Her voice held polite distance-nothing more.
I looked around the empty room pointedly. “Where’s Caelan? Didn’t he come to see you?”
She went silent.
“I just thought…” I let the words trail off deliberately. “Never mind. It’s not my business.”
“What?” Impatience crept into her tone.
“It’s just that if I truly cared about someone, I’d be at the hospital immediately. Not…”
I gestured at the empty space around her bed.
“Everyone shows concern differently,” she said stiffly.
“You’re right.” I nodded as if suddenly enlightened. “Maybe I’m overthinking it. After all, you two have such a strong relationship…”
She cut me off. “I want to know why you were there to save me. Were you following us?”
“Yes. No point in lying. “I was worried about your safety. Ever since you got involved with Caelan, accidents keep happening around you. That day I saw you alone at the coffee shop, then the jewelry store, so I decided to follow just in case.”
Sable watched me carefully.
“When I saw you meet up with Caelan, I relaxed. Stopped following. I went to clear my head in the area. Later that evening, I was driving to get gas when I saw you both in the convenience store.” I leaned forward slightly. “Then I saw a car speeding straight toward the building. I ran in and got you out. Caelan was too injured to carry you-without me, you might have died.”
“Thank you.” Her voice remained neutral. “But you don’t need to elevate yourself by putting others down. You know perfectly well how much stronger Caelan is than you.”
The blunt observation stung. I hadn’t expected her to see through my manipulation so easily.
“Fine. Caelan’s wonderful.” I stood up. “Then where is he? Why isn’t he here taking care of you?”
“He has urgent business to handle.”
“Fine. Whatever you say.” I moved toward the door. “If you need anything, anything at all, you can contact me.”
At the doorway, I turned back one last time. “Sable, you deserve better.”
I left her sitting there in silence.
Outside in my car, I dialed Lucian’s number with shaking hands.
“Lucian! Rage colored every syllable, “You better have an explanation!”
“Explanation for what? His voice carried bored irritation.
“The plan that night! That’s not what we discussed!” My voice rose dangerously. “You said you’d arrange someone to hit Caelan, then
I’d rescue Sable and take her somewhere safe.”
Instead? Your man nearly killed her too!
Lucian paused. The plan had some… complications.”
“Complications?” I nearly shouted. “That wasnt a complication it was a completely different plan! If Sable had died, everything I’ve worked for would be meaningless!
“What exactly do you want?
“I want Sable alive and safe, not dead! I slammed my palm against the steering wheel.
O QASpeaking of honesty, Lucian’s tone turned cold, “you weren’t completely truthful with me either.”
Alert shot through me. What do you mean?
“You never mentioned that Caelan was just playing with Sable. He’s already dumped her, you fool.”
1 froze. “What?”
“Caelan told me himself-he was only using her for revenge.”
My mind raced. That couldn’t be true. I’d seen how they looked at each other. That kind of connection couldn’t be faked.
Then it hit me-Caelan was probably trying to convince Lucian he didn’t care about Sable, hoping to protect her from further attacks.
A smile spread across my face. “Regardless, Lucian, our cooperation ends here.”
“You can’t terminate our partnership unilaterally!” Anger sharpened his voice.
“Why not? Caelan and Sable have broken up-that’s exactly what I wanted.”
“If you end our cooperation, I’ll cut off all financial support immediately.”
“Doesn’t matter. I felt almost giddy with relief. “My pack is stable now, profitable even. Thanks for the initial funding, by the way- couldn’t have turned things around without it.”
“So you’re biting the hand that feeds you? You know what? I’ll tell Caelan everything-that you’ve been planning all of this with me. Think about what Caelan will do to you.”
“Hey.” I forced a conciliatory tone. “Just kidding around. Don’t take it seriously.”
“Im warning you-don’t get any clever ideas. Crushing you would be easier than stepping on an ant.”
“Of course.” I put on my most submissive voice, ‘I’ll continue following your instructions.”
I hung up and let my expression go cold.
Lucian thinks he owns me. Soon, I’ll show him exactly how wrong he is.
Sable’s POV
I stayed curled on my side, staring at the blank white wall, tears still drying on my cheeks.
The door opened again. Softer footsteps this time.
“Sable, sweetheart.”
I turned to see him standing in the doorway. His eyes were filled with pain as he took in my tear-stained face.
“Dad…”
He crossed the room quickly and sat on the edge of my hospital bed. Without hesitation, he gathered me into his arms, pulling me against his chest like he used to when I was small and the world felt too big and scary.
“My baby girl,” he murmured, his hand stroking my hair. “Seeing you like this… it’s breaking my heart.”
That did it. The careful control I’d been clinging to shattered completely. I sobbed against his shoulder, my fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt.
“I hurt so much, Dad. Everything hurts.”
“I know, honey. I know.” His voice was thick with emotion. “Let it out. Just let it all out.”
I cried until my chest ached, until there were no more tears left. Dad held me through it all, rocking me gently and whispering soothing words against my hair.
When the storm finally passed, I pulled back slightly to look at him.
“Dad, you know something, don’t you?” My voice was hoarse from crying. “About Caelan? About why he really broke up with me?”
Dad’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “What makes you think that?”
I could hear it in his voice. He was lying.” I gripped his hand desperately. “He said he never loved me, that it was all revenge for running away three years ago. But that’s not true, is it?”
Dad was quiet for a long moment, conflict playing across his features.
“Honey,” he said finally, his voice heavy, “Maybe you shouldn’t be so sure about what you think you heard.
“No! I sat up straighter, ignoring the pull of my stitches. I know Caelan loves me. Something happened. Something made him feel like he had to push me away.”
Dad’s eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite read. “Sable, I’ve lived a long time. I’ve seen many people, many relationships. Sometimes we think we know someone’s heart, but…
“What do you mean?’
He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Men can be very convincing when they’re pursuing someone. They can seem devoted, passionate. But once they get what they want… He trailed off meaningfully.
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