Chapter 4

4: 4

4

Once I'd dealt with the studio, I went to the hospital for a tetanus shot.

Maybe it was the reaction to the shot, or maybe it was everything my heart had been through, but somewhere in the middle of the night the fever took me.

I burned all over, drifting in and out, strange fractured scenes surfacing behind my eyes.

I saw Emmet holding me, his arms wrapped around my scorching body, wiping my forehead and my neck.

Lifting a cup of water to my lips, coaxing me to take the medicine.

His eyes red as he said it.

"Mona, I was wrong."

Then the scene shifted, and my mother was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at me with reddened eyes.

I wept in a panic, my voice caught in my throat, breaking apart.

"Mom, I didn't keep the thing you left me safe. Are you blaming me?"

She shook her head and slowly reached out her hand, brushing the tears from the corner of my eye.

"Mona, I'm not blaming you. I only want to tell you this: if you aren't happy, leave while you still can."

She touched my forehead and said softly,

"My sweet Mona deserves the best kind of love."

I tried to reach out and hold her, but my fingers closed on empty air.

I jerked my eyes open and found the room pitch dark.

So it had been a dream.

I pushed myself up to sit, stumbled half-asleep to the living room, took the fever medicine, and lay back down.

Only when the sky began to lighten did my strength come back, and I started to pack.

As I taped shut the first box, the lock turned.

Emmet came in, his face cold.

"Mona, are you done with this act yet?"

I said nothing and kept sealing the next box, not looking up.

"Can't you hear me talking to you?"

He crossed the room, snatched the tape roll out of my hand, his eyes sharp.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

The motion pulled at my wound, and the pain made me frown.

"What do you want to hear?"

"Still keeping it up?"

He gave a cold snort and threw his phone onto the couch.

"Who told you to put everything that happened at the studio yesterday online?"

"Do you have any idea how ugly the things those people are saying are?"

"You won't stop until you've driven Adela into a depression, will you!"

I looked down. The whole argument from the studio yesterday had been posted online.

From the angle of the video, it had been filmed from outside the studio.

The comments were all condemning Adela Henson as a manipulator, saying she had hands and no decency about where she put them.

Some were asking why I hadn't just slapped the two of them into next week.

I let out a small scoff, opened the phone dialer, keyed in three digits, and looked at him.

"You want to call the police, or should I?"

Emmet's brow knitted.

"Do we really need to waste resources on this? Who else besides you would ever—"

Just then his phone buzzed. His assistant.

【Mr. James, we've traced it. A tourist happened to be passing by, filmed it, and posted it online…】

I gave my phone a little shake.

"You can read, can't you? I don't need to read it out loud for you, do I?"

Emmet froze, his face turning awkward.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's fine."

I cut him off and started gathering up the books.

"She's your student, your subordinate. I understand."

He stood there for a few seconds, then quickly pulled me up off the floor, his tone softening a little.

"You've still got that cut on your hand. Let me pack for you."

He pressed me down onto the couch and started putting the books into the box, asking offhandedly,

"What are you packing all this up for?"

An urgent phone call cut off the words I was about to say.

Emmet's brow furrowed as he spoke into it.

"Okay, I understand. I'll come back with you."

"Mr. Henson's health has always been good. Don't panic too much."

The call ended, and he looked at me, apologetic.

"Mr. Henson's been hospitalized. I have to go over. Wait for me at home, and I'll definitely be back before the wedding."

I nodded.

"Go."

Once the door closed, I contacted a courier to ship the luggage to the new address.

I slid one of the invitations, already filled out, from the stack and tucked it under the pillow.

Then I unpinned him, blocked him, deleted him.

……

Three days later, Mr. Henson's condition improved after surgery and he was moved to a regular ward. Emmet took Adela Henson out to eat.

Out of nowhere, the memory surfaced of that unhesitating "Go" Mona had given him before he left.

Right after that he remembered the wedding was only days away, and he hadn't even sent out the invitations.

He'd barely sat down at the restaurant and mass-sent the invitations when a mutual friend of his and Mona's popped up with a question mark.

【What's going on with you and Mona?】

【She got married a couple of days ago. Why does your invitation still have her name on it?】