News that I had reduced Isabella to tears yet again quickly reached Benjamin.
My dear older brother–wo“!
time.
hadn’t bothered to show his face once during the days I’d spent fighting for my life–rushed to my hospital bed in record
“Oh? Has the great Benjamin Sinclair finally come to collect his little Emily’s corpse? Should I say you’re too early… or too late?”
Benjamin frowned. “Emily, even
”
you still refuse to admit your mistakes?”
ome
unruly child throwing a tantrum–made my stomach churn.
The way he looked at
me–like
My voice turned icy. “So it
was
You’r
one
who told me to kneel and apologize to Isabella.”
His brow arched slightly.
me
kneel to that bitch who killed our mother and smashed her ashes on purpose? You’re something
Rage burned in my chest. “Benjamin, you wanted else. How the hell do you face Mom’s spirit after this?
CRACK.
The slap landed with full force.
Already weakened, my body reeled from the blow, my vision swimming with concussion sparks.
Through the haze, Isaw Nathaniel’s hand twitch- sidelines.
as
if
to
intervene before he clenched it back at his side, choosing instead to watch coldly from the
A bitter laugh rose in my throat. This was the man I picked up off
the streets. The bodyguard I paid for three years…
My lips curled. A drop of crimson bloomed across the sterile white sheets, the metallic tang of blood flooding my mouth.
My head spun. I squeezed my eyes shut.
Benjamin instinctively reached to steady me–1
-I jerked
away.
When I opened my eyes again, my gaze locked onto his.
This was the first time he’d ever laid a hand on me. Even he seemed startled
by his
brutality.
Regret? Maybe a flicker. But not enough to change his stance.
2-
He hid his trembling fingers. “Emily, cut the act. Even if you dropped dead right here, I wouldn’t shed a tear for you. Isabella would never do what you accused her of. If you dare slander or hurt her again–I’ll end you myself. Forget waiting for the Hawthorne family to do it.”
I laughed.
My own brother… threatening to kill me… for that venomous stepsister of ours?
Hahahaha… How fucking absurd.
“Don’t worry, Benjamin,” Irasped, “If I die… I’ll drag everyone who killed Mom straight to hell with me. Hahaha—” My laughter shook my entire body. Freshly stitched wounds split open without mercy, blood seeping through the bandages in seconds.
The heart monitor’s shrill alarm screamed through the room.
For the first time–both Benjamin and Nathaniel panicked.
Two pairs of hands pinned me down at once. “Emily–DON’T MOVE! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!”
“DOCTOR! WHERE THE HELL ARE THE DOCTORS?!”
