Chapter 9
“Late-stage cancer?” Shawn scoffed, staring at Hannah with a mocking smile. “You really went all out this time, did- n’t you? Even paid off the nurse?”
Hannah tried to explain, but before she could speak, he shoved her down onto the chair. “Take her blood!”
As the needle slid into her vein, a sharp pain made her fingers twitch.
Blood began to drip through the tube, and her sight started to blur.
“Take more,” Shawn ordered coldly from somewhere in the distance. “Ariana needs every drop.”
Hannah watched the bags fill one by one, and her vision went dark.
The last image before she lost consciousness was Shawn’s back as he walked away without a second glance, heading straight to Ariana’s ward.
When she woke up, a nurse was switching out her IV drip.
Seeing her eyes open, the nurse let out a quiet sigh. “Ms. Yanetta, why didn’t you tell him you have cancer? Losing this much blood is only making your condition worse.”
Staring up at the ceiling, Hannah spoke so softly it was barely a whisper, “There’s no need to.”
Because he wouldn’t believe me, and he wouldn’t care.
Hannah spent the entire day lying in a hospital bed, overhearing nurses quietly chatting nearby.
“Mr. Adelson really cares about Ms. Cauley. He stayed up all night for her.”
“Yeah, he even wiped her face and fed her himself…”
Not wanting to hear any more, she yanked out the IV and decided to discharge from the hospital.
When she got back home, her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
Ariana had sent her more than a dozen photos. In every one, Shawn was tenderly taking care of her, gently wiping her face, feeding her, and pulling the blanket over her shoulders.
Hannah stared at the photos and suddenly gave a bitter smile.
In Shawn’s life, only three people had ever mattered to him.
One was Brielle, one was herself back when he tricked her into marriage, and the last was Brielle’s stand-in.
She didn’t respond to the messages. Instead, she grabbed a lighter from a drawer and tossed everything related to Shawn into a brazier.
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09:43
Chapter 9
The presents he gave her while lying, their pictures together, the couple necklaces he bought…
288 Wouchers
The fire devoured those fake memories, just like it was eating away at the little time she had left.
When Shawn pushed open the door, he found Hannah kneeling in front of the brazier, her pale face glowing in the firelight.
“What the hell are you burning?!” he yelled, storming toward her. He grabbed her neck and shoved her against the wall. “Who gave you permission to touch Brielle’s stuff?!”
She struggled to breathe, her hands weakly clutching at his wrist.
Shawn threw her to the ground, knocking over the brazier and sending glowing sparks into the air.
He shouted, “I’m warning you. If you ever touch Brielle’s belongings again, I’ll make your life a living hell!”
Without giving her a chance to react, he seized her wrist and forced it into the still-burning brazier.
“Ahhh!”
The horrible smell of burnt skin filled the room immediately.
Hannah’s body shook from the pain, and her vision started to fade.
In desperation, she searched blindly with her free hand until her fingers wrapped around a small stone decoration.
“Crack!”
The rock slammed into the side of Shawn’s head, making him cry out and release her.
She quickly pulled her arm back. From her wrist up to her forearm, her skin was swollen and blistered from the burn.
“Take a good look…” Her voice trembled from the pain as she pointed at a photo that was half-burned on the floor. “I’m burning my stuff. Shawn, are you blind?!”
Shawn froze. He lowered his eyes and noticed the scorched picture-his and Hannah’s faces together. Hannah’s smil- ing face was slowly disappearing in the flames.
He felt a jolt in his chest. “You…”
Before he could say anything else, his phone suddenly rang.
On the other end, Ariana’s tearful voice cried out, “Shawn, my stitches tore open. It really hurts…”
Shawn’s expression changed immediately. Without another word, he turned and walked away.
He muttered over his shoulder, “Go ahead and burn it. All your worthless trash.”
As he reached the door, he paused once more and snapped, “Every second I spent pretending to care about you me sick!”
made
He slammed the door behind him. Hannah stared at the dying embers in the brazier, then closed her eyes, wincing in
