Chapter 4
‘Don’t bother. Even if Henry told them, the Whitmores wouldn’t
come, she wondered. ‘They’d just assume this was another one
of her attention–seeking schemes!
“Faking a suicide attempt? How pathetic,” they would say.
Her engagement to Asher was set. Right now, Tessa was
“heartbroken“-and the whole family would be too busy
comforting her to spare Aria a second thought.
Closing her eyes, Aria rested for a while before gritting her teeth
and slowly sitting up. Every movement sent sharp jolts of pain
through her, but she forced herself to stand.
She needed to move.
Just as she took a shaky step forward, a deep voice cut through
the silence. “What are you doing out of bed?”
Bennett’s hand closed around her arm, his towering frame
casting a shadow over her. His gaze was sharp, disapproving.
Aria’s pale cheeks flushed.
“I–I need to use the bathroom,” she muttered, her voice tight with
Chapter 4
embarrassment.
When nature called, it couldn’t be ignored.
Face burning, she hunched slightly, leaning into Bennett’s
support as he guided her to the restroom. His broad shoulders
and imposing stature made her seem almost delicate in
comparison.
By the time she emerged, Bennett was gone.
Probably busy. He’d been on the phone earlier–clearly, he had
matters to attend to.
Deciding not to trouble him further, Aria began the slow,
painful trek back to her bed alone.
Aria leaned against the wall, inching her way back to the room
with slow, unsteady steps.
Just then, the elevator doors slid open.
Familiar voices spilled out.
“Tessa’s always been so sweet and well–behaved–how could she
get this kind of illness? Owen, you have to cure her. It should’ve
been Aria. Why isn’t it Aria who’s sick?”
“Oh, and Asher just told me–he’s postponing the engagement
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party to stay with Tessa during her treatment.”
Aria turned her head.
Sure enough, there they were–Owen and Lucas Whitmore.
To their credit, the Whitmore genes were excellent. Her
brothers were all tall, striking men who stood out effortlessly in
a crowd.
Handsome faces, long legs–girls swooned over them left and
right.
Too bad they were blind and heartless.
Aria let out a low, mocking laugh.
“Why just postpone?” Her voice was hoarse but laced with venom. “Might as well hand my fiance over to her outright. The venue and dresses are already booked–just swap the bride to
Tessa. Problem solved.”
“After all, when has Tessa ever been denied anything she
wanted?”
Owen’s brow furrowed as he took in the sight of Aria–her hospital gown hanging off her frail frame, her skin ghostly pale.
“Aria, don’t be childish,” he said coolly.
Chapter 4
Lucas, however, stormed forward, his lips curling into a sneer.
“Wow, you’re really committing to the act, huh? Even checked yourself into a hospital?” He eyed her bandaged wrist with open disdain. “Weren’t you going to die? Why are you still breathing?”
The sight of Aria’s cold, “ungrateful” face only fueled his fury.
Tessa–kind, gentle Tessa–had just been diagnosed with breast
cancer.
Meanwhile, Aria, the source of all their misery, stood there
perfectly healthy.
It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t it have been her?
Lucas’s eyes burned with resentment. If Aria just disappeared,
the Whitmores would finally have peace.
“The only one who bought your little suicide stunt was Tessa,”
he spat. “She was so worried about you, she rushed down the
stairs, fell, and got hurt. And now they’ve found cancer!”
“If you had even a shred of decency, you’d stop causing trouble.
Tessa’s illness? It’s because of you. How dare you still act like the
victim?”
Aria’s expression darkened.
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Now she remembered. In her past life, the Whitmores had
mistakenly believed Tessa was the one with cancer. When Aria
tried to tell them the truth, they dismissed her as a liar.
Even after the misunderstanding was cleared, their only relief
was that Tessa was safe. No one cared if Aria lived or died.
Aria laughed, staring straight at Lucas with a chilling smile.
“What a coincidence. I have stage two breast cancer, too. Is hers
the same? Let’s see which of us dies first.”
In her past life, the doctors had told her the cancer stemmed
from long–term emotional repression–too much anger, too much
sorrow.
