Chapter 99
Chapter 99:
Skye sat on the edge of the bed in her private room. Her arm was in a sling, and a bandage covered a nasty cut on her temple. The doctors wanted to keep her for observation under concussion protocol, but she felt fine. Or rather, she felt nothing, which was better than fine.
“Miss Sterling?” A nurse poked her head in. “Your husband is out of surgery. He’s in the ICU. He’s stable, but his injuries are severe. Multiple fractures, internal bleeding. It will be a long recovery p>
Skye nodded. She didn’t ask for details. She pulled the IV out of her arm. A droplet of blood welled up, bright red against her pale skin.
She walked down the hallway. Her bare feet made no sound on the linoleum.
The ICU was a quiet zone. Machines beeped rhythmically, the heartbeat of the building.
Skye stopped outside Room 304. The blinds were partially open. She looked inside.
Liam was lying in the bed, looking small amid the wires and tubes. His head was wrapped in bandages. His leg was elevated in a cast and traction.
But he was not alone.
Seraphina was there.
She wore a yellow isolation gown over her street clothes, looking like a devout nun. She sat by the bed, holding Liam’s uninjured hand to her cheek. She was crying, soft, pretty tears that caught the light.
Beatrice was nowhere to be seen. The matriarch had likely gone home to manage the press, leaving a vacuum Seraphina had eagerly filled. The nurses, too overworked to police the family drama, had let her stay.
Skye watched.
She saw Liam stir. His eyes opened to slits.
“Liam,” Seraphina sobbed. “Oh, thank God. You’re awake. I was so scared p>
Liam blinked, trying to focus. He looked around the room. His gaze darted to the door, then back to Seraphina. His lips moved. The glass muffled his voice, but Skye could read lips. She had learned to read them across boardrooms.
Where is Skye?
𝗢r𝘨𝘢𝗻і𝘻𝘦 𝗒o𝘶𝗋 𝗋еad𝗶𝗇𝗴 lis𝘁 о𝗻 be𝗅𝗻𝘰𝗏е𝗅ѕ.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Seraphina stiffened. She leaned in close, stroking his hair.
“She’s gone, Liam,” Seraphina said. Skye saw the words clearly. “She wasn’t hurt badly. Just a scratch. Alistair Thorne came and picked her up. They left together while you were in surgery p>
It was a lie so bold, so cruel, that Skye felt the breath leave her lungs.
Liam’s face crumpled. The hope in his eyes died, replaced by a deep, crushing agony. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. He squeezed Seraphina’s hand. Not out of love, but out of desperation—because she was the one who stayed.
Skye reached for the door handle. Her fingers brushed the cold metal.
She could go in there. She could scream the truth. She could tell him she dragged his heavy body through fire to save him.
She could tell him she was the reason he was breathing.
But then she saw him squeeze Seraphina’s hand again.
He believed it. He believed she would abandon him. After five years, he knew her so little that he believed she would leave him dying in a ditch to run off with another man.