Chapter 2

"Ma'am, don't fall asleep. Can you hear me?"

The car cabin reeked of blood. The airbag lay deflated to one side.

I forced my eyes open. Outside the window was an anxious face. He held a window-breaking hammer in his hand.

"The ambulance is almost here. I'll pull you out first. It might hurt a bit---try to bear with it."

I nodded, watching him efficiently break open the car door.

The screech of metal grating against metal was piercing. At that moment, my phone screen lit up.

A message from Hudson.

[Nina, I've already boarded the plane.]

[Stop using injuries as an excuse to trick me. Cecilia can't be left alone right now. Be more understanding.]

Blood dripped from my forehead onto the screen.

The man outside the car glanced at the screen. "Your boyfriend?" he asked.

I closed my eyes, my voice hoarse. "Ex-boyfriend."

He didn't ask further. He took off his jacket, placed it over the broken glass, slipped his hands under my arms, and carefully lifted me out of the cabin.

"I'm Zander Hayes," he said, setting me down on the grass by the roadside. "A doctor who happened to be passing by."

"Thank you." I looked at his blood-stained shirt. "I got your clothes dirty."

He took gauze from a first aid kit and pressed it against my forehead. "Hold this. Don't let go."

My phone vibrated again. It was Hudson's assistant, Andy.

[Miss Nina, Mr. Hudson asked me to transfer five hundred thousand dollars to you. He said if you're upset, go buy something you like.]

[Mr. Hudson is just trying to save someone. Please be more understanding and don't fight with him at a time like this.]

Five hundred thousand dollars---to buy my silence while I teetered on the edge of death.

I didn't accept it. I just locked my screen.

The ambulance arrived quickly.

Zander climbed in with me and briefed the paramedics on my condition.

"Multiple soft tissue contusions, mild concussion, five-centimeter laceration on the forehead."

"Where's the family?" the medic asked. "We need family to sign."

"No family," I said, staring at the ceiling lights.

Zander's hand paused while taking my blood pressure. Then he called out a number. "Blood pressure is low."

At the hospital, a nurse wheeled me in for stitches.

The anesthetic went into my forehead. The swelling pain spread instantly.

I didn't cry. I didn't even furrow my brow.

The doctor seemed surprised. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"I've hurt worse," I said, staring at the clock on the wall.

Worse than this was two years ago in the emergency room, watching the blood beneath me go cold, drop by drop.

Hudson's flight should be landing soon.

Right now, his mind was probably filled with whether Cecilia had taken her medication, whether she'd done something reckless.

As for how much blood I'd lost---

He didn't care.

After the stitches, I sat in the observation room.

Zander walked over with the payment receipt.

"I covered the fees for now. Your phone died," he said.

"Thank you, Dr. Hayes." I took the receipt. "Let me get your contact info so I can transfer the money back."

I borrowed a charger from the nurse's station. As soon as I added him on SnapChat, Hudson's call came through.

"Nina, when are you going to stop this tantrum?" Hudson's voice was filled with suppressed rage.

"Andy said you didn't take the money and your phone was off. Are you trying to make sure everyone knows you're jealous?"

I glanced at Zander sitting across from me and said calmly, "I'm not throwing a tantrum."

"Then why'd you turn off your phone?" Hudson sneered. "Let me tell you, Cecilia's condition is really bad right now. Don't make trouble for me at a time like this. When I get back, we'll talk about the wedding."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"What are you trying to pull now?"

"Hudson, let's call off the engagement."

Silence on the other end for two seconds.

He laughed derisively, his tone dripping with disdain. "Fine, Nina. You'd better not regret this."

The call ended.