Chapter 3

3 I spent a day and a half in the hospital.

Danny told me to keep playing dead.

"Alright, pass me a smoke."

"No smoking in the hospital."

"Then I'm checking out."

"Can't you just use this as an excuse to quit?"

"What are the odds that I'd quit? I might as well just die!"

Danny rolled his eyes and turned away.

"What the hell is going on with you and Jake?"

"Normally, if you so much as got a paper cut, he'd be screaming bloody murder. This time, he didn't even show his face."

I laughed, a cold sound.

"Finally got around to asking, huh?"

"You’ve been dying to, haven't you?"

Shawn stormed into the hospital just as I was about to leave, almost knocking me over.

His eyes were full of worry, and he looked pale.

"Reese, are you alright?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Did you finish your business?"

"I'm going to kill him!"

Not one thing I wanted to hear.

I kicked him in the shin.

He didn't even flinch. He just hunched over and leaned in close.

"I messed up."

I gave him a light slap.

"Did Benny tell you?"

"No, I found out myself."

This kid was getting too sharp. As he got older, he also got more skilled.

He even had the gall to investigate me.

"How's the deal going down south?"

"They're going to be able to solve things."

He looked a little disgruntled as he said this.

"There was no way I wasn't coming back."

I gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Sure, you could."

Shawn trailed behind me, whining and begging for forgiveness.

We walked right into Jake.

He looked cool as a cucumber, holding Olivia's hand.

So, I'd blown his cover, and he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore?

Shawn froze for a second, then his face turned red, and he made a move toward Jake, but I kicked him back.

Danny was standing to the side, looking green around the gills.

Talk about an awkward situation.

"Ms. Reese, are you not feeling well?"

Olivia's innocent voice broke the tension.

I smiled at her.

"Just a little thing. What's wrong?"

She looked a little embarrassed.

"I have a scar I would like to get removed."

I raised my eyebrows. "These days, medicine has come a long way. Shouldnt be a problem."

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be flawed."

Olivia flushed.

"You are pretty too, Ms. Reese."

Jake squeezed her hand tighter.

"We have to go. The doctor is waiting."

"Goodbye, Ms. Reese."

As they passed, Jake politely nodded at me.

Well, fine.

Completely indifferent acquaintances.

On the way home, Shawn looked furious.

I couldn't resist teasing him.

"What's the matter? If I hadn't stopped you, would you really have fought Jake?"

"Shouldn't I?"

"Aren't you afraid of him?"

He pursed his lips.

"I just want you to break up with him."

Ha!

Foolish kid.

Shawn was a stray I picked up in the hallway when I was twenty.

He was eleven years old, locked out of his house by his father and stepmother.

He was wearing spring clothes in the middle of winter, shivering with cold, and covered in bruises.

He grabbed my pants and whimpered that he was hungry.

So I took him home, made him a bowl of ramen, and added a hot dog.

I wasn't on good terms with Jake at the time.

He wouldn't let me interfere in his affairs, wanting me to focus on school.

But he was always getting hurt.

I couldn't stand it.

Money was a real killer.

I compromised with my mother, told her that I had broke up with Jake and wanted to return home to inherit the family business.

My mother scoffed at me.

But she also understood that only I could have access to the stocks.

She hated me.

But she needed me.

She couldn't do anything to me, so she recorded my conversation and played it for Jake.

Jake didn't believe it.

He trusted me.

So he blamed himself.

Blamed himself for not protecting me.

We started arguing.

From arguing about things to arguing about emotions.

Then made up.

Over and over again.

Shawn was an accident.

I gave him food for half a year.

Jake didn't care.

But because he always had a cold and emotionless expression, Shawn was always afraid of him.

Then Shawn's father found out about Shawn's relationship with me.

His turbid eyes looked me up and down, his desire clear.

Shawn must have heard something. He used his pocket money to buy a knife.

He was scared and desperate.

I cooked him a bowl of noodles, took the knife, and told him not to worry about anything.

I let the man into my house, tore my clothes, and pinned me to the bed.

I watched the woman follow behind.

They fought, and the man stabbed the woman in the stomach with a knife.

He fled, taking all the cash from my safe.

The newly installed surveillance recorded everything.

He was caught, sentenced, and severely punished.

This was a perfect plan for me at that time.

Jake said nothing and silently put medicine on me.

After a long time, he opened his mouth.

"You shouldn't have used yourself as bait."

"What am I going to do if something happens to you?"

These words sank into my heart at that time.

But there was another sentence that I didn't understand until many years later.

He said, "You're so dirty. Go take a shower."