CHAPTER 16: Fractured Perception
Victoria’s POV
The hospital room was dimly lit, a faint glow from the streetlights filtering through the window blinds. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor provided a strange sense of calm, even as I struggled to keep my emotions in check. My body felt heavy, the weight of exhaustion and pain keeping me rooted to the bed.
Tears welled up in my eyes again, no matter how much I tried to suppress them. I wasn’t crying because I was alive, though I probably should have been grateful for that. I was crying because of everything that had led me here–Ethan, Lily, the video, the suffocating betrayal. It all felt too much.
And yet, I wasn’t alone.
His hand was warm, firm, and steady as it clasped mine. I didn’t know his name, didn’t even know why he was here after everything. But I could feel his presence, solid and grounding. He hadn’t left my side.
I glanced at him, my vision blurred with tears. His dark eyes held something I couldn’t quite decipher. Concern? Regret? Whatever it was, edges of his typically unyielding demeanor.
“Thank you,” I managed, my voice barely above a whisper. Not just for saving me but for being here.
it softened the
He didn’t react at first, his eyes lingering on my face as if trying to gauge the sincerity of my words. Then he nodded, a small gesture that felt more significant than it should have.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, his tone low and steady.
I shook my head weakly, my throat tightening as fresh tears threatened to spill. “No, I do. You… you saved me. You stayed. You didn’t have to.”
Something shifted in his expression–a flicker of discomfort, maybe guilt. He withdrew his hand slowly, placing it on his lap, but his gaze didn’t leave
mine.
“There’s a reason I stayed,” he said after a long pause, his voice quieter now.
My brow furrowed, confusion cutting through the fog of my exhaustion. “What do you mean?”
He sighed, the sound heavy with something I couldn’t quite place. “I need to tell you something,” he said, his tone hesitant.
The faint remnants of gratitude I’d been feeling started to waver, unease creeping into my chest.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice still hoarse but steady enough.
He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees as if bracing himself for what he was about to say. “What we talked about the other day at the Cafe, the evidence you have against Sterling.”
I frowned, my mind racing to piece together what he was trying to say. I nodded slowly, encouraging him to continue.
“I don’t know why I did it, but I foolishly hinted about having knowledge of it to Ethan Sterling.” He spoke steadily, but his voice was lower, almost like he didn’t want to be saying this. “It was meant to be a sort of leverage.”
- it.
The mention of Ethan’s name sent a jolt through me, and I sat up straighter despite the ache in my limbs. “Leverage?”
He nodded, his expression grim. “I used that information to unsettle him during a negotiation. I didn’t give him specifics, but I hinted that I knew about
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. My gratitude, my fleeting sense of trust–it all crumbled in an instant.
“You… you told him?” My voice trembled, a mixture of disbelief and anger bubbling to the surface.
‘I didn’t tell him outrightly,” he said quickly, his tone defensive. “I just… implied it. I didn’t think it would escalate like this.”
The room seemed to tilt, my head spinning as his confession sank in. “You didn’t think?” I repeated, my voice rising despite the lump forming in my
throat.
I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes dark and earnest. ‘I didn’t mean for-
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CHAPTER 16: Fractured Perception
“You didn’t mean for what?” I cut him off, my voice sharp now. “For Lily to attack me? For Ethan to threaten me? You didn’t mean for my life to spiral out of control?‘
His jaw clenched, and he leaned back slightly, as if retreating from the force of my words. “I didn’t think they’d go this far,” he said, his voice quieter. “If I had known-
“But you didn’t know!” I snapped, my anger spilling over. “You didn’t care enough to know. You just used me, like everyone else in my life.”
I could feel the tears streaming down my face, hot and relentless, but I didn’t care. The anger and hurt were too overwhelming to contain.
“For a moment,” I said, my voice trembling, “I thought you were different. I thought maybe, just maybe, you weren’t like Ethan or Lily. But you are, aren’t you? You’re just like them.”
His expression hardened, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m not like that bastard,” he said firmly.
“Aren’t you?” I shot back. “You lied, you manipulated, and you didn’t care who got hurt as long as you got what you wanted.”
Silence fell between us, heavy and suffocating. He didn’t deny it, didn’t try to argue, and that only made my anger burn hotter.
“You’re no better than him,” I said quietly, my voice laced with venom.
He stood abruptly, the scrape of the chair against the floor grating against my ears. For a moment, he looked like he might say something, but then he shook his head and turned toward the door.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, his voice softer now.
I didn’t respond, staring at the sterile hospital wall as he left the room.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, the weight of everything crashed down on me. I buried my face in my hands, the tears coming harder now, my chest heaving with the force of my sobs.
I had let myself believe, however briefly, that someone might actually care. That someone might see me as more than just a pawn in their game. But I’d
been wrong.
He was no savior. He was no different from Ethan or Lily–ruthless, selfish, and willing to destroy anyone who got in their way.
And yet, his words lingered, his apology echoing in my mind despite my best efforts to push it away.
I hated him. I hated all of them. But more than anything, I hated the part of me that still wanted to believe someone might care.
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