Chapter 4 - Too Late to Save Me

Naomi’s POV

You can never wake someone who’s pretending to sleep, and Adrian wouldn’t give the doctor’s words a second thought. Likewise, I can’t change my family’s prejudice against me.

Only I know that Lily threatened the family doctor with his daughter’s life and poisoned the blood bag, which is why she staged this whole frame-up. But none of that matters anymore.

Adrian walked out of the room, ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, and complained to my parents, “I don’t understand. Naomi has been donating blood to Lily for three years—why can’t she stand her now? I know Naomi feels wronged, but Lily has been tormented by her illness to the point of depression. She’s in a fragile state and prone to suicidal thoughts. We can’t just stand by and watch Lily die, can we?”

I thought souls didn’t shed tears, and I figured that if Adrian could see me, I would look terrible.

I should have realized long ago that even though Adrian and Lily hadn’t slept together, his heart had already strayed. Lily would snuggle up against his shoulder, sitting in the passenger seat that was meant for me, completely oblivious to my unease as I trailed behind them.

They didn’t do anything, yet they worked overtime together, shared the same set of utensils, and even when Lily was giving me a hard time, he never spoke up. Adrian fell asleep in the car, and when she stole a kiss from him, he didn’t even push her away.

I wanted to play dumb, but even that couldn’t hide certain facts. Over the years, Lily would often send him cute selfies, and he’d reply every single time. Yet he’d never saved my number in his phone. We’d argued about it, and he’d always say, “I’m just being too petty.” “Nothing ever happened between Lily and me.”

“Even though you never whispered those intimate words to Lily, you did fall for her, didn’t you?” During our cold war, I finally spoke my mind. He held me tight, refusing to let me go. I hated myself for loving him so deeply.

Just then, Lily pretended to faint, and from my vantage point, I could see her glaring at me with a vicious look: “Naomi, what gives you the right to compete with me?”

Adrian hesitated. He let go of my hand, his gaze shifting nervously, and rushed into the hospital with Lily in his arms.

At that moment, I knew our relationship was over.

During this cold war, Adrian never once called me on his own, as if he were certain I would come back to him.

The thug suddenly lunged at me, I hadn’t seen it coming at all. He raised the baseball bat high and swung it viciously at my head. I instinctively dodged to the side just in time. But before I could catch my breath, the bat came crashing down on my legs. Intense pain instantly swept through my body, and I could barely stand.

But I didn’t dare linger for even a moment; I ran with all my might toward home, struggling to get back up every time I fell. The thug, clutching a blood-soaked baseball bat, dragged it across the ground, leaving a long, glaring scratch in his wake. His bloodshot eyes fixed on me like those of a wild beast out of control. He kept chasing me relentlessly, showing no sign of stopping.

I fell down, and he pounced on me, tearing at my clothes. I grabbed his hand and bit down hard until it bled, then crawled to the side.

In desperation, I pulled out my phone and dialed Adrian’s number. His response was icy: “Lily’s in the ER, did you really have to call me at a time like this?!”

I managed to keep my chastity, but my resistance completely enraged the thug. He struck me on the head with a bat, and I lost all breath. Even as I closed my eyes, I still didn’t know why he had my family’s baseball bat, but it didn’t matter anymore.

Adrian was still talking on the phone, while I lay in a pool of blood, listening to his cold and distant voice.

He said, “Naomi, if you call me again, I’ll never forgive you.”

A wry, despairing smile played at the corners of my mouth. “But Adrian, I can’t threaten you anymore. You can have Lily.”

My recollections were finally interrupted by the doorbell ringing suddenly at that moment.

Father frowned. “Who is it at a time like this?” he said. He turned and walked out of the room. Adrian followed him, and I followed them.

As soon as the door opened, two police officers were standing outside.

“Good evening,” one of them said. “We’re looking for Naomi Cole.”

The entire venue fell silent.