Chapter 5

Her face was wet with tears, making her look so fragile and wronged that anyone watching would have assumed she was the victim.

My chest tightened.

So this was what the entire evening had been about.

Not me.

Her.

“Darling, I’m sorry,” Sabrina whispered. “I should have been grateful that you brought me out, but then I saw you with her. You were so gentle with her, and suddenly I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I lost control and fell. Did I ruin your anniversary with Miss Sinclair?”

“Of course not.”

Vincent wiped her tears away without hesitation.

“I’m worried about you. You don’t look well, so I’ll have someone take you back and arrange for a specialist to examine you. You need to rest.”

“I don’t want anyone else. They can’t make me feel better. You’re the only one who can, so please don’t send me away.”

Vincent studied her, something dark flickering through his eyes.

“You really believe I’m the only cure you need?”

“Then prove it.”

He gave a quiet laugh before pulling her close and kissing her.

I stood frozen.

“Better?” he murmured.

“A little,” Sabrina whispered. “But I still need more.”

Her hands moved over him, deliberately teasing until his breathing changed.

“Are you doing this because you’re sick,” Vincent muttered, “or because you want to drive me crazy?”

“Why can’t it be both?”

He pushed her against the table, and whatever restraint he had left disappeared.

I flinched.

Four years ago, I had seen Sabrina naked on his desk, begging him for a chance.

“Please, just once…”

Vincent hadn't even looked at her.

“Get her out of my office.”

Then he had covered my eyes and pulled me against him.

“Don’t look, Amara. She disgusts me. I’ll only ever touch one woman, and that woman is you.”

I had believed him.

Now, there was no disgust in his eyes as he touched Sabrina.

Only tenderness.

I couldn't watch anymore, so I turned and walked away with trembling legs.

When Vincent returned, he acted as though nothing had happened. He came toward me carrying a box.

“Amara, this hotel belongs to you now.”

I stared at him.

“The transfer documents are inside. Since we celebrated our anniversary here, I thought you should have it.”

Billions of dollars, handed to me as casually as a bouquet.

People around us stared with envy. They thought I had everything.

They had no idea.

Then I noticed Sabrina coming down the stairs in her waitress uniform, her face hidden behind the mask again. No one recognized her, but I knew immediately.

She looked furious.

A moment later, she returned to arranging the champagne tower. She carefully stacked the glasses until, suddenly, her ankle twisted.

She grabbed the tablecloth.

The entire tower collapsed.

Glass exploded across the ballroom.

Vincent reacted instantly.

He ran toward Sabrina, not me.

He wrapped himself around her, shielding her from the flying shards. I had already moved away, but his body struck mine as he rushed past.

I fell.

My head hit the floor, and everything went white before blood began running down my face. Glass cut into my skin, and pain spread through my body until I could barely breathe.

Yet somehow, I smiled.

I had once believed Vincent loved us both.

Now I knew that if he ever had to choose, he already had.

When I woke, I was in a hospital bed.

“Amara,” Vincent murmured beside me, sounding almost guilty. “I was trying to protect you. Everything happened so quickly. I thought I was reaching for you, but I grabbed the wrong person.”

The wrong person.

He kept kissing my hand as though his affection could undo what had happened.

I stared at him without feeling anything.

“What about the waitress?”

Vincent paused.

“She was careless. I’ve already had her blacklisted. She won’t be able to work anywhere again.”

I stared at him, then laughed.

Sabrina wasn't even a waitress.

So what kind of punishment was that supposed to be?

It was meaningless.

Vincent seemed relieved by my laughter, apparently believing I was fine again.

Afterward, he stayed beside me and became the devoted husband everyone expected him to be. He checked my IV, treated my wounds himself, and even peeled a lychee before holding it to my mouth.

“Eat.”

I did.

When I reached the seed, he held out his palm without saying anything. I dropped it there, just as I had done countless times before.

The nurses passing by looked at me enviously.

If only they knew.

Then his phone rang.

That familiar ringtone.

Vincent paused before standing.

“Amara, something came up at the company. I need to deal with it. I’ll be back soon, so don’t wait for me.”

I nodded.

Only after he had completely disappeared did I activate the receiver in the ring.

That was when I learned Sabrina was in the hospital too.

But unlike me, she barely had a scratch.

Vincent wasn't treating her injuries because there weren't any worth treating.

Instead, his voice came through the receiver, lower and rougher.

“Hold still. You’re going to make a mess.”

My body stiffened.

I didn't want to listen, but I couldn't stop.

“Darling, if you keep me locked away like that, I’m going to lose my mind,” Sabrina whispered. “I can’t breathe in that place anymore. It feels like I’m dying slowly. Please don’t send me back. I want to go outside. I want people to see me. I want to stand beside you, even if she’s there.”

My grip tightened around the ring.

“I even want to be close to you like this,” she continued, her voice hesitant. “Even if Miss Sinclair is nearby…”

I closed my eyes.

“Be careful what you ask for,” Vincent warned, his voice dropping dangerously.

I didn't need to hear what came after.

I switched the receiver off.

My hand was trembling, but my chest felt strangely empty. There was no anger left, no jealousy, not even enough strength to cry.

After everything, Vincent had said that word again.

“Fine.”

Three days later, I was discharged from the hospital.