved my life, so I held back. But if you think we can go back to how things were… that’s impossible.”
“What vitamins turned into contraceptives?” James looked bewildered.
“Hailey… believe me, I had nothing to do with this swap! What vitamins? How could they be
Chapter 8
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contraceptives? I want to have a child with you. I would never do something like that!”
He sounded genuinely upset, and I could see he didn’t seem capable of doing such a thing.
I recounted what my friend had discovered about the vitamins being swapped.
James sat on the bed, his face gray. “So… it was that bottle of vitamins.”
“That bottle was from Susan,” I said.
James looked up at me. “At the time, she came to pledge her loyalty to me and brought me a gift. I didn’t think it would be a problem. No wonder our attempts at conception took so long…”
“Hailey, if I had known it was contraceptives, I would never have let you take them. Please… believe me, will you?”
A lump rose in my throat. I had been taking those vitamins for over half a year.
So all this time, James had secretly interacted with Susan behind my back–and I hadn’t the slightest clue.
“I believe you. I know it wasn’t you.” I looked at him calmly.
Relief flickered across his face. But my next words shattered every hope he had been clinging to.
“Even if it wasn’t you, there’s no future for us anymore. You know me–I despise betrayal above
all else.”
Chapter 8
