Chapter 3

"Stella, you've been asleep for a long time. Everything's okay now. I'm right here."

I stiffly turned my eyes to him. My belly felt hollow. My heart felt hollow, too. "Adrian." My voice was so faint, it felt like it would disappear any second. "I hurt so much."

Adrian's eyes were bloodshot. He casually picked up a fruit knife from the table and sliced his own palm. "Don't be scared, Stella. Adrian will hurt with you."

Blood dripped onto the floor. My memories swam for a moment. Throughout those years I was lost in my haze, Adrian had stayed by my side, never leaving, his devotion bordering on obsession.

Countless doctors had told him I was beyond help, that recovery was impossible. Everyone urged him to give up.

He just looked at me, barefoot in the yard. He smiled, took off his shoes, and walked with me on the pebbles, until the ground was stained with blood. "If she can't get better, then I, Adrian King, don't mind being a self-deceiving fool for the rest of my life."

While I was lost in thought, Adrian stroked my face. "Stella, how about that pretty lady moves into our home to take care of you from now on?"

I was incredulous, but still instinctively shook my head. "I hate her!"

Adrian, however, didn't catch the emotion in my words. "Stella's the best. Don't be difficult. That lady is like this because of you; we should repay her doubly."

He made the decision, leaving no room for argument. After I was discharged, Chloe moved into the King mansion, ostensibly to care for me.

Adrian had her move into the top-floor attic. When Chloe complained, he merely glanced at her, his tone flat. "Stella likes quiet. If you have a problem with that, you can get out of the King residence."

After returning from the hospital, I had nightmares every night. Waking up again, the spot beside me in bed was already cold.

I quietly made my way up to the attic. Suppressed, desperate gasps echoed from behind the door. Chloe's voice was thick with tears and indignation. "You make me move in, then humiliate me like this? Adrian, does it thrill you to see me cry?"

"After all this, you're just too scared to admit you're in love with me, aren't you?"

Adrian's shadowed profile was hidden in the crack of the door. He didn't speak, but his movements turned savage. His ring-adorned hand traced Chloe's scarred abdomen, eliciting a shiver. "You? You're not even worthy."

I don't remember how I got back to my room. It wasn't until my phone screen lit up that I snapped back to reality. "Ms. Sterling, we've located your family through the genetic database."

I tugged at my lips. My long-numb face finally managed a smile, even as tears streamed down.

The next day, a loud commotion woke me.

"Who puts baby's breath in a garden? It's so lame. Dig them all up and replace them with my favorite roses!"

"But Miss Chloe, Mr. King personally planted all of these for Stella..."

Chloe's face contorted into a snarl. She slapped the gardener hard. "Are you blind? Can't you see who the future lady of this house is?"

The gardener, not daring to delay, immediately brought in the roses. Chloe caught sight of me coming downstairs, and disdainfully blew on her nails.

I calmly watched her. She frowned, her gaze locking onto my eyes.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, her face contorted in shock. "You..." Before she could utter another word, Adrian strode over, picked me up, and gently placed me on a soft blanket.

"Silly Stella, why aren't you wearing shoes again?" He turned his head, his eyes flashing a warning. Then, without a hint of mercy, he stomped on the roses at his feet, crushing them. "The King residence doesn't need any flowers other than baby's breath."

The gardener, looking pale, immediately agreed and rushed to dispose of the roses. Chloe bit her lip, her eyes red-rimmed.

After nightfall, a large fire suddenly erupted in the garden. Chloe stood in the center of the flowerbed, her face streaked with tears. "I like roses! If you force me to like these wild weeds, I'd rather die!"

"Adrian, don't go! It's dangerous!" I instinctively grabbed Adrian. But he roughly threw me to the ground and plunged into the blazing inferno. His eyes bloodshot, he scooped up Chloe, completely ignoring the burns on his own forearm.

"Crazy woman!" Chloe looked up and kissed him, biting his lips until they bled. "I am crazy! If you don't like it, just leave me alone!"

The servants' sympathetic glances all turned to me. Watching them kiss so brazenly in the flames, I calmly got to my feet, wiping the blood from my forehead where I'd hit it. Like an idiot, I turned and walked away.