Chapter 848
[ 506 words ]
Chapter 848:
As long as the poison remained inside Lianne’s body, no matter how little, I would never truly be free from Melisa’s control.
Closing my eyes, I drew in a slow, steady breath, doing everything I could to force down the frustration threatening to spill over.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I found Lianne sitting at her desk, her eyes fixed on the computer screen as though she were absorbed in work.
But I knew better. Her back was perfectly straight, yet her fingers struck the keyboard in a hurried, uneven rhythm, betraying the emotions she was trying so hard to hide.
She was upset. And the worst part was that I couldn’t even tell her the truth.
I walked over and stopped behind her, remaining silent for several long seconds before finally speaking. “Lianne, come with me tomorrow. It’s time for another checkup.”
Her fingers paused over the keyboard. Slowly, she turned to look at me. Her clear eyes locked onto mine, searching them as though they could uncover every secret I was hiding. “Melisa told you to bring me, didn’t she?”
My heart sank. Before I could think of an answer, she continued, “Ethan, is she using my treatment to threaten you? What exactly did you promise her?”
Her mind was frighteningly sharp. Every question struck the heart of the matter, leaving me with nowhere to hide.
𝘐ոѕt𝖺𝗇𝘵 𝖺𝗰𝗰𝗲ѕ𝗌 𝗈𝗻 𝗀аln𝗼𝗏еl𝘴.𝖼о𝗆
“I looked into the investment you recently made in Melisa’s family’s company,” she continued. “You used your own money, and it’s an investment that won’t earn you anything back. Why would you do something like that?”
In that instant, every lie I’d built crumbled around me.
As I watched her become more emotional, her voice growing increasingly unsteady, my chest felt as though it were being squeezed in an invisible vise. She begged me to stop the treatment. She insisted we take the money back. By the time she whispered, “I don’t want to become your burden,” her eyes were already red with unshed tears.
Every word pierced straight through my heart. Unable to stand it any longer, I stepped forward and pulled her firmly into my embrace.
She struggled against me for a brief moment before finally giving in. Her forehead rested against my chest as her shoulders trembled ever so slightly.
“The investment is real,” I said quietly, resting my chin atop her head and forcing my voice to remain calm. “But I had my reasons. Melisa saved my life twice. I owe her, and this is my way of repaying that debt. Don’t think too much about it. Tomorrow is only a routine checkup.”
I buried the truth beneath carefully chosen words.
The words lodged in my throat. I couldn’t tell her the antidote was a gamble or admit that each adjustment might be the one that took her from me.
Most of all, I was terrified that learning the truth would drag her back into the darkness she had fought so hard to escape.
“I’m nothing but a burden to you…” she whispered against my chest, her voice breaking with tears. “Ethan… am I completely useless?”
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