Chapter Two

The hospital waiting room was too quiet, and the air smelled like disinfectant and fear.

My father had been shot, and I kept repeating the words in my head, but they still didn’t feel real. Only hours ago I had walked out with divorce papers in my bag, thinking that was the worst thing that would happen today, and now this.

Damien drove me here, and he barely spoke the entire ride, his hands locked on the wheel, eyes never once looking at me.

Now he stood a few feet away with his arms crossed, his face empty, like this was just something he had to do.

My mother was folded into a chair in the corner, eyes red and swollen from crying, and Victoria stood beside her in a perfect coat with perfect calm, as if none of the chaos could touch her.

“What did they tell you?” Damien asked, his voice flat.

“Mom just said to come fast, that he has been shot,” I answered, and my voice came out weaker than I expected.

He gave one short nod. “I’ll find the doctor, sit.”

I sank into a hard plastic chair, my hands shaking, the weight of the night pressing down on me. Years of marriage had ended today, and I should have felt free, but instead I only felt hollow, and now my father was in surgery and everything had changed in a matter of hours.

Victoria moved to the chair beside me and leaned in close so only I could hear. “You finally left him,” she whispered with a mean smile. “After nine whole years.”

“You really think that’s the end? You took my first love from me, and I’m not going to let you take anything else.”

I had nothing to give her, so I said nothing.

She wasn’t done. “Damien drove you here, but that doesn’t mean anything. He never wanted you and the second you’re out of the way, he’ll come back to me. You were always temporary.”

Her words hit right where the divorce was still tender, so I looked away and stared at the walls, trying not to cry.

In my bag were the papers that proved I was free, down the hall my father had a bullet in him, and next to me Victoria was waiting to see when I would break.

Twenty minutes later a doctor came out and we all stood. “The surgery went well,” he said. “The bullet missed the major organs, he lost a lot of blood, but he’s stable. You can see him one at a time.”

I went in first. Dad looked diminished in the bed…drained, with tubes everywhere, and when he heard me his eyes opened slowly.

“Lila,” he said, voice hoarse.

“I’m here, Dad.”

He stared at me for a long moment. “The divorce. Is it finished?”

“Yes. It’s finished.”

He let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. “Good. I pushed you into that marriage, I thought it would make peace between our families, but I was wrong.”

Hearing him admit that cracked something open in me, because my father never admitted mistakes. I squeezed his hand. “Rest. We’ll talk later.”

Before I stood, he held on tighter. “Watch Victoria. She still wants him… don’t let her take more from you.”

When I came back out, Damien was at the window with his back to me, and he didn’t bother asking about Dad. Mom and Victoria had gone for coffee, so nothing passed between us.

I sat down alone and tried to breathe. Everything still felt fresh, like an open wound. I had finally chosen myself, but my father was hurt and Victoria was already circling, and for one terrible second I wondered if moving on had made everything worse.

Victoria came back first and stopped in front of me. “You look broken,” she murmured. “Good. This is just the start, I’ll make sure you lose everything.”

I didn’t answer; I just looked down at my shaking hands.

Someone unknown had shot my father, my marriage was over, and Victoria was ready for war.

Across the room, Damien hadn’t moved from the window, distant and indifferent, like this was happening to someone else.

And to be honest, that more than anything else tonight, hurt.