Chapter 4

The hospital visit was a silent, grim affair. Jaxon sat beside me in the ER as a nurse cleaned and stitched the ragged tears in my arm, his presence a heavy, suffocating weight. He kept his phone face down on his lap, but I could see it light up every few minutes with texts. From her, I was sure. He looked anywhere but at me.

I almost laughed. This man, who once flew across the world if I so much as sneezed, couldn' t even be bothered to look at me as I got rabies shots for a dog attack he let happen.

"Does it hurt?" he finally asked, his voice low. "Do you need anything?"

I shook my head, not trusting my voice.

"Alina," he said, his tone pleading. "I know how this looks, but I swear, Krystal and I... it' s just for show. It' s for the family, for the business. I love you. It' s always been you. Just wait for me."

The same lies, the same empty promises.

"What if she never gives you a child?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "What if you' re tied to her forever?"

The silence in the sterile room was my answer. He had no plan. He was just hoping it would all work out, and he didn' t care who got hurt in the process. In that moment, something inside me finally broke for good. The last, stubborn ember of hope died out.

I was done.

As I was getting the last of my shots, I saw him step into the hallway to take a call. His back was to me, but I could hear the change in his voice. The cold, tense tone he used with me melted away, replaced by a warmth and tenderness that made my stomach clench.

"I know, I' m sorry," he was murmuring. "I' ll be home soon. Yes, I' ll bring you some soup. Just rest."

I turned and walked away. I didn' t look back.

It all made sense now. The way he looked at her. The way he protected her. Instinct doesn' t lie. He wasn' t just fulfilling a contract. He had fallen in love with his wife.

The thought didn' t even hurt anymore. It was just a fact. A cold, hard fact that settled in the pit of my stomach like a stone.

My birthday came a week later. It was also the day before my father' s death anniversary, the day I had promised his mother I would disappear. Jaxon, in a grand gesture of guilt, threw a lavish party for me at a five-star restaurant.

"Aren' t you worried Krystal will be upset?" I asked, poking at the lobster on my plate.

"Don' t talk about her," he snapped, a flash of irritation in his eyes.

I just ate my food in silence. It was my last supper.

For my gift, he presented me with a small, velvet box. Inside was a beautiful, translucent jade bracelet.

"I picked it out myself," he said, a proud smile on his face. "If you don' t like it, I can get you something else."

I stared at the bracelet. I had seen it before. On Krystal Gomez' s wrist, in a paparazzi photo from a gala six months ago. He hadn' t even bothered to get me my own present. He had just given me his wife' s cast-off jewelry.

The last flicker of emotion in me died. I was just numb.

"I love it," I said, my voice empty. "Thank you."

He looked relieved.

As darkness fell, the sky outside the restaurant window suddenly exploded with light. A meteor shower, impossibly bright and beautiful.

"Wow," someone at a nearby table gasped. "I heard some tech billionaire made this happen for the woman he loves. How romantic."

My heart gave a stupid, traitorous leap. Jaxon had once promised to show me a meteor shower. For a dizzying second, I thought, He remembered. He did this for me.

Then the restaurant doors burst open. Krystal stood there, her face tear-streaked, her eyes wild. She was holding a small, limp body in her arms. Her dog.

"You! You did this!" she shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at me. "You poisoned my baby! I know you did! You were jealous!"