Chapter 5

As I reached my doorstep, the hospital in Los Angeles called.

"There's one thing we need to clarify, Ms. Vance."

"When a Ms. Bennett called us to cancel your surgery last week, we noticed she wasn't the patient. So we called Mr. Liam Sterling to confirm."

My hand froze on the doorknob. "What did he say?"

"Mr. Sterling confirmed that you both had discussed it and decided to cancel."

"We explicitly told him that while we couldn't guarantee your face would look the same, it would fix your mouth closure and eating difficulties."

"But he still agreed to cancel."

I hung up, standing outside the door for a long time.

When I pushed it open, Chloe was sitting on the sofa crying, and Liam was holding my iPad.

The leaked video on TikTok had blown up.

At first, comments mocked my face. But then, my coworkers recognized me.

Someone leaked the truth of the accident, and someone else posted what really happened at the restaurant.

Chloe's excuse of "exposure therapy" completely fell apart.

The backlash was massive. People were defending me, and Chloe's personal accounts were doxed.

Her company had received countless complaints and suspended her pending investigation.

Liam saw me and thrust the iPad into my hands. "You're back. Good."

On screen was a drafted apology and clarification statement.

Liam sounded incredibly frustrated.

"Chloe was only doing what was best for you. She shouldn't lose her job over a silly video."

Chloe shook her head.

"No, Liam. Sera has suffered so much. I can't force her anymore."

Liam set his phone on the coffee table and started recording.

"Sera, just read this statement."

I turned to walk to my bedroom.

Liam grabbed my wrist.

"Chloe's investigation is tomorrow. She doesn't have time to wait."

I tried to shake him off. "She brought this on herself!"

His grip tightened, dragging me back in front of the camera.

My hip slammed against the edge of the coffee table, sending a sharp, blinding pain through my body.

Chloe rushed over to stop him. "Liam, don't."

"Get out," Liam barked.

"But Sera—"

"Get out!"

Once the door slammed, Liam hit record again. "Read it."

I stared at the black mask covering my face and kept my mouth shut.

He frowned. "Take it off."

"How is anyone going to believe you're doing exposure therapy if you're wearing a mask?"

He reached out to rip it off.

I held onto the straps, my voice breaking. "Liam, don't touch me!"

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, his voice softening.

"Sera, it'll take one minute."

Tears streaming down my face, I reached out to stop the recording.

But Liam pinned my shoulders from behind and ripped the mask off my face with his other hand.

The straps dragged violently across the raw skin of my right cheek.

The freshly scabbed corner of my mouth tore instantly.

Blood trickled down my scar, dripping onto the printed statement.

I shook with pain.

Liam's face went pale. He let go immediately. "Sera, I didn't mean to."

He scrambled to find the first-aid kit.

But the phone was still recording.

In the lens, I was covered in blood, looking even more pathetic than in Chloe's leaked video.

Liam returned with gauze, trying to press it to my wound.

I stepped back.

"If it were Chloe who was being attacked online, would you hold her down and force her to clear my name?"

He remained silent for a long time.

"She isn't as strong as you, Sera."

"You've survived so much. Just help her this once."

I looked at the gauze in his hand and laughed. "Okay."

Liam finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Rest up. I'll drop Chloe off and come back to help you re-record."

The moment they left, I packed my bags and headed straight for the airport.

On the way, my phone kept buzzing with his texts.

"Did you dress the wound?"

"We need to finish the video tonight."

"Chloe won't stop crying. Don't trigger her anymore."

I turned off my phone.

Seven years ago, I threw myself in front of a truck for Liam.

Seven years later, he tore my wounds open to shield Chloe from her own mess.

This time, I was done protecting them.