Chapter 2
378words
"Eric?" My voice cracked with surprise. "You're back?"
Charles's half-brother—same father, different mothers—who usually ran his empire from overseas. The quiet powerhouse of the Kosters family.
Eric's gaze locked on my swollen cheek, his eyes darkening with a mixture of rage and something deeper.
"Just landed," he said, hesitating slightly. "Wanted to check on you. James mentioned you were at the hospital."
His eyes dropped to the medical report I'd forgotten on the floor.
He crouched down, snatched it up, and scanned the contents. His brow furrowed. "HPV high-risk positive? Hey, don't panic. This isn't the death sentence it used to be. I'll get you the best specialist in the country. We'll handle this."
His words threw me a lifeline when I was drowning. "Thank you," I whispered.
He brushed a strand of hair from my face. "Between us? Never say that word again."
Within minutes, he'd arranged an appointment with a top gynecologist and insisted on driving me there himself.
Every invasive test stripped away another layer of dignity, and whatever pathetic feelings I still harbored for Charles evaporated with each clinical touch.
Eric waited outside the whole time, pacing the hallway like a sentinel.
When I emerged, face ashen, he touched my elbow gently. "Let me take you somewhere for food. You look like you might collapse."
I shook my head. "I appreciate it, but I can't. Today marks five years since Mom died. I need to visit her."
Eric nodded, something unreadable flashing across his face as he watched me walk away. Not just pity—something deeper, more complex.
I caught a taxi to the hillside cemetery that overlooked the city.
The lilies in my hand felt heavier than they should, much like my heart.
Only here, among the dead, could I finally drop the mask I wore for the living.
The moment the flowers touched the cold stone, a commotion erupted behind me—hurried footsteps and the unmistakable pop of camera flashes.
"There she is!" A voice cut through the sacred silence. "The whore who trapped a Kosters!"
I spun around to find Vivian Woods storming toward me, a pack of hungry reporters in her wake.
Camera flashes exploded like strobe lights, momentarily blinding me as I raised a hand to shield my face.
