Chapter 10
I hesitated for a moment before answering the call.
“Grace, where the hell have you been these past few days? Carrie’s liver cancer has relapsed. She’s in the hospital again, and she might need another transplant from you. Come back right away! Oh, and return the bridal gift money Josh gave you. Carrie’s hospital bills need to be paid.”
Before I could say a word, the line went dead.
When Lucas knocked on the door, I was wiping away tears in secret. He thought I was in pain again and rushed to my side, his expression tense.
Í shook my head, signaling that I was fine, then handed him a bank card.
“Lucas, I need your help again. Transfer 32,000 dollars to the account on this paper. Account name, Josh Beaumont. The bridal gift money he gave me a year ago was 30,000 dollars. The extra 2,000 dollars is interest.”
Whatever remained in the account, I had Lucas send it all to George.
That night, just as I was about to fall asleep, the pain in my abdomen flared up again. I curled up, biting back the discomfort.
My phone rang. The caller ID flashed: Carrie’s Brother.
I pressed my lips together, swallowed the pain, and picked up the call.
“Grace, Carrie’s condition isn’t looking good. Can you stay away from Josh? Don’t let her misunderstand anymore, she-”
I cut him off.
“Nick, I promise you, I’ll stay far away. I’ll go somewhere you’ll never find me. Nick… thank you. For treating me like your sister ten years ago.”
Nick’s voice grew urgent. “Grace, where are you? What do you mean by that?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “If there’s a next life, I hope I never meet any of you again.”
The phone slipped from my hand as a wave of dizziness overtook me. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor.
Somewhere, I could hear Nick shouting my name, but his voice was distant, like it was coming from the other side of a thick glass
wall.
