After Colton went upstairs, he never came back down.
At the doctor’s insistence, Kenzie was stuck in the hospital for four long, shitty days before they finally discharged her.
The day she left, Clarkson texted her.
[Flight booked. I’ll be there the day after tomorrow.]
She checked the date.
Perfect. Same day she’d be getting the divorce certificate.
Once that piece of paper was in her hands, she’d be gone for good.
When Kenzie returned to the villa, the second she stepped inside, she saw servants hauling her things out of the bedroom, one item after another.
Before she could ask what the hell was going on, Colton showed up.
“Kinsey’s been diagnosed with cancer,” he said solemnly. “Late stage.”
“All she wants is to spend whatever time she has left living peacefully with me. Your room gets the best sunlight. It’ll be better for her condition. You’ll need to move out for now.”
Kenzie looked at Kinsey.
Pink cheeks, clear skin, bright eyes. She looked healthier than Kenzie did.
Late-stage cancer? Sure. Only a dumbass like Colton would buy that shit.
When Kenzie didn’t agree fast enough, Colton assumed she was about to make a scene. He was already gearing up to lecture her.
Instead, she cut him off.
“Fine. I’ll move. Put my stuff in the downstairs guest room.”
It’d be easier to leave that way anyway.
Her lack of drama threw him off.
For years, every time Kinsey was involved, Kenzie had been “the problem,” “too sensitive,” “too much.”
Now, she didn’t fight back, and somehow, something felt… off.
Kenzie walked right past them, packed her things neatly, and moved everything downstairs.
Colton couldn’t explain it, but watching her leave made his chest feel strangely tight.
It felt like what separated them now wasn’t distance but something already broken beyond repair.
Still, he brushed it off.
Kenzie loved him too much. She was just forcing herself to swallow her jealousy again.
Besides, Kinsey “didn’t have long to live.” Once everything was over, he could sit down and talk things out with Kenzie properly.
That reasoning eased the discomfort he was feeling.
That night, Kenzie went to the kitchen for some water, but Kinsey stepped directly into her path.
Not in the mood for games, Kenzie turned to leave, only to have Kinsey block her again.
Finally, her patience ran out.
She lifted her eyes, cold and sharp.
“Aren’t you scared,” she said, “that I’ll tell Colton your cancer is fake as fuck?”
Kinsey smiled with open contempt. She leaned in close to her sister’s ear.
“Go ahead,” she whispered. “Let’s see whether he believes you… or me.”
Kenzie’s fingers clenched tightly at her side.
Kinsey was right.
Even if Kenzie said something, Colton would still believe Kinsey like every damn time.
After all, you can’t wake someone who’s pretending to sleep.
“Move,” Kenzie said flatly. “A decent dog knows better than to block the road.”
She didn’t want to waste another word on her.
But Kinsey wouldn’t back off. She stepped in and grabbed Kenzie’s wrist, her smile stretching wider, uglier.
“Wow,” Kinsey sneered. “Still playing tough bitch at a time like this? I’ll give you credit. You’re lucky. Most people don’t cheat death this many times.”
Suddenly, Kenzie looked her dead in the eye. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Kinsey laughed softly. “Oh? Curious now? Sure. I’ll spell it out for you. Every ugly detail.”
“The first time you found Colton’s diary?” Kinsey said lazily. “I let you. It was on purpose. I was waiting for you to demand a divorce, and you didn’t disappoint me.”
“But then that fossil of a mother of his told him if he divorced you, he’d walk away with nothing.” Kinsey clicked her tongue. “So I improvised.”
“I figured, ‘why divorce him when I could just make him a widower?’”
“Last day of the cooling-off period,” Kinsey continued casually. “I had someone stage that car accident. But damn, you’re such a pain in the ass to kill.”
“If you’d died back then,” she went on, “no matter how much Alisha adored you, she would’ve accepted it. She wouldn’t have had a choice.”
“You stole my spot as Colton’s wife. You stole my identity as the Lundbergs’s real daughter. So, Kenzie, tell me. How the fuck could I not hate you?”
Every vile thing had been done by Kinsey. And yet she stood there, wearing the face of a wronged innocent.
Kenzie felt the blood surge to her head. Her hands shook. Her teeth rattled.
She couldn’t hold back anymore. She raised her hand.
The slap hadn’t even fully landed before Kinsey, that psycho, threw herself backward.
She tumbled down the stairs, second floor to bottom, her body rolling hard.
Just before everything went dark, Kinsey looked up at Kenzie and flashed a provoking, triumphant smile.
The next second, Colton burst out like some knight in shining armor. He scooped Kinsey into his arms and spun toward Kenzie.
His eyes were filled with pure, murderous rage.
Kenzie’s heart dropped straight to her gut.
Was it because she hit Kinsey, or was this the moment Colton finally decided he wanted Kenzie dead?
