"What do you mean 'pointless'?" Holly felt anger flare at his attitude, but she forced it back down. "I'm your fiancée! You can tell me anything that's bothering you! Are you still mad at me about last time? I was just so angry I wasn't thinking straight. I shouldn't have done that. But you really shouldn't have done that to Colin eith—"
"Holly," Graham cut her off and opened his eyes, looking at her calmly. "Are you done? If you are, I'd like to rest. Thanks for helping me up."
With that, he gently pushed away the hand that was tucking in his blanket, rolled over, and turned his back to her.
Holly stared at his back as that familiar, overwhelming wave of irritation and unease swept over her again.
She opened her mouth to say something, but not a single word came out.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Colin. "Holly, where did you go? I think my wound is hurting again."
Holly glanced at Graham, who lay with his back to her as if he had already fallen asleep. In the end, she got up anyway.
"Get some rest," she said quietly. "I'll come check on you later."
Then she hurried out of the room.
Over the next few days, Holly did come by every day and stayed for half the day. She clumsily tried to take care of him and talk to him. She even offered to take him to see the northern lights once he was discharged, since he had once mentioned wanting to go, or to stay for a while in the old historic town he loved.
Every time, Graham turned her down with the same few flat replies. There was no need, he was not interested, and she should go take care of her own business.
His attitude never wavered. He was calm and distant, as if she were a stranger who did not matter to him at all.
At last, when Holly offered to take him on a trip overseas to clear his head and he turned her down again by saying he was tired, she could not hold it in anymore.
"Graham!" She shot to her feet and glared down at him, her eyes filled with barely contained anger and confusion. "What do you want from me? I've apologized, I've tried to make it up to you, and I've been here with you every single day! What else do you want me to do? Tell me!"
The room was so quiet that the only sound was her breathing.
Graham slowly looked up and studied her face, which anger had made sharp and cold. He held her gaze for a long time. Then he said softly and clearly, "I want you to leave."
Holly froze, as if she had not heard him right. "What?"
He repeated himself, pausing on every word. His voice was calm but final. "I said I want you to leave my room, get out of my sight, and never come near me again."
She looked as if she had been slapped. She stared at him in disbelief, her chest heaving, and her expression hardened in an instant.
"Graham! Do you even hear what you're saying?"
His expression stayed indifferent. He was about to speak again when the door suddenly burst open.
Lionel, Joyce, and Colin came rushing in, all of them in tears.
"Holly! Something terrible happened! Colin's in trouble!" Joyce cried.
Holly forced down the storm raging inside her and turned to them with a deep frown. "What happened? Slow down and tell me."
Lionel was so frantic that he was drenched in sweat. "Colin went out drinking at a private club with some friends today, and he got into a fight with someone. He accidentally cracked the guy's head open. Now the police are here, and they want to take him to the station!"
Colin hid behind Joyce, shaking from head to toe. "Holly, I didn't mean to. I'm so scared. I don't want to go to the police station!"
Holly's frown deepened after hearing it all, but her voice stayed fairly steady. "How badly is he hurt? If it's only a minor injury, we can settle it out of court, pay damages, and apologize.
"As for the police, standard procedure is to take him in for a statement, and they might hold him for a few days. Don't panic. I'll call a lawyer right now and get Colin out as fast as possible. I won't let him suffer in there."
"No, Holly!" Joyce grabbed her arm, crying.
"Colin's health is so fragile. A jail cell is cold and filthy, and he'd be locked up with all those criminals. How could he handle that? He'll definitely get sick!"
Lionel immediately objected as well.
Then, as though something had occurred to him, he looked over at Graham, who had been lying silently in the hospital bed the whole time. Hesitation flickered in his eyes, but in the end, he spoke anyway.
"Graham's healthier than Colin, and he's tougher, too. What if Graham took Colin's place for now? Just for a few days. Once Holly sorts everything out, we'll get him right out."
The moment he said it, even Holly was shocked. She whipped around to look at Lionel. "Mr. Winthrop! Graham just had surgery, and a few days ago he was badly hurt!"
Colin, however, seized on it like a lifeline. He threw himself at Holly's side and clutched her sleeve, begging her.
"Holly, please. I'm so scared. Graham won't mind, right? Graham, please help me. Just this once, I'm begging you."
Holly looked at Colin's frightened, helpless face, then at Graham lying silently in bed with his eyes closed. She was torn.
On one side was the pitiful pleading of the man she loved. On the other was the unease and resistance growing stronger and stronger deep inside her.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Two uniformed police officers walked in and showed their badges. "Which one of you is Colin Winthrop? We need you to come down to the station with us and assist with our investigation."
Colin panicked and clung to Holly for dear life. Lionel and Joyce were in a panic too. They kept pleading with the officers and shooting desperate looks at Holly and Graham.
A vein throbbed at Holly's temple. Caught between Colin's despair and his parents' pleading eyes, she finally gave a slow, painful nod. She turned to the officers and slowly pointed at Graham. "He's Colin Winthrop."
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