nna

mmotion erupted in t

of patience he possessed. He kicked the hea

hysical force of the kick sent a visible shudder through

s shrinking inward like a frightened an

ough the narrow slats of the

t the woman he was supposed to marry had woken up from a near-fatal crash. There was only the arrogant, hig

completely flat, studying him with the detached in

r. He visibly flinched, stung by the

urning my head to look at Julia.

alm. "It's scheduled for next month. Hav

ft in topic. She stuttered, "Y-yes. Every politician,

the information. "Good. The

with absolute shock. "Are you insane? He lef

i family cannot afford the humiliation of a canceled wedding. If I call it off now, it will

ed. "I would rather watch the family go to w

the corners of my mouth. "Who

oroughly confused. "Th

y. "I need time. I need to use this period to take ba

lastic IV tube was taped to my skin, restr

ht hand and pinched the pl

g a step forward. "

l tape off my skin and yanked the th

dark red blood instantly bloomed onto the pristine whit

other hand, I threw the heavy blanket off my legs. I gritted my teeth against the

floor. My knees buckled slightly from

ep me upright. Tears were welling in her ey

gged breath and forced my spine to straig

f the bed and pulled it over my thin, embarrassing h

ingle step felt like walking on broken glass, draini

ng. He stopped pacing. His eyes dark

rapped my hand around th

own. "It is time to me