Chapter 3

3

The smell of bleach in the hospital was nauseating.

Luke touched the bandage on my forehead. "When that truck hit, she was the closest person to me."

His voice sounded strained. "I panicked and my body just acted on instinct to protect her."

I just stared at him blankly.

But I remembered a time before.

I had been kidnapped and thrown into the ocean.

Luke had jumped in from thirty feet away, reaching me in seconds to hold me tight. He had broken every human limit for me then.

Now, he was talking about uncontrollable instincts.

Was he unable to control himself, or did he just stop loving me?

I didn't want to fight about it anymore. I just closed my eyes. "Okay."

He suddenly grabbed my wrist hard. "Leah, I apologized! What more do you want from me?"

I pulled my hand away. "Do you want me to scream? Do you want me to ask why you didn't save me?"

"Luke, it's been ten years."

"The way you look at Lydia isn't innocent at all."

Luke's face paled as I stared him down. A flash of panic crossed his features.

"I would never betray you," he stammered.

Right. He wouldn't betray me, but he never said he hadn't fallen for her.

I closed my eyes to hide the exhaustion.

The hospital door pushed open.

Lydia limped into the room, her eyes red from crying.

"Leah, please don't be mad. This is all my fault," she sobbed.

She suddenly dropped to her knees by my bed.

"Leah, I know you hate me. I've been having nightmares lately because of it."

"It's all my fault. I'll keep making up for it until you can forgive me."

Luke looked concerned. "Nightmares? Since when?"

"Every night. It must be God punishing me for coming between you two."

Luke's brow furrowed. He looked at me. "Leah, you still have that lucky charm I got for you, right?"

"Let Lydia borrow it for a while."

That charm was something Luke had spent a day and night praying for on his knees after I took a bullet for him years ago.

It was the most important thing I owned.

And now, he wanted me to just give it away to her.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant, icy hand.

I took a breath, ripped the red string from my neck, and threw it at his face. "Get out."

After they left, the door opened again.

Luke's mother walked in, her expression complicated.

Years ago, after I saved Luke, she treated me like a queen. She said I was the savior of their family.

But now, all that gratitude had been erased by time.

She walked over to my bedside.

"Luke has been living in your shadow for ten years, Leah."

"The whole city laughs at him, saying he only succeeded because of a woman. Please, just let him go."

"He doesn't love you anymore. Just set him free."

She grabbed my hand, her eyes full of pleading.

"Just leave."

I closed my eyes, a single tear falling onto my palm.

"Fine," I whispered.

Satisfied, his mother left.

I dragged my weak body toward the bathroom and heard familiar voices nearby.

Lydia was hugging Luke's waist, confessing her feelings. "Luke, you are the light of my life. Just seeing you makes me happy."

"You love me too, don't you?"

Luke froze. Struggle flashed in his eyes, but he eventually pushed her hands away.

"No. Leah will always be Mrs. Miller. She is the only one I am allowed to love."

He left Lydia there, crying alone.

My heart didn't even flicker.

I knew Luke too well.

He was already in love with her.