Chapter 2

My mom whispered a few more soothing words, but her eyes kept darting toward the door.

Finally, she spoke softly. "Haley, Seraphina is outside. Do you want to see her?"

I froze. My head started throbbing again, like someone was slicing it with a dull knife.

In my mind, the screeching of tires and the violent crash echoed. All I could see was a blinding flash of red.

But I still forced a sweet, obedient smile. "If you want me to see her, Mom, I will."

A relieved smile appeared on my mom's face.

Seraphina Vance walked in. She stopped at the foot of my bed, clutching her designer bag tightly, her face stained with tears.

She started crying the moment she opened her mouth. "Haley, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you with my car, I swear! Please don't hate me, and please don't come between Julian and me. I love him so much. I'll get down on my knees and beg you if I have to!"

My heart felt ice-cold, but my face remained blank and innocent.

She made a show of lowering herself to the ground, but her eyes kept darting to me. Her half-bent knees froze, making her look incredibly foolish.

Eventually, Julian grabbed her hand and pulled her back up.

Seraphina leaned into his chest, sobbing softly.

His arm wrapped around her waist, but his sharp, piercing eyes were locked onto me.

"You can't entirely blame Seraphina for this. Haley ran out out of nowhere. Seraphina didn't have time to brake."

Was that really what happened?

When I ran into the street, your car was moving slowly. We were at least twenty feet apart.

Through the windshield, I saw Seraphina's face clearly. She was smiling. A cruel, triumphant smile.

And what about you, Julian, sitting in the passenger seat?

You looked at me with nothing but coldness and disgust.

What were you thinking back then?

Were you thinking that I would get out of the way out of fear?

Or did you want this disgusting sister—the one who dared to love you and tried to stop your engagement—to just die?

If Julian hadn't grabbed the steering wheel at the last second and slammed on the brakes, I really would have died under those tires.

I averted my eyes first, looking at the weeping, delicate Seraphina in his arms.

"Seraphina, even though I've forgotten some things, Julian is right. I must have been at fault too. Why would I want to break you two up? We're going to be family soon anyway."

Seraphina was so shocked she stopped crying. Pure joy flashed in her eyes.

Julian still stood like a statue by my bed.

He was tall, his expression dark. When those cold eyes looked down at me, it was like he was looking at something worthless.

And he was right. My life was cheap.

It was only because of the scraps of charity Julian had thrown my way that I became the heiress of the Sterling family.

How could someone as lowly as me ever dare to crave someone so far out of reach?