Chapter 4

Austin's POV

The application for the foreign clinical trial needed a week to process.

During that final week, Edward escalated his drama to a whole new level. Not only did he take up all of Clara's time, but he also started actively trying to push my buttons.

He would stand at the door of the master bedroom in his pajamas, clutching his chest. His eyes were red-rimmed as he forced out a bitter smile.

"Every time I look at Austin's room, I'm reminded of the night my family went bankrupt, Clara. I'm terrified, I can't sleep, and my heart is racing."

Worried, Clara would hold his hand, turn to me, and command, "Edward isn't feeling well, Austin. You should sleep in the guest room."

To soothe Edward, she had the nerve to demand that I move out of our bedroom. If she loved Edward this much, why had she held my hand at our wedding and sworn that she would always protect me?

Suddenly, memories of our wedding night overlapped with the present.

That night, she had been blackout drunk and collapsed onto our bed. When I got up to brew her a hangover remedy, she grabbed my wrist and pressed her burning cheek into my palm.

Her eyes were closed, and her breath was warm. In the dim lightning, she slurred a quiet murmur, "Don't leave, Austie."

Back then, my eyes had welled with tears, and my heart burst with the overwhelming ache and joy of finally feeling cherished. But now that I looked back, it felt like I was waking up from a dream.

The name she had called out so longingly that night wasn't Austie. She had never called me anything other than Austin.

That night, she had called out for Ed.

I calmly nodded and said, "Okay."

Clara froze. An inexplicable sense of panic gripped her when she noticed how unusually obedient I was as I turned away. For the first time ever, she lunged forward and grabbed my wrist with terrifying force.

"Austin," she rasped in a slightly dry voice. "Just bear with it for a few days. Once Edward is emotionally stable, I'll take you to Iscardia to see the northern lights. You've always wanted to go there, haven't you?"

I looked down at her tight grip on my wrist. This was the same hand that used to hold mine, promising to shield me from all the pain. Now, she was using it to offer pathetic crumbs of compensation.

I gently pried her fingers off and forced a smile. "Sure."

Though I agreed without a second thought, I knew that I would never live to see the northern lights in Iscardia again. Clara no longer had a place in my future, whether I lived or died.

Clara looked like she wanted to say something else, but Edward started crying out in pain again. She hesitated briefly before choosing Edward, like always.

I looked down to hide the loneliness in my eyes, picked up my packed luggage, and walked out the door.

On my way to the airport, I received a call from Dr. Powell.

"Austin, your personal doctor, Dr. Lambert, should be with you on the way to the airport by now, right?"

Staring out the window at the city blurring past, I calmly replied, "Clara summoned him away. Edward had an episode, so she kept him there."

On the other end of the line, Dr. Powell panicked so hard he started cursing. "This is ridiculous! Your heart could stop at any moment. A specialist doctor needs to be with you!"

Before leaving the house, I had texted Dr. Terry Lambert, who was supposed to meet me at the airport. But he told me Clara had urgently summoned him back because Edward was emotionally unstable and showing signs of self-harm.

She had issued a strict order that every member of the Prescott family's private medical team must remain on standby.

As the car sped down the hallway, a sharp pain tore through my chest. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.

A deafening screech of brakes followed as the car slammed into the guardrail.

…

At the same time, back at the Prescott residence, Clara was worried sick over Edward. He was complaining of chest pain again, and she had even called my personal doctor back for him.

Just then, the phone in her pocket rang. There was a call from an unknown number.

Frowning, she picked up.

"Hello, am I talking to Ms. Clara Prescott? Mr. Austin Duncan was involved in a serious car crash on the highway heading toward the airport. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Please report to the site and identify his body as soon as possible."