All Chapters of Rival's Contract Marriage : Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

Cameron’s POVBANG.The sound was deafening, a thunderclap that froze the air. For half a second, I didn’t even register it. My chest was still rising, lungs catching fire, because I thought it was aimed at me.But then—“Cam!”His voice, raw and broken, cut through everything. Brandon moved. I didn’t see it at first, but I felt it. The sudden weight slamming into me, pushing me back just as the bullet carved through theAnd just then I felt it, I felt the warmth spreading across my chest.Blood.I felt my hands shot out, catching him as he collapsed against me. His body went limp and his breath shuddering.“No—no, no, no, no,” I choked, my voice cracking like glass. “Brandon—what did you—”The answer was already on his shirt.I pressed my hands against the wound, trying to stop the blood, but my palms were useless buckets against a tidal wave. His eyes found mine and they were soft and shaky, like he was apologizing for something he didn’t need to apologize for.“You dummy—” My throa

Cameron POVMorning crept into the hospital like it was afraid to be here. Thin gray light leaked through the blinds, painting the room in pale stripes. The machines hummed their quiet rhythm, the monitor next to Brandon’s bed beeping steady and soft, like a heartbeat I could finally trust.I hadn’t moved all night. My hoodie stuck to my skin, stiff with dried blood, but I didn’t care. My legs were numb, my neck a knot of pain. None of it mattered. The only thing that mattered was the slow rise and fall of Brandon’s chest under the white sheets.Hilda had passed out hours ago on the plastic couch against the wall, one arm slung over her eyes. She’d fought like hell to get us out of that mill, to keep me from breaking apart in the waiting room. Now she slept like she was finally letting herself crash.I couldn’t. Every time my eyes started to close, the sound of the gunshot ripped me awake again. The flash. The way Brandon shoved me back and stepped into the path of the bullet like it

Cameron POVThe hospital at night always felt like a different planet. Everything slowed down, like time itself was holding its breath. The lights buzzed overhead, too bright for midnight, and the smell of disinfectant clung to my hoodie like smoke I couldn’t shake. Brandon’s room door was closed behind me; his parents had finally convinced me to take a break and “get some air.”Air. Right. Like breathing was something I actually remembered how to do.I leaned against the vending machine down the hall, head pressed to the cool metal. My phone was a brick in my pocket—silent, but heavy with every call I wasn’t making. I couldn’t leave the hospital, not while Brandon was in there with tubes and beeping machines keeping rhythm with his heartbeat. I kept replaying the sound of that gunshot, the way he’d stepped in front of me like it was the easiest choice in the world.A low voice broke through the static in my head. “Cam.”I snapped upright so fast my neck cracked. Hilda stood at the en

Cameron POVThe drive to the house felt like a bad dream I couldn’t wake up from. Streetlights flashed over the hood of my car like angry camera flashes, each one a reminder of every word the thug said. Drake. Paid us double. Wanted you to suffer.I barely remember parking. One second I was turning the wheel, the next I was out of the car, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the frame. My feet carried me up the front steps like I was on autopilot. All I could hear was my heart, pounding in my ears like it wanted out.The door wasn’t even locked. Typical Drake—always too sure of himself. I shoved it open and stormed inside.He was in the living room, sprawled across the couch like it was any normal night. Hoodie half-zipped, phone in his hand. He looked up, surprise flickering for half a second before it disappeared behind that trademark smirk.“Well,” he said, sitting up. “If it isn’t the hero of the hour.”My fists clenched so tight my knuckles ached. “Don’t.” My voice cracked sh

Cameron POVI barely heard the nurse when she said Brandon was awake. The only thing pounding in my head was Drake.Drake, who I’d known my whole life.Drake, who’d smiled across dinner tables and called me “little brother.”Drake, who sent men to kidnap my boyfriend and nearly got him killed.The hallway to Brandon’s room stretched like it was a mile long. My shoes squeaked against the linoleum with every step. Every sound—the buzz of lights, the beeping of monitors—scraped against my nerves until it felt like my whole body was a live wire.When I reached the door, I froze. Through the small glass window I could see Brandon lying back against his pillows, pale but upright. His parents sat on either side of the bed. The sight of them—his mom’s trembling hand on his wrist, his dad’s stiff shoulders—knocked the breath out of me. They were here because of my family. Because of Drake.I pushed the door open anyway.Brandon’s eyes snapped toward me, and even with the dark circles under the