Chapter 78
A bitter langh escaped before I could stop it. “No, I stopped loving him long ago.
With less than three months to live, I don’t want to die as Mrs. Parker. He doesn’t love me, and I should free myself too. Even in death, I want to return je bel Just Audrey Sinclair.
Dr. Bennett studied me for a long moment before crossing out some words on her clipboard. I can keep the cancer secret, but I must report the ather injuries to Mr. Parker.”
I nodded, relief flooding through me. One more person to help carry this burden, one more ally in keeping my secret.
We made our way back to the living room where William Parker and Felix Thompson waited. The moment Dr. Bennett handed over her report, William’s fare darkened with fury.
“Multiple injuries from falling!?” His weathered hands shook as he gripped the paper. “No wonder she could barely stand! Audrey, how did this happen?
Felix stepped forward, his usually carefree expression replaced by something harder. “I heard Blake say Miss Rose pushed her down the stairs this morning. These injuries must be from then.”
“That troublemaker again! She-” William’s voice cut off as the door burst open with enough force to rattle the paintings on the walls.
Blake Parker stood in the doorway, his presence filling the room like a gathering storm. Without a word, he strode toward me and grabbed my wrist.
“Come with me to the hospital, apologize to Laurel!”
“You brat, let her go!” William’s voice cracked like thunder.
Blake ignored him completely, his grip tightening painfully as he pulled me toward the door. I was already running on empty – between the cancer eating me from the inside and the morning’s trip down the stairs, I had nothing left. Each step was a negotiation my body barely had the currency to afford.
“Laurel’s been emotionally unstable because of what you said.” he snapped, “It’s critical! Come apologize to her right now!*
“Blake Parker!” William clutched his chest, his face reddening dangerously. “Release Audrey this instant!”
Every step sent fresh waves of pain through my battered body as Blake dragged me toward the entrance. The physical pain barely registered compared to the ache in my heart. The man I once loved won’t even look at me now. Perhaps I was never anything to him from the start.
Just as we reached the entrance, Felix stepped into our path. “Audrey’s legs are injured. If you keep dragging her like this, she’ll collapse before you even reach the hospital!”
Blake stopped his charge toward the exit. The look Blake shot me over his shoulder was pure ice, his lips twisting into something that wasn’t quite a smile.
‘Playing the victim again, huh?” His words were cold as ice.
William moved with surprising speed for a man his age, his cane against marble echoing. He wedged himself between us, prying Blake’s fingers from my wrist with a strength that belied his years. “Open your eyes! That woman has already left your wife covered in bruises. How dare you treat her like this?”
‘Seriously?” Blake’s voice dropped. ‘Is that the story Audrey’s spinning?”
‘She didn’t have to.” Dr. Bennett’s clear voice cut through the tension. Before anyone could react, she knelt and lifted my pant leg, exposing the angry bruises that mapped my fall down the stairs.
“You say she’s playing victim,” she continued, her voice ice–cold as she met Blake’s gaze. “Then what are these injuries? You remember what Miss R her this morning, don’t you?”
1 to
I watched as Blake’s eyes fixed on my injuries, tracking from one bruise to the next. The anger drained from his face like water down a sink, leaving behind something I hadn’t seen there in years – uncertainty.
“All of these…” His voice had lost its edge. “From this morning?”
