I sent a quick text to Isabelle Moreau.
“Alley across from the Tech Museum.”
“Damien Thorne is being beaten to death.”
“If you don’t go now, he’ll die.”
Then I immediately blocked the number
before handing the phone back.
I watched from a distance, hidden in the
shadows.
I saw Isabelle rush into the alley with two
guys.
The sounds from the alley became a chaotic
<
mix.
Agonized cries, Isabelle frantically shouting
Damien’s name, Caleb’s furious curses.
About fifteen minutes later, sirens wailed.
An ambulance arrived.
Caleb and his crew scrambled over a wall and
disappeared.
I watched with my own eyes as they carried
Damien out on a stretcher.
He was covered in blood, groaning in pain,
unable to form a single coherent word.
Right after him, they carried out Isabelle.
Blood streamed from her right ear.
Amid the chaos, I put my headphones back on
again.
I turned and walked away.
Damien Thorne, this time the person who
saved you is the one you love.
Let’s see how fucking happy the two of your
can be without me in the picture.
<
2
News broke that very night.
The heir to the Thorne fortune had been
brutally attacked and hospitalized.
Left leg broken.
Right eye blinded by a stab wound.
And his girlfriend, Isabelle Moreau, had
heroically saved him.
But she’d been stabbed in the right ear in the
process, leaving her completely deaf on that
side.
Damien reported it to the police.
He insisted the attackers were led by Caleb
Vance, his father’s bastard son.
But strangely enough, Caleb had an alibi.
He was at an auction out of town that day,
with video footage to prove it.
Suddenly, Damien, the victim, looked like a
liar.
“Is the Thorne heir that scared of the bastard
く
son stealing his inheritance? Is he faking
this?”
“Damn, that’s smart if it is. Willing to hurt
himself that badly.”
“Good thing there was security footage, or his
scheme might have worked.”
I was packing my bags when I saw the news.
Fate gave me a second chance.
It wanted me away from Damien Thorne.
I had to get out of the country, fast.
Minimize any chance of crossing paths again.
A few days later, my visa still wasn’t
processed.
A friend dragged me to a birthday party.
To my absolute shock, I saw Damien Thorne
there.
He was in a wheelchair, a blanket covering his legs, his right eye bandaged.
The recent scandal was still fresh gossip.
Everyone knew he’d supposedly tried to frame
く
his half–brother over the inheritance.
The moment he appeared, people started
pointing and whispering.
I didn’t want any part of their drama.
I turned to leave, but Isabelle Moreau grabbed
my sleeve.
“Chloe Reynolds, you were there! You saw
Damien getting attacked! Why didn’t you save
him?!”
I was stunned.
I turned back and met Damien’s gaze.
His left eye burned with a hatred I recognized.
In our past life, after ten years of marriage, I
only saw that look the moment he pushed me.
This time, it surfaced so much sooner.
Everyone nearby turned to stare.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
I shook my head. “I didn’t see anything.”
“No, you did! Damien found the security
footage from that day!”
く
Isabelle shoved her phone towards me.
The footage clearly showed me walking past
the mouth of the alley.
But the angle was bad.
It showed me passing by, but not the moment
I had peeked inside.
“I really didn’t see anything,” I insisted, trying
to keep my voice steady.
“If I had seen him, of course, I would have
tried to help.”
Hearing me, my friend quickly jumped in to
defend me.
“Don’t talk nonsense, Isabelle. Everyone
knows Chloe has had a huge crush on
Damien for years.”
“If she saw him getting beaten up, she
would’ve jumped in to take the hits for him
without thinking twice.”
My friend’s words made people nod in
agreement.
く
But they also left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Yes, last time I loved him enough to willingly
take that beating.
And my reward was being told, “You don’t
deserve it.”
But Isabelle clearly wasn’t letting it go.
She held up her phone for everyone to see.
“Look! All of you, look! She was walking right
next to the alley entrance! She definitely saw
it!”
“I can’t believe the daughter of the Reynolds
Gym owner would not only watch someone
get beaten and do nothing but also lie about
it!”
Suddenly, all eyes were on me, filled with
accusation.
Even my friend looked at me with doubt.
“Yeah, Chloe,” someone chimed in. “Your dad
runs that martial arts gym. You must know
some self–defense. Why didn’t you help him?”
<
“Maybe Unloe Reynolds thought It Damien
got hurt, she could finally swoop in?”
“Guess she didn’t count on Isabelle being
braver and saving him instead. Bad
calculation on her part.”
The baseless speculation swirled around me.
No matter how much I tried to explain, it was
useless.
Amidst the chorus of accusations, Damien
spoke, his voice cold as ice.
“Chloe Reynolds, I only have one question for
you.”
“Did you refuse to save me because Caleb
Vance paid you off?”
The entire party went dead silent.
Every single person stared at me.
I clutched the fabric of my dress, staring back
at him in disbelief.
“Damien, you know perfectly well I don’t even
know Caleb Vance.”
<
His brow furrowed deeply, making the skin
around the gauze patch look even more
menacing.
After a long, tense moment, he suddenly
signaled for Isabelle to wheel him away.
The situation was left hanging, unresolved.
Everyone exchanged confused glances,
wondering why he hadn’t pressed me further.
But a sickening feeling washed over me.
A terrible premonition.
I had barely left the party when someone
clamped a hand over my mouth and nose,
dragging me away.
