Chapter 6%
I wanted to keep my eyes closed forever. As long as I stayed asleep. I wouldn’t have to see Cameron, I wouldn’t have to remember the pain, the betrayal, the feeling of freefall as I let myself go from that rooftop. In sleep, there was silence, in sleep, I didn’t have to fight. But even dreams couldn’t protect me from reality. I knew Cameron. I knew he wouldn’t wait long. He would demand to see me awake. demand the doctors keep me breathing–even if I didn’t want to.
So after two days, I opened my eyes.
Light flooded in. I blinked slowly, letting my vision adjust to the room–white, bright, too clean. The steady beep of machines still echoed in my ears. My whole body ached, but the worst pain was something deeper–something no doctor could heal.
And then I saw him.
Cameron. Sitting at the edge of my bed.
His head was bowed, hands clutched tightly together as if he had been praying. His usually sharp suit was wrinkled. His face, pale and tired. His eyes met mine–and for a moment, the cold–hearted mafia boss was gone.
“Thank God,” he whispered, standing up abruptly.
Before I could react, he wrapped his arms around me gently–carefully, but full of something desperate.
“Alicia… you’re awake,” he breathed. “You’re awake, thank God… I thought I lost you.”
I stiffened.”
He pulled back, tears visibly pooling in his eyes. Tm sorry. For everything – His voice cracked. “I never should’ve the baby, the pain. everything… I can’t take it back, but I swear, I’ll make it right. I’ll change. I promise you, I’ll change”
I stared at him.”
This man–who had tom my world apart–was now crying before me.
Begging.
But I didn’t speak.
Not a word.
Not because I couldn’t. But because I didn’t want to. I thought about pretending I had lost my memories–but that would be too easy to challenge. Too unbelievable.B
So instead. I played mute.
Cameron’s brows furrowed as he looked at me, his voice tentative. “Alicia? Can you… say something? Anything?”
I blinked slowly and tumed my head away.
He stilled. I could feel the panic in the air tighten like a rope between us.
“Doctor!” he called out. “Come. Now.“)
A few moments later, a group of white coats flooded in. I kept my expression neutral. Calm. Distant.
“She’s not speaking.” Cameron said, hovering beside me like a storm about to break. “Is she okay?”
One of the doctors examined me, asking questions I refused to answer. I let my gaze drift toward the window, feigning confusion, detachment.
“She’s showing signs of selective mutism,” the doctor finally explained. “It’s likely the result of extreme psychological trauma–possibly from recent experiences, It’s her mind’s way of coping.”
Cameron didn’t speak. But when I glanced at him, just briefly, I saw it
The gurit. The weight of it was finally settling onto his shoulders.
“I did this,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.X
“She’ll need time,” the doctor continued. “Physical therapy, counseling.. her bones will take months to fully heal. But the mental wounds those will take longer”
Cameron turned back to me, his voice soft. “Then she’ll get everything. Everything she needs”
I said nothing. I didn’t need to. He already believed it. I had my silence. And in that silence, I had control.
Days passed, and he stayed close.
He was there for every therapy session, every nurse check–in, every quiet moment in my room. He fed me when my arms were too weak to hold a spoon. He read to me, thinking it would bring me comfort. He even brushed my hair, as gently as if I were made of glass.
And I let him. Because the longer he stayed wrapped in guilt, the easier it would be to crush him later.
This was what he never taught me when he was hurting me–how to wait. How to play his game.
Now, I was learning
He pulled my wheelchair down the hallway one afternoon, pushing it slowly through the gardens behind the estate. I sat quietly, watching the birds, the breeze, the way his fingers trembled slightly when they gripped the handles.!!
“Cameron!” A high voice shrieked from behind us.
Sofia Of course!
She stormed down the steps in heels and silk, eyes wild and lips curled in disgust. Tve been calling you all day–why are you here with
her again?!
I didn’t even flinch. Cameron didn’t stop pushing.
“Sofia,” he said coldly, “not now.”
Her heels clicked angrily as she marched in front of us to block the path. “So this is it? You’re ignoring me for her? After everything?!“% He finally looked at her
“Leave.
“What?” E
“I said leave.” His voice was sharp now–cutting, commanding.
He stepped forward and pushed her aside, not violently, but with enough force that she stumbled back, shocked.
“I’m busy.” Cameron snapped, “Don’t disturb us again.“8
He turned his back on her like she was nothing.
She gasped. “Cameron, you can’t be serious—!*%
I didn’t turn around.
But I smiled.
Just a little
Because for the first time, she was the one watching me get wheeled away.
And I enjoyed every second of it.
11:26 AM
