Chapter 2

I stared at him for a long moment, then slowly curled my lips into a smile.

"What do you think would happen if Violet's parents found out that you're the one who tried to assault Violet all those years ago and drove her out of her mind?"

Peyton froze for a second, stubbed out his cigarette, then got out of the car and grabbed me by the collar, snarling.

"How do you know about that?

"No wonder you flew into a rage and trashed that hotel room the last time we asked you to deliver condoms to us. I thought you were just jealous. Turns out you were trying to protect her.

"So what if I did it? Say it out loud, and Violet will remember that night. She'll lose her mind all over again, and once nobody wants her anymore, her parents will be begging me to marry her."

He wasn't wrong. The only reason Peyton could show his face in front of Violet so openly was that he had the Gilmans by the throat. Even if they learned the truth, they'd never dare speak it out loud, not when the shock could send Violet spiraling into another breakdown.

Anger surged up from my chest and spread through my limbs until I felt my blood turn to ice.

He didn't seem satisfied yet. He let out a light laugh and spat at me.

"You're a spineless coward. Don't blame me for your failure to protect your girlfriend back then.

"And now I want her again. If I want to have some fun with her, what are you going to do about it..."

Every scrap of reason left me. I drove my elbow into him and sent him crashing to the ground. Fury took over, and I threw myself on top of him, fist raised for another blow.

Right at the last second, a sharp pain exploded at the back of my skull, and my whole body went numb, like someone had hit pause on me.

I turned, dazed, and found Violet standing there with a bloodied high heel in her hand, her face caught somewhere between fear and fury.

"Are you out of your mind, Harvey? Who said you could hit Peyton? You don't have to get this jealous over me!"

I reached up and touched the back of my head. My hand came away covered in blood, and my vision blurred.

Peyton climbed to his feet and stood in front of Violet, glaring at me with a twisted grin.

"Where'd this crazy dog come from? I'll beat you to death!"

He drew back his leg and kicked me hard.

The blow caught me off guard. Pain shot through the back of my head and my thigh, and I nearly blacked out.

In the last second before I lost consciousness, I saw Peyton pull Violet into his arms, looking down at me with a taunting sneer, and spit on the ground.

When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was white.

There was no one beside me.

I struggled to press the nurse's call button.

Mrs. Gilman walked in alongside the nurse. Her eyes were rimmed red, and she waited until the nurse finished checking me over and said I needed a week of rest before she thanked the nurse profusely and saw her out.

The room fell quiet for a while. Eventually, Mrs. Gilman's voice broke.

"This is my fault. I should have watched Violet more closely. She ran out last night trying to win you back, trying to get you to marry her. I never imagined something like this would happen."

"I... I..."

She was crying too hard to get the words out, so much that I, the actual victim here, ended up comforting her instead.

After a while, her tears finally stopped. She lowered her head and spoke softly.

"What's done is done. Even if her father and I wanted you to stay by Violet's side, it wouldn't do any good anymore. Whenever you're ready to leave, just tell us. We'll take care of everything."

Something seemed to lodge itself in my throat. It took a moment before I could force out a single word.

"Alright.

"Seven days, then. I'll go abroad to Callustria to study."

Mrs. Gilman nodded silently, sighed, and left the room.