CHAPTER 26: The Ex-Fiancé Returns

Three hours passed.

The hospital waiting room was quiet, save for the hum of the vending machine and the distant squeak of nurses’ shoes.

I hadn't moved from the plastic chair. I was still wearing the ruined red dress, the blood on the silk stiff and brown. I refused to change. I refused to wash his blood off my hands until I knew he was going to live.

Marcus stood guard by the elevator, his face a stone mask.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open.

I looked up, expecting a doctor.

Instead, a man walked out. He was wearing a rumpled polo shirt and khakis, looking out of place in the high-security VIP wing. He held a bouquet of cheap gas station flowers.

Caleb.

My ex-fiancé. The man who had sold me for fifty thousand dollars.

He saw me and stopped. His eyes widened as they took in the blood, the torn dress, and the sheer exhaustion on my face.

"Vivian," he breathed, rushing forward. "Oh my god, look at you."

Marcus stepped forward to block him, his hand going to his holster.

"It’s okay, Marcus," I said, my voice dead. "Let him pass."

I wanted to hear this. I wanted to see what the rat had to say.

Caleb hurried over, kneeling in front of my chair. He tried to take my hand—my bloodstained hand—but I pulled it away sharply.

"What are you doing here, Caleb?"

"I saw the news," he said, his eyes darting around nervously. "They said Thorne was attacked. They said it was a bloodbath. I... I had to come see if you were safe."

"Safe?" I let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You sold me to him, Caleb. Since when do you care about my safety?"

"I didn't sell you!" Caleb hissed, lowering his voice. "I made a deal to get us out of debt! I thought... I thought he would just keep you for a year and let you go. I didn't think he would drag you into a mafia war!"

He looked at the surgery doors, then back at me. A greedy, desperate glint entered his eyes.

"Listen, Viv. This is our chance."

"Chance?"

"He’s dying," Caleb whispered eagerly. "I heard the nurses talking downstairs. They say he lost too much blood. If he dies... the contract is void. You’re free."

I stared at him. He wasn't worried about me. He was worried about himself. He was hoping Julian would die so his debt would be wiped clean.

"He isn't going to die," I said coldly.

"But if he does," Caleb pressed, reaching for my shoulder. "Come with me. I have a car downstairs. We can leave town before his goons figure out what’s happening. We can start over, baby. Just like we planned."

I looked at his hand on my shoulder. His soft, uncalloused hand.

Then I thought of Julian’s hands. Rough. scarred. Covered in my mother’s blood and his own. Hands that had held me through nightmares and taken a knife for me.

I stood up.

Caleb fell back, startled by the sudden movement.

"Don't touch me," I said.

"Viv, come on. You’re in shock. You don't know what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I’m saying." I stepped toward him, forcing him to scramble backward on the floor like a crab. "You think you can just walk in here with cheap flowers and pretend you didn't trade my life for a gambling debt?"

"I did it for us!"

"You did it for you!" I screamed. The anger I had been holding back for weeks finally exploded. "You are a coward, Caleb. You’re a pathetic, weak little man."

"And what is he?" Caleb sneered, standing up and pointing at the surgery doors. "He’s a monster! A killer!"

"He is ten times the man you will ever be," I spat. "He took a bullet for me. He took a knife for me. What did you ever do, Caleb? You threw me to the wolves to save your own skin."

I walked closer, my heels clicking on the linoleum. I was covered in blood, and for the first time, I felt like I belonged in Julian’s world.

"Here is what is going to happen," I said, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "You are going to leave. You are going to get in your car, drive out of this city, and never come back."

"Or what?" Caleb challenged, trying to puff out his chest. "You’ll tell your husband? He’s on his deathbed, Vivian. He can't hurt me."

"He doesn't have to," I smiled. It was a cold, terrifying smile. "I am Mrs. Thorne now. I control his accounts. I control his security. And I control his debts."

Caleb’s face paled.

"I can ruin you with a phone call, Caleb. I can have your bank accounts frozen. I can have you blacklisted from every job in the state. Or..." I glanced at Marcus, who was watching with a grim smile. "I can have Marcus escort you to the basement."

Caleb looked at Marcus. Then he looked at me. He saw the truth in my eyes. The librarian he knew was gone.

"You’re crazy," he muttered, backing away. "You’ve turned into one of them."

"Goodbye, Caleb."

He turned and ran. He didn't look back. He fled like the coward he was.

I watched him go, feeling a heavy weight lift off my chest. The past was gone.

"Mrs. Thorne?"

I spun around.

The surgery doors opened. A doctor in green scrubs walked out, pulling his mask down. He looked exhausted.

My heart stopped. I forgot about Caleb. I forgot about everything.

"Doctor," I gasped, rushing forward. "Julian... is he...?"

The doctor looked at me. His expression was unreadable.