Chapter 3

3 From that day on, I started talking to him for real. It wasn't just talking to the ceiling anymore; it was like talking to a friend who just happened to have his eyes closed.

I told him why I was sent here―how Vivian forced me and my dad stayed silent. I told him how my mother died when I was eight because we couldn't afford her treatment.

Vivian had just married in back then and said it wasn't worth the money. I told him my biggest fear wasn't being unmarried, but being controlled by the Vances forever.

“So your three million is my only hope,” I said, twirling the agreement in my hand. “Whether you wake up or not, I’m gone. But I should say thank you.”

I stood up to get some water. As I turned, I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

I whirled around. Hudson’s right index finger, lying outside the duvet, had curled slightly. It wasn't a twitch. The joint had moved inward and then flattened out.

My hand shook, splashing water onto the floor. I lunged for the call button.

Nurses and doctors swamped the room. After a full battery of tests, the neurologist looked amazed. Hudson’s consciousness was returning.

“He’s transitioning from a deep coma to a minimally conscious state,” the doctor explained. “His perception of his surroundings is much stronger than we expected. His hearing is fully restored.”

Fully restored. That meant every word I’d said over the last three months―he had heard it all.

The steak. My complaints. Me saying “thank you whether you wake up or not.” The story of my mother. Vivian’s cruelty.

He heard everything. I stood at the door, watching him. His expression hadn't changed, but I swore the monitor was beating a little faster, like a heart racing.

My face began to burn for no reason. I walked back to the bed and leaned down, my lips almost touching his ear.

“Hudson Ford, if you heard everything, you better remember two things.”

“First, don’t you dare mention the steak to anyone. Second… give me a heads-up before you wake up so I can wash my face.”

The monitor jumped twice. I knew he was laughing, even if his face was still a mask of stone.