Chapter 3

Estelle's POV

During those days in the hospital, they spend almost all their time in Lila's room. Someone stops by mine every so often, says something like "get some rest," then hurries off again.

Back home, it's the same story.

The house fills with laughter, and all of it circles around Lila. My father cooks her favorite meals himself. My mother's always finding new ways to nurse her back to health. Even Callum, who never gives anyone a soft word, spends whole afternoons with her in the garden.

I sit by the window, watching it all in silence, like I'm watching a show that has nothing to do with me.

That afternoon, I'm at the terminal handling the last of the pack's business.

The door opens.

Lila walks in wearing a soft, delicate dress, color high in her cheeks, not a trace of illness on her.

She glances at me, a mocking little smile pulling at her mouth. "Must be boring, sitting here all alone. I heard the rogues got you good, took your heart and everything. Poor thing."

I don't look up.

Ignoring her only seems to egg her on. She leans down, drops her voice low. "But from what I've seen, Rhett, Mom, Dad, even Callum, they've all been hovering around me these past few days. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Maybe they're just sick of you being the sickly one, and nobody's willing to say it first."

I finally look up, take in that smug little face of hers, and say, flat and even, "Whatever you want, take it."

Lila blinks. "Excuse me?"

"This family. These people. The Luna title." I look away, my voice flat. "If you want it, it's yours. I don't care anymore."

The smile on her face freezes, then twists into something uglier. She lets out a cold laugh. "Nice act."

Lila glances around the room, then suddenly rips at her own collar, grabs a craft knife off the desk, and drags it across her arm, leaving a line of blood.

"Stay back!" she screams, high and ragged. "I shouldn't have taken what's yours... put the knife down... don't kill me!"

Almost the same second, footsteps come pounding from outside, and Rhett, Sylvia, Everett, and Callum all rush in at once.

Rhett closes the distance to Lila in one stride, pulling her shaking, bleeding body into his arms, fury and panic churning in his eyes.

Lila curls into him, trembling, pointing a shaky finger at me. "Rhett... I just came to see my sister... I said something wrong and made her mad... and she grabbed a knife and cut me, and she said... she said this family would turn on her sooner or later because of me..."

She doesn't even finish before she goes limp in his arms.

"Estelle!"

Callum's the first one whose eyes go red. He grabs my wrist hard. "How did you turn into someone this vicious? Lila's practically a kid, and you could do this to her?"

Sylvia crosses the room fast, doesn't even look at me, and slaps me across the face.

My head snaps to the side, blood welling at the corner of my mouth.

"Who's spent her whole life going easy on you, protecting you?" Her eyes are full of disappointment. "Lila's weak. You've spent months upsetting her, setting off her episodes, and every time, I covered for you, told myself you were just being difficult. But today you actually cut her with a knife? Estelle, did the rogues take your heart along with your mind?"

Everett's face goes stone cold. "How am I supposed to explain this to the whole pack, you acting like this?"

I keep my eyes down. I don't say a word in my defense.

Rhett lets out a breath, hands Lila's unconscious body over to Sylvia, his voice dropping low. "That's enough. Get Lila somewhere to heal. I'll deal with this."

Everyone hesitates for a second, then files out.

Rhett walks over to me. I brace myself for something worse. Instead, he bends down and scoops me up.

He carries me back to our room, lays me on the bed, tucks the blanket around me, and wipes the blood from my mouth.

"I know this has been hard on you," he says, sitting on the edge of the bed, his voice gentle. "Losing your heart, feeling like this, and watching everyone crowd around Lila can't be easy on top of it. Isn't that right?"

"But she just got a new heart, she's weak, this is the critical time for her. We can't help it if we're paying her more attention right now. Once she's past this, everything will settle back down. Estelle, you're my mate. That's never going to change."

Right. She just got a new heart.

And me? I lost one too.

The same heart. In her chest, it's something precious, something to be protected and cherished. In mine, it never earned me so much as one honest word of sympathy.

"Get some rest in here." Rhett smooths back a strand of my hair. "Once you're feeling stronger, I'll take you out, just the two of us. I've got some things to wrap up tonight, but I'll come back and stay with you."

He leans down, presses a light kiss to my forehead, then rises and walks out.

The door clicks shut behind him.

I lean against the headboard and watch the sky outside fade to dark, bit by bit.

I wait the whole night.

Rhett doesn't come back.

The other side of the bed sits cold and empty.

Close to dawn, I'm so thirsty I push myself up and go looking for water. Passing Lila's room, the sound coming from inside stops me in my tracks.

"Rhett... you're not going back to her?" Lila's voice, soft and syrupy.

"Why would I." Rhett's voice answers. "I'm right here. And so is my heart."