Chapter 24
Sloane’s POVM
Watching Gunner walk away, I actually laughed.
I laughed so hard that tears spilled down my face–until the pain overtook me and everything went black.
That got me lying in the hospital for half a month.
And in all that time, the only person who came to visit me… was my assistant.
Not Gunner. Not a single member of my so–called family.
I looked at the scratch on my face in the mirror, and whatever love I still had for Gunner… chipped away just a little more.
The doctor said the scar could be removed with cosmetic treatment.
But I refused.
‘I want to see it. Every day. I want to remember what he did to me. Someday, I swear, I’ll let him go. Completely!‘
“Miss Sloane, we should head out. I think I just saw Sir Gunner in the lobby.”
“Sure.”
Kaylee Norton, my assistant, gave me a strange look.
I guess she still hadn’t adjusted to how indifferent I sounded when we talked about him.
Everyone in the company knew–I was always chasing after him, throwing myself at a man who never once reached back.
I didn’t expect to run into him again so soon…
Especially not like this.
I was passing by another office after signing discharge papers, and I heard someone call his name.
“With all due respect, sir Gunner, are you out of your mind? You had her name tattooed there–of all places? Now, it’s inflamed! You seriously love that woman that much? I’m sorry, but you’re insane!“W
And Gunner just smiled.
A warm, blissful, almost dreamy smile.
“You don’t get it,” he said. “All I think about is pinning her under me and making her cry for mercy. But I’m afraid I’ll scare her off. So to ease my longing, I had her name tattooed here–it makes me feel like she’s beneath me.“M
Coming from a man like him–always cold, always in control–it didn’t sound vulgar.M
It sounded… possessive. Addicted. Intimate.
And they hit me like a freight train. My knees buckled, and I had to take a step back.
My face looked probably as pale as a ghost.
Even my assistant could feel it–the way I started to shake.
I glanced inside the room. The doctor was treating him there–at the most private part of him.
He’d put Brandi’s name there. He didn’t care if it got infected.
‘How much do you have to love someone to do something like that?‘
“Honestly, I don’t get what you see in her. Isn’t Miss Sloane better in every way?”
And just like that, Gunner’s face twisted in disgust.
“She’s not worthy,” he said flatly. “This place is reserved for Brandi only. There’s only one woman I’ve ever wanted–and that’s Brandi.“N That one sentence–so sharp, so brutal–cut deeper than anything he’d ever said to me before.
At that moment, I completely fell apart, utterly humiliated.
I couldn’t listen anymore–because I knew what would come next: more confessions of love, more worship for my sister.N
Every word like a knife, every sentence a reminder that I was never enough,!!
“Miss Sloane,” Kaylee said gently, “Mrs. Heurich’s 80th birthday is coming up in a few days. You just got out of the hospital. Should I send your regrets?“%
But it had been a while since anyone had seen me in public.
And there wasn’t time to order anything custom, so we went shopping instead.#
Til try all of these, please ”
“Right away, mart
But before I could step into the fitting room, the boutique manager rushed over phone still in hand–and stopped the salesgirl
“Sorry, ma’am. The Camegies sole heir just bought everything in the boutique
“All these dresses are to be sent to the Bloombergs‘ place–for the youngest daughter Hurry up and get them packed!”
I took a deep breath.
It took everything in me not to explode right there.
“Miss Sloane, 1.”
I didn’t believe it at first
11:17 AM MM ·
It took everything in me not to explode right there.
“Miss Sloane, I…”
I didn’t believe it at first.
I thought, ‘Fine–he bought out one boutique. What could he possibly do, buy out the whole street?‘
It turned out… yes. Yes, he could.
Every boutique I entered. Every time I found something I liked. Every time I reached for my wallet–someone stopped me.
Every time, the same message.
“Send all of it to the Bloombergs‘ place. It’s for the youngest daughter.”
I knew what Gunner was doing–he wanted to humiliate me.”
This was payback after I gave Brandi’s script to another actress two days ago.”
