Chapter 7

Claire’s POV

When I woke again, I was back in my own hospital room.

My head spun terribly. Bruises spread around the needle marks on my arm, and I was cold all over. Even moving my fingers left me exhausted.

Two nurses were talking outside, their voices carrying through the door.

“She’d already miscarried and lost all that blood, and she still went to donate more. Does she have a death wish?”

“Who knows? Maybe she has a thing for Mr. Prescott.”

The other nurse snorted. “But Mr. Prescott already has a girlfriend. How desperate can she be?”

“Exactly. His girlfriend is so lucky. A couple of days ago, she just scraped her knee. A Band-Aid would’ve done the job, but Mr. Prescott called in all the best doctors in the hospital to examine her from head to toe. He even had eight hundred milliliters of her rare blood type brought in, just in case.”

“I heard from someone on the top floor that he feeds her himself, even holds her water for her. He carries her whenever they go up or down the stairs.”

“And look at this one. A car accident and a miscarriage, barely a few days since they saved her life, and she gets dragged off to have blood drawn again. She’s been here all this time, and not a single family member has visited. It’s awful.”

Their footsteps gradually faded.

So Chloe Reed had only scraped her knee.

For that tiny injury, Julian Prescott had ordered his bodyguards to hold me down and taken eight hundred milliliters of my blood.

I stared at the ceiling. My eyes stung, but I had no tears left.

There was nothing about Julian Prescott I still longed for.

Over the next few days, Julian Prescott didn’t call.

News about Chloe Reed, however, kept coming.

First came the official announcement that she would star in a famous director’s new film. Right after that, she landed a regular spot on a hit variety show.

Less than two days later, a top luxury brand announced her as its global ambassador.

The internet was buzzing. An up-and-coming actress known for her online following had suddenly landed opportunities even A-list stars couldn’t get. No one had to guess who was backing her.

That was how Julian Prescott was. When he loved someone, he gave it everything, as though he wanted the whole world to know.

Seven years ago, he had loved me like that, too.

On the night of my eighteenth birthday, he had rented every advertising screen in the city just to wish me a happy birthday.

Back then, the entire city had known that the Prescott family’s heir cherished me.

Precisely because I knew what he looked like when he loved someone, I could see clearly that he no longer loved me.

Now, looking at those headlines, I felt calm.

Because I no longer loved him either.

I would treat the past seven years as a mistake I had made. It was over now.

But I would never forget what he and Chloe Reed had done to me, and I would never forgive them.

That afternoon, the door to my room opened, and Chloe Reed walked in.

With all the attention she had been getting lately, even her appearance had changed.

She wore a couture skirt suit and flawless makeup. Every gesture radiated confidence and wealth. The innocent act she had put on before was long gone.

She walked up to my bed and looked down at me.

“Seen the news? And the photos I sent you? Now do you understand how much Julian Prescott likes me? No matter how shameless you are, it’s time to back off.”

I regarded her coldly.

“If you were really that confident, you wouldn’t keep coming here to provoke me.”

“You!”

I had hit a nerve. Chloe Reed’s expression shifted, but she quickly suppressed her anger and smiled.

While she wasn’t paying attention, I started recording a video on my phone.

“Those two bags of blood you nearly died giving—do you know where they ended up?”

She bent toward me, her smile unbearably smug.

“In the trash! All I did was tell Julian Prescott I had a rare blood type and might need some, and he dragged you over to have your blood drawn.”

“I heard you miscarried after that car accident. Lost a lot of blood, too. What a shame. Julian Prescott only took eight hundred milliliters. Why didn’t he bleed you dry?”

I didn’t answer. I lifted my phone and pointed the camera at her.

Chloe Reed’s smile froze. “What are you doing?”

“Recording you.”

I waved the phone. “Finished? If not, keep going.”

Chloe Reed’s expression changed drastically. She lunged at me, clawing for my phone.

Just then, the door opened.

I had pressed the call button earlier.

The nurse who had come in response rushed forward and stopped her.

“The patient needs rest. Please leave immediately!”

Chloe Reed tried to lunge at me again, but the nurse called security, and they dragged her out.

I looked down and checked the video. Every word she had said had been captured clearly.

I saved it in the folder with my screenshots, alongside the photos she had sent me before.