《Becoming Mrs. Blackwood》全部章節：第 31 章 - 第 38 章

~ LENA ~All the air vanished from my lungs as I heard my mum crying. The color drained from my face, and I gripped the phone tightly.“What happened to Sofia?” I repeated, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. Every horrible possibility crashed through my head at once. My knees nearly gave out waiting for her to say something. “Mum, talk to me!”“Lena…” She finally managed to speak between her sobs. “Sofia had a complication.”My heart stopped. “She what?”“It happened all of a sudden. One minute everything seemed fine, and the next… alarms were going off and nurses were running into her room.”“What?”“But she’s okay now,” Isabella rushed out. “She’s okay. She’s much better.”The dresser next to me was suddenly the only thing keeping me upright. I grabbed it, almost collapsing from relief.“She’s okay?” I repeated weakly, blinking back the hot tears that sprang to my eyes.“Yes. She’s stable.”“What exactly went wrong?” I asked.“It happened l

~ LENA ~For the past few minutes, I’d been telling myself it was all in my head. Now I wasn’t so sure anymore.The footsteps returned. They were closer this time. Much closer. They matched my pace, then quickened as the sound seemed to rush toward me, closing the distance.My heart leapt into my throat as I whirled around. This time, someone was standing behind me.“Oh my God, I’m sorry!”The woman immediately apologized. Her expression filled with concern as she saw how frightened I was. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated.I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to calm the frantic pounding of my heart. “It’s okay,” I said with a little smile, relieved that it wasn’t a stalker or the mystery man who’d sent flowers.“I didn’t mean to startle you,” she continued. “I was just out for my morning walk when I spotted you walking through the neighborhood.” She grinned, then paused. A sheepish smile crossed her face. The look on my face must have told her I was struggling to place her.“Vivie

~ LENA ~I watched Ashley covertly over the dinner table as she reached for her fork. Her movements were slow, careful. She made even the simple act of lifting her glass of water appear strenuous, as though lifting it required more strength than she possessed.Dressed in a soft, cream sweater, she looked every bit the fragile patient recovering from a serious illness. Her dark hair fell softly around her shoulders, and her complexion still carried just enough paleness to sell the performance.If I hadn’t overheard that conversation upstairs earlier, I probably would have felt sorry for her.Now all I saw was an actress.Deborah sat next to her, looking every bit as polished and composed as she had been all day.Mother and daughter. Conspirators.Conversation flowed around the table while I pretended to listen and contributed whenever necessary, acting as though everything was normal. But my attention remained mostly on Ashley. Now that the veil had fallen, it was easy to spot the pret

~ LENA ~I looked at Nathan’s face and saw the curious frown pulling his brows together. My heart thudded in my chest, waiting for his reaction, for what he was going to say.“Kimberly, darling...”Deborah’s voice broke through my panic. I looked at her. She was staring at me with mild concern. Or at least, what appeared to be concern.“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you feeling alright?”My fingers tightened around the back of a chair as I forced myself to smile and act like there was nothing wrong. Before I could respond, Nathan moved closer to the flowers, his attention fully on them.“Wow…”The word slipped quietly out of his mouth as his eyes moved over the arrangement. The roses, carnations and daisies were beautifully fanned out inside the elegant crystal vase. Somehow, they looked even more attractive than they had been yesterday.“These are some beautiful flowers,” he said, his gaze lingering on them even as he pulled out his chair and sat down. “Someone’s making quit