Chapter 242

Alice’s mother snapped, “Alice, how can you be so heartless? You don’t even recognize your own mother now! If you keep denying it, I swear I’ll print out photos of you and me together and plaster them all over Kingsbridge University!”
A wave of whispers rippled through the crowd.
“Is that really Alice’s mom?”
“No way, I thought she was from some wealthy family!”
“So the whole heiress thing is fake?”
“Obviously! Look at Alice-she’s practically shaking. If that woman isn’t her mother, why is she so nervous?!”
Standing on stage, Alice felt the last trace of color drain from her face. Her mind was a complete blank as the voices swirled around her.
Then, suddenly, she spotted Anastasia—still lingering at the back of the hall.
Their eyes met. Anastasia lounged comfortably on a man’s shoulder, flashing Alice a wicked, triumphant smile.
“Anastasia!” Alice’s voice cracked with fury. Her heart ached with hate.
It was Anastasia. She’d orchestrated all of this.
-But so what?
Anastasia turned away and called out, “Come on, darling, let’s go.”
As they left, she glanced across the hall toward Logan and Fiona. When Logan caught her look, she gave him a subtle, approving nod.
But as she turned back, she was startled to find Harrison’s dark, stormy eyes fixed on her.
“Uh… sweetheart?” She called out tentatively.
Harrison didn’t answer. Without another word, he swept her up and drove straight to the hospital. Only after the doctor had examined her and treated her injured ankle did he finally break his silence.
“So it doesn’t hurt, is that it?” he asked, his voice cold.
Instinctively, Anastasia almost nodded. Sure, her ankle hurt a little, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. But before she could move, she caught a glimpse of Harrison’s thunderous expression by the bedside.
She could sense it immediately-his anger was directed squarely at her.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong
Harrison ignored her question. Instead, he took hold of her ankle, his grip firm. “Does it hurt?” he pressed.
Anastasia suddenly felt a prickle of warning. She glanced up at his grim face and answered carefully, “A little?”
“Are you afraid of pain?”
Her heart thudded. She could feel his hand poised, as if ready to squeeze the injured spot. “Yes,” she admitted, nerves jangling.
“Is that so?” His fingers tightened around her ankle as a dangerous glint flashed in
his eyes. “If you’re so afraid of pain, why didn’t you hesitate at all when you deliberately took that fall?”
The hospital room fell silent.
Anastasia finally understood the source of his fury.
“I she started.
It was true-she had staged her fall. Her heel had snapped, sure, and she could easily guess Mr. Pierce or Grace was behind it. But even with the broken heel, she could have steadied herself. Instead, she’d let herself go down.
“If I hadn’t caught you in time, did you ever think about what could have
happened?” Harrison’s face was clouded with anger.
Of course she knew. If he hadn’t acted so quickly, she would have fallen right off the stage.
And then, it wouldn’t just be a twisted ankle she was dealing with.
“But I knew you’d catch me!” she said, looking up with complete certainty. “If I didn’t trust you, would I have dared to do it?” ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by
For a moment, the fire in Harrison’s eyes flickered and faded away.
But then it reignited, fiercer than before. “That’s no excuse to gamble with your own safety!” he snapped.
He could still feel the panic from when he’d grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. If he’d been a second slower, what would have happened then?
Seeing his face darken again, Anastasia realized she couldn’t just smooth this over with a joke.
She opened her mouth, and for once, decided to tell the truth—