Rosamond stumbled back home and packed her things like a marionette, every movement hollow and mechanical.
All she wanted was to leave this place that had given her both boundless joy and unbearable pain, and never come back.
But the moment she reached the door, several bodyguards seized her and forced her into a car.
Rosamond fought with everything she had.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!"
She was no match for them. They dragged her to the hospital and threw her to the ground.
Every bone in her body screamed on impact. She forced herself to lift her head, and there stood Bryce, his face dark as a storm.
He stared down at her, his voice cutting through the sterile air.
"Satisfied now?"
"How did I end up with a wife this vicious? You'll stop at nothing to get rid of Olympia. Aren't you afraid of what's coming for you?"
Rosamond frowned, unable to understand what he was talking about.
Bryce caught the confusion in her eyes and scoffed.
"Don't tell me you didn't know Olympia has a clotting disorder."
"You heartless woman. You deliberately scratched her wrist underwater. She's still bleeding and they can't stop it."
"You're a lawyer, Rosamond. Don't you know that killing someone means paying with your life?"
Rosamond rushed to defend herself.
"How could I have scratched her? Have you forgotten? I can't even—"
Bryce cut her off before she could finish, impatience carved into every line of his face.
"Olympia got hurt because of you. You're going to take responsibility."
"Take her in. Draw her blood. However much Olympia lost, that's how much comes out of her."
A deafening buzz filled Rosamond's skull. She never imagined Bryce could be this unhinged.
Her chest caved inward, as though something had clamped down on her lungs and refused to let go.
The bodyguards closed in. Rosamond thrashed against their grip.
"Bryce, this is illegal!"
"You can't do this to me!"
Bryce walked over and crouched in front of her. His fingers seized her chin, tilting her face up. His eyes were pure malice.
"Now you want to talk to me about the law?"
"Why didn't you think about consequences when you were hurting Olympia?"
"Take her in."
They dragged her into the operating room. She fought every inch of the way, and none of it mattered.
The needle slid into her vein, cold as ice, and the pain tore through her as though it had pierced her heart.
She felt her blood leaving her body. And with it, the last trace of love she had ever held for Bryce Delgado.
She told herself to endure it. He wouldn't actually let her die.
But the minutes crawled by, and no order came from outside to stop.
Rosamond felt herself being hollowed out. Her body grew so weak she couldn't even keep her eyes open.
A bitter ache rose in her chest.
Was she really going to die here today?
She wasn't ready. She had been so close to starting over.
Meanwhile, in the hospital corridor, a doctor stood before Bryce, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Mr. Delgado, your wife has already had 1500cc drawn. She's at her absolute limit. If we continue, something will go very wrong."
Bryce barely glanced at him.
"How's Olympia?"
The doctor hesitated, stammering.
"Miss Galloway, her wound is quite deep. She's still in emergency treatment."
Under Bryce's withering stare, the doctor wiped his brow and forced the words out, his voice shaking.
"But rest assured, Miss Galloway is no longer in critical danger."
Only then did the edge in Bryce's gaze soften, just barely.
The doctor ventured carefully.
"Then... your wife..."
Bryce considered this for a moment, his tone flat.
"Keep going. Draw the full 2000cc."
"If I don't teach her a lesson this time, there's no telling what she'll do to Olympia next."
The doctor opened his mouth to protest, but under the weight of Bryce's stare, the words died in his throat.
Rosamond woke in a hospital bed.
She was so weak she couldn't sit up.
She reached for her phone to call her mother and knocked over the glass of water on the nightstand.
A familiar hand appeared, offering her a cup of warm water.
Rosamond forced her eyes open. Bryce's face filled her vision, inches away.
He propped her up and brought the cup to her lips.
"I know you're still upset, but you went too far yesterday."
"If I didn't teach you a lesson, how would I face Olympia?"
"Come on, don't be angry. I'll take you to visit your parents in a couple of days. That should make up for it, right?"
Rosamond listened to his magnanimous tone and, for the first time, felt a wave of pure disgust at herself.
How pathetically small had she made herself, that Bryce Delgado believed a visit to her parents was a grand enough favor to offer?
Grand enough to cancel out having 2000cc of blood ripped from her body.
When she didn't respond, Bryce took her silence for surrender. He smiled and ruffled her hair.
"I knew my Rosa would be a good girl."
"The person you should really be thanking is Olympia. She knew perfectly well you scratched her on purpose, and she still chose not to press charges."
"So to show your gratitude, don't you think you should hand over all your professional contacts and resources at the firm to her?"
