Chapter 4

The arms holding me went rigid. Huntley's heart pounded so frantically it felt like it might burst out of his chest.

He kissed me, wild and desperate. "You don't want to love me anymore? How can you be so cruel as to say such words?"

I clenched my jaw shut, feeling nothing but utter disgust. Unable to take it any longer, I bit down hard on his lip.

He wiped the blood trickling from his mouth and let out a cold laugh.

"Don't forget, Ainsley. All your money is in our joint bank account. If you leave me, how are you going to pay your mom's medical bills?"

My whole body shuddered as I stared at him in utter disbelief.

He knew. He knew exactly how I'd scraped together every penny, all so we could save enough to buy our future home as quickly as possible.

But now, that money had become a weapon for him to threaten me.

Overwhelmed by grief and rage, my voice naturally grew louder. "What the hell do you want from me? Just what do I have to do for you to let me go?"

He looked at me.

"It's simple. I want you, Ains…" he started nonchalantly, "to be my mistress."

A loud buzzing exploded inside my head. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

While I stood there utterly stunned, the door to the hospital room opened again.

Quinn walked in, surrounded by her posse.

The laughter and chatter ground to a sudden halt the moment they saw us in each other's arms.

"You claim you don't want to be the mistress?" Nova sneered mockingly. "Yet here you are throwing yourself at him. Was that what your mom did back then as well, shamelessly throwing herself at Mr. Pallard?"

The disgust in Titus' eyes only deepened.

"Being so desperate right in front of your own mother… You really know how to surprise us. I honestly feel bad for Quinn. She had to live with a bad reputation back in high school for nothing."

It was Huntley, however, who snapped at them with a dark expression.

"Enough! I just got Ains calmed down. Stop making things worse!"

Hearing Huntley defend me, Quinn shot a look of pure hatred in my direction. But the look only lasted for a second before she plastered on a smile and walked forward first.

"Guys, stop saying those things about Ainsley. Since I promised Huntley I'd let him keep her on the side, I won't go back on my word."

She pretended to walk over to Mom's bedside. Then, while everyone's attention was fixed on me, she swiftly pulled the plug on her ventilator.

The heart monitor suddenly started beeping rapidly, and my heart lurched.

Using every ounce of strength I had, I pushed Huntley aside and stumbled over to Mom's bedside. Just as I grabbed the ventilator's cord to plug it back in, Quinn "accidentally" spilled the thermos of scalding hot soup right over the ventilator and the electrical outlet.

The power in the entire room shorted out in an instant.

The monitor fell silent, and Mom's breathing stopped.

I stood there helplessly, staring at her pale, lifeless body.

"Mom…" I babbled incoherently. "Mom… It's me, Ainsley! Open your eyes and look at me!"

But the woman who had once promised she'd protect me with her life—the woman who had said she couldn't take her last breath until she saw me happy—would never answer me again.

A raw, agonizing scream tore from my throat as my gaze snapped to Quinn with murderous rage.

Before anyone could react, I lunged at her with terrifying speed. A split second later, the sharp, deafening crash of shattering glass echoed through the room.

"Quinn!" everyone screamed in horror.

But one voice tore through the room, louder than the rest. It was a heart-wrenching, desperate scream from Huntley.

"Ainsley!"