Chapter 2

"If I hadn't come,"

My voice was raw, and I stared at him, "Would I even know how I ended up dead?"

Valerie peered out from behind him, her voice laced with concern, yet her eyes held a challenging glint.

"Serena, you shouldn't be out of bed! Didn't the doctors say you needed rest?"

"Rest?" I sneered. "Waiting for you two to give my life-saving medicine to someone else?"

Julian's face completely hardened. "Serena! Watch your tone! Valerie is worried about you!"

"Worried about me?" I pointed at Valerie. "Worried enough to tell you to give my medicine away? Worried enough to imply I'm faking it?"

"I didn't…" Valerie's eyes instantly welled up, and she looked at Julian tearfully. "Julian, I'm just worried you're too tired…"

Seeing her reaction, Julian's voice became even colder.

"Serena, look at yourself! All you do is cause drama! Valerie is always looking out for you, and you're maliciously speculating about her!"

I could barely believe my ears. "I'm causing drama? Julian Thorne, I'm the one lying in that bed, waiting to die! I'm the one who can't get the medicine!"

"Enough!"

He sharply cut me off. "Do you think if you collapse now, I'll drop everything and rush to your side, just like before?"

He took a step forward, glaring at me. "Serena, how long are you going to keep up this charade?"

I was trembling all over, barely able to stand. "You think my critical condition is an act?"

Valerie gently tugged his arm, softly persuading him. "Julian, don't be like this. Serena is probably just scared…"

"She's not scared, she's selfish!"

Julian seemed to have finally found an outlet.

"If it weren't for me, you'd be dead already!"

"You should be grateful you're alive. Don't be so selfish!"

"Now that we've finally had a breakthrough, and Valerie helped us secure investment, all you care about is yourself!"

He wrapped an arm around Valerie's shoulders, as if both proclaiming and protecting.

"If Valerie hadn't stayed with me, supported me, I would've given up long ago! What about you? Besides emotionally manipulating me with your illness, what have you ever given me?"

I looked at the two of them, suddenly feeling utterly estranged.

Where was the boy who'd held my hand ten years ago and said, "I will save you"?

Why had he become this man who only knows how to emotionally manipulate?

With my last ounce of strength, I quietly asked, "Julian Thorne, do you wish I was dead?"

He frowned, his voice full of impatience. "Not this again! Always the same old routine! Go back and rest. Don't disrupt Valerie and my work here."

With that, he stopped looking at me, lowering his head to Valerie and asking softly, "What happened to your hand? Did you bump it? Let me see."

That gentle tone was one I hadn't heard in ten years.

I turned and walked away, and the tears finally fell.