Chapter 4

4: 4

There was a needle in the back of my hand, an IV dripping.

The room was empty. Not a single person.

I moved my fingers. My whole body hurt so much it felt like it was falling apart.

“Creak——”

The door swung open.

Lucy Henson walked in.

Her makeup was flawless, not a trace of the frail invalid, and there was a mocking little smile at the corner of her mouth.

“You're awake?”

“Miriam, I honestly have to hand it to you.”

“Three years. Watching your own boyfriend fawn over me every single day, and you still managed to hold out this long. Your skin's a lot thicker than I ever gave you credit for.”

My eyes shot wide open.

“You...”

“Me what?”

Walter wasn't here, so she dropped the act entirely, reaching up to smooth her hair.

“You've been suspicious this whole time, haven't you? Well, out of the goodness of my heart, I'll tell you now. Yes, my terminal illness was fake.”

“Three years ago I already knew how soft Walter's heart was. All I had to do was pretend I was dying and bring up a dying wish, and of course he'd agree to it.”

“Look at you. These three years he's spent far more time with me than with you. What good is clinging to the title of official girlfriend? His heart left you a long time ago.”

A cold went through me, like I'd dropped into a pit of ice.

She straightened up, watching my white face, and the smile at her lips grew wider.

“Oh, right. There's one thing I forgot to tell you.”

“Do you know why you've been in the hospital this long and your parents still haven't come to see you?”

My heart clenched.

“They heard you'd been bullying me, and they were rushing over to apologize on your behalf. Then they had a car accident on the way.”

Lucy said it lightly, playing with her long manicured nails.

“They're lying in a room right upstairs from you. The hospital issued the critical condition notice a while ago.”

“Walter had actually lined up a specialist from overseas to do the surgery. Except, well...”

She paused, her smile smug.

“One word from me, and he won't sign the consent.”

“So tell me, Miriam. Do you think you'll end up an orphan?”

“You're lying!”

I bolted upright, and the needle in the back of my hand tore loose. Blood welled out at once.

“My parents treated you like their own daughter. How could you do this to them!”

Lucy let out a scornful little laugh.

“It's only because they were decent to me that I didn't have them killed outright. I left them their worthless lives.”

A roar went off in my head.

My mind went blank.

So the car accident had been her doing too.

This best friend I'd given my whole heart to for over ten years.

Not only had she stolen my boyfriend, now she wanted my parents dead.

Rage shot straight to the top of my head.

I threw off the blanket and lunged at her like a madwoman.

I pinned her to the floor, straddled her, and swung my hand down at her face.

“Lucy, you lunatic! What did my parents ever do to you? Why would you hurt them like this!”

The needle went skittering far across the floor.

Blood ran down off my fingertips from the back of my hand, but I couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

“Bang! ”

Right then the door was kicked open.

Walter stood in the doorway, and at the sight in front of him his eyes went bloodshot with fury.

He rushed over and drove his foot into my shoulder.

I flew back two meters, my spine slamming into the leg of the bed, the pain sharp enough to make me suck in a breath.

“Miriam, you've lost your mind!”

He gathered Lucy against him, checking her over for injuries.

When he saw the handprint on her face, his chest heaved with rage.

“Lucy came here out of kindness to see you, and you actually dared to hit her!”

“I see it now. Your parents' accident was karma! They raised a daughter with a heart this poisonous, so getting hit by a car is exactly what they deserve!”

“I was actually going to save their lives. The doctor from overseas is already on the plane. But now, there's no need!”

He pulled out his phone and called his assistant.

“Turn the jet around. Cancel the surgery!”

“No! Walter, no!”

The blood drained from my face. I scrambled across the floor and grabbed the leg of his pants.

“I was wrong, I shouldn't have hit her, call the doctor back, I'm begging you...”

“Too late.”

He backhanded me across the face.

The blow knocked my head to the side, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth.

With everything I had left, I screamed the truth out.

“Walter, her illness is fake! The accident was arranged by her too! She just told me herself, with her own mouth!”

I thought that once he knew the truth he'd be stunned, that he'd regret it.

But hearing it only made him angrier.

“Even now you're still trying to frame Lucy?”

He reached out and closed his hand around my throat, the pressure tightening bit by bit.

“You really are beyond saving!”

“Lucy is kind. Time after time she's spoken up for you, and time after time you throw filth on her. What exactly is your heart made of?”

I couldn't breathe, and my vision kept going black.

Right then a timid voice came from the doorway.

“Um...”

The nurse who'd come to change my dressing stood there, hesitated, then spoke.

“This is a VIP room. Inside... there are security cameras.”