Chapter 3

"Sam!" Lindsay cried out.

Startled, she started toward me to help me up.

However, Elijah, standing right behind her, covered his eyes and let out a pained groan.

"I can't stand the sight of blood, Lindy… I think I'm going to throw up…" he whimpered.

Lindsay spun around immediately, wrapping her arms around him anxiously. "Are you okay, Eli? Don't look!"

I lay on the icy floor, my eyes losing focus as I felt my life draining away.

"Lindsay, please… call an ambulance…"

She glanced at me lying in a pool of my own blood, then back at Elijah, who was "trembling" in her arms.

"Hang in there, Sam. I need to take Eli back to the villa first. He's fragile," she said.

As she stepped around me, she muttered under her breath, "Honestly, it was just a slap. Stop being so dramatic."

My hand went limp as I gave up the fight. I watched helplessly as she led Elijah away, never once looking back.

Just before my consciousness faded completely, I thought I heard Elijah let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

By the time I woke up, three days had passed.

Lindsay had never returned that night. My housekeeper, Mary Lewis, found me the next morning when she came to clean. She was the one who rushed me to the hospital.

"You're awake, Mr. Ashwood!" Mary handed me a glass of water, her eyes swollen and red. "The doctor said if you'd arrived any later, you wouldn't have made it."

She rambled on, saying Lindsay hadn't shown her face once in the past few days.

I forced a smile, but my heart was icy.

Why would she? My life was worth nothing compared to her precious intern.

My phone screen lit up, flooded with notifications.

At the very top was a single message from Lindsay sent three days ago.

"Elijah was traumatized by all the blood and isn't feeling well. I need to stay and look after him for a few days. I'll come see you once he recovers."

Below that was a string of bank notifications—all transaction alerts from the supplementary card I had given her.

Then came a WhatsApp message from Elijah.

It contained photos of a mountain of luxury shopping bags, with Lindsay leaning happily against his shoulder in the background.

"It's pretty obvious who Lindy really loves and who she doesn't. I told her I didn't want anything, but she insisted on buying all of this for me. Oh, we got a Hermès tie with the purchase. Lindy said you could have it," the text read.

He followed it with a smiley emoji and added, "Since I'm the main partner and you're just the secondary one, it's only fair you get something too. No need to thank me."

I let out a cold, incredulous laugh. Without hesitation, I froze the supplementary card and emailed HR to terminate both Lindsay and Elijah immediately.

Did Lindsay really think she could flaunt my money to pamper her boy toy with impunity?

Less than half a day later, Lindsay stormed into my hospital room, furious.

"What is the meaning of this, Samuel? Unfreeze my card and reinstate Elijah and me at the company right now," she demanded, radiating arrogance. "If you don't, I won't show up for our wedding in two days."

I looked at her icily. "You don't have to. I already told you, Lindsay—we're over."

She froze for a moment before clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"Alright, enough with the dramatic act. I know you're jealous, but you don't need to make such a scene. Why are you competing with someone as young as Elijah? I promise you, once the baby is born, I'll divorce him and come back to you. I promise you, okay?"

She spoke with complete conviction, as though expecting me to raise another man's child while waiting around for her to finish her fling was a grand, generous favor to me.

My heart went totally cold.