Chapter 5

Elena

I almost called out his name. Almost let myself sound as pathetic as I felt.

The pain, Chloe's games, everything made me forget for a second that this man was the reason I was here in the first place.

I wanted a hug. Just one moment of warmth.

But William's voice cut through the air like ice.

"Elena, are you done making a scene?"

Making a scene?

Those words slammed me back to reality.

I stared at him, confused.

"What scene?"

My brain started working again. I forced myself to sit up straight even though it hurt like hell. I wasn't going to slouch in front of him. Maybe I'd married him with ulterior motives back then, but right now? I had nothing to feel guilty about.

William's face stayed blank. Those brown eyes of his locked onto mine like they could see right through me.

"Why did you go to Chloe's office to cause trouble?"

There was something in his tone I couldn't quite place. Like he was waiting for me to say the right thing.

But all I heard was "cause trouble."

My blood boiled.

He was the one who forced me to take Chloe's case. I went there like he asked, and she hid upstairs in some meeting while I passed out in the lobby. Now somehow I was the troublemaker?

"William, does Chloe just tell you things and you believe every word?"

He looked disappointed. He stood up and looked down at me from his full height.

"She never even mentioned you to me. But you, Elena... that online hater was someone you hired, wasn't it?"

Another accusation thrown at me with zero proof.

I laughed. It came out bitter and sharp.

"William, I don't do sneaky crap like that. You really think so little of me? If Chloe won't cooperate on this case, find yourself another lawyer!"

I pulled the blanket over myself and turned away from him.

The smell of disinfectant filled my nose. My eyes started burning, but I bit down on my lip hard enough to taste blood. I wasn't going to cry. Not where he could hear me.

His footsteps didn't move for the longest time.

Then finally, he left.

He didn't ask about my condition. Didn't ask why I'd collapsed. Just came here to blame me for things I didn't do, and when I didn't give him the answer he wanted, he walked out.

I sat up slowly after he was gone. My right hand drifted to my collarbone without thinking.

There was a scar there. A scar that put me in the hospital for three months. A scar I got because of William.

I was starting to regret it.

Was this man really worth all those years I spent crushing on him?

---

By the time I got home, it was dark outside.

I flipped on the lights and jumped when I saw Jax sitting in the living room.

"Jax! Why are you sitting in the dark?"

I tried to sound upbeat, like nothing was wrong. Like I wasn't falling apart inside.

He looked up at me with this conflicted expression on his face.

I dropped onto the couch next to him and forced a smile.

"What's with that look? Did you find me a sister-in-law or something?"

The more I joked around, the worse he looked. Like he couldn't get the words out.

Finally, he just patted my head.

"Stop talking nonsense. Who's going to want a guy like me?"

I pressed my lips together and met his eyes.

"Jax, I promise I'm going to clear your name. I swear it."

After that, I got up and made us both some noodles in the kitchen.

We ate in silence. Then we each went to our rooms.

My phone buzzed a few times.

I thought maybe one of the law firms had gotten back to me. I grabbed it way too eagerly, but it was just William's name on the screen.

[You need to handle Chloe's case properly. No more games.]

[You know what happens if you don't.]

Cold words on a screen. I could practically see his face while he typed them.

Something metallic rose in my throat. I ran to the bathroom and threw up blood into the toilet.

Tears streamed down my face. I couldn't even tell if they were from the pain or if I was actually crying.

The door burst open behind me.

I slammed my hand on the flush handle, but it didn't work. I ended up just dropping the toilet lid down to hide the blood.

"Jax?"

I turned around, hoping he hadn't seen anything.

His face told me he had.

He stared at me with his mouth slightly open, like he was trying to find words.

"Elena."

I was sure he'd seen the blood. He wouldn't look like that otherwise.

I shook my head, ready to tell him I was fine, but he grabbed my wrist before I could speak.

"Elena, you have to help Chloe."

I thought I'd heard him wrong.

There was no way he just said that.

"Jax... what are you talking about?"

What I really wanted to ask was if he had any idea what he was saying.

He looked at me with this desperate expression.

"I'm saying you have to help Chloe! I saw the stuff online, people saying she's a homewrecker, saying she made the wife pass out. Elena, William set me up once. I know what he's capable of. If you don't do what he says, who knows what he'll do to St. Mary's? Think about Mary!"

He stumbled over his words at first, but then they came faster. He squeezed my wrist like he could force me to understand through physical contact alone.

All I felt was pain.

I yanked my arm away and stared at him.

"Jax, you saw the news online? Did you look at the photos?"

He didn't hesitate.

"The photos are obviously photoshopped."

I couldn't speak.

I wanted to ask him if he seriously couldn't recognize me lying on that floor. Strangers might not notice, but he grew up with me. How could he not see it was me?

"Jax—"

I tried to say something, but the nausea hit me again. I lifted the toilet lid and threw up more blood.

Jax moved toward me like he was going to rub my back, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"Don't. Just... go. I'll think about what you said."

After another round of vomiting, I flushed everything away and went to wash my face.

I looked up at the mirror. The woman staring back at me was ghost-pale with bloodshot eyes and blood at the corner of her mouth. I looked like something out of a horror movie.

I laughed at my own reflection. It came out harsh and broken.

Turned out the people I thought cared about me didn't care as much as I thought.

I spent ten minutes cleaning up the bathroom before I walked out. Jax was standing outside the door holding a cup of ginger tea.

I frowned.

"What's this?"

He pushed the cup into my hands.

"I made it myself. Remember when we were kids? You'd drink this and your cold would go away. Try it and see if I still got it after three years!"

His tone was so casual. Like nothing had just happened in that bathroom.

I looked down at the ginger tea and didn't say anything.

Jax kept staring at me, waiting.

Finally, I sighed and drank the whole thing in one go.

"Yeah. Still tastes good."