I barely had time to turn my head.
A fist connected with my eye, the impact instantaneous and blinding. Pain exploded across my face as my brow bone split open. Warm blood gushed down, clouding my vision.
Before I could scramble away, the intruder grabbed a heavy vase from the side table.
Crash.
He smashed it against my skull.
Gravity took over. I collapsed, hitting the floor hard.
Blood poured into my eyes and ears, turning the world into a spinning, red-tinted nightmare. My mind went blank, consciousness flickering like a dying bulb.
"Alex Farley!"
The voice dripped with malice.
"Look at you. Pathetic. No different than five years ago when we bagged you up like garbage and tossed you aside."
He kicked me in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me.
"Just like a dog!" he spat. "You think Vivian wants you back? Give it up! She's just bored, taking a walk down memory lane. She'll get sick of you soon enough."
He leaned down, his blurry silhouette looming over me. "Remember this: you're expired goods. Trash we already threw away once!"
He laughed—a cruel, grating sound—and delivered another vicious kick to my stomach.
Darkness crept into my peripheral vision. Just as I thought I was going to pass out, the front door flew open.
Vivian stormed in.
"Stop!"
Her scream tore through the apartment. "Derek, do you have a death wish? Get away from him!"
She didn't wait for him to comply. She hurled the ceramic coffee cup in her hand with terrifying force. It struck Derek squarely in the forehead, splitting the skin. Blood trickled down his face.
"Alex!"
Ignoring Derek, she rushed to my side and dropped to her knees. Her hands hovered over me, trembling. "Someone! Get the car! We need a hospital, now!"
The panic in her voice was raw. It didn't sound like acting.
"Why do you care?" Derek whined, clutching his bleeding forehead. "He's not your husband!"
Vivian whipped her head around, her eyes lethal.
"Shut up."
Her voice dropped to a hiss. "It's not your place to speak. If he dies, I will kill you myself."
The room fell into terrified silence. Only the bone-deep chill of her threat remained.
My vision finally failed me. Darkness swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes again, antiseptic filled my lungs.
Hospital bed.
Voices drifted in from the corridor—muffled, arguing. Vivian and Derek. They were talking about me.
Needles of pain pricked my skull, but I forced myself to sit up. I needed to hear this. Gritting my teeth against the dizziness, I dragged my heavy limbs off the bed and shuffled to the door.
Through the narrow crack, I saw Vivian raise her hand and slap Derek across the face.
Crack.
"I told you to stay away from the apartment," she said, her voice icy. "Why did you come back? Just to cause a scene?"
She looked at him like a criminal under interrogation.
"I..." Derek clenched his fists, face twisted in indignation. "I'm your husband! He's just an ex-boyfriend! Don't my feelings matter at all? I wish Alex Farley was dead!"
Hatred burned in his eyes—pure, unadulterated jealousy.
Smack!
She slapped him again, harder. Her expression didn't flicker.
"Husband?" she scoffed. "We're married in name only. Everything you have—your clothes, your car, your status—I gave them to you. You have no right to interfere with my life."
She stepped closer, her posture dominating. "As long as Alex is safe, I don't care about anything else. Understand?"
Her voice was firm, resolute. As if she would burn the world down just to keep me alive.
"Vivian."
Derek narrowed his eyes, a sneer forming. He decided to play his trump card.
"You want to rekindle your romance with Alex, don't you? But have you forgotten?" His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. "Five years ago, you were the one who ordered the hit. You had him beaten, stuffed into a sack, and thrown into the sea."
He leaned in closer. "If he knew the truth—that you're the reason he almost died—would he still look at you the same way?"
A chill ran down my spine, freezing me in place.
What?
If the truth was that brutal... then why did the diary say she loved me? Why was the content completely the opposite of reality?
"Shut your mouth," Vivian threatened, panic flashing in her eyes for the first time. "As long as you keep quiet and I say nothing, Alex will never know."
She glared at him. "He will believe the diary. He has to."
"That perfection? I created it!"
"Those fabricated pages will become his past memories!"
My heart slammed against my ribs.
So the diary is a lie.
"Derek Walker," Vivian hissed, her voice shaking with barely contained rage. "One more word, and I swear I'll destroy you."
"He doesn't need you to tell him."
I pushed the door open, slow and deliberate. "I already know."
