Chapter 9
Consciousness returned to Aria with a wave of sharp, throbbing pain.
Through the fog of her deep sleep, a memory surfaced—a firm, warm hand holding hers, a constant presence. She suspected it was Cade, but quickly pushed the notion away. The idea was absurd. Kendra was the only one he cared for. She meant nothing to him, alive or dead. It was foolish to think otherwise.
The door swung open without warning. Kendra stood in the doorway, a large thermos in her hands.
A strange, tight smile formed on her lips when she noticed Aria was conscious.
“Aria, look what I brought. Chicken soup. See? I can be a good friend, can’t I?”
Before Aria could respond, Kendra twisted the lid off and lunged, aiming to douse her with the steaming liquid.
Aria reacted instantly, shifting her body to avoid the attack, but she wasn’t fast enough. The scalding soup splashed across her arm, searing the already raw wounds. The pain was immediate, a blinding fire.
“Kendra, what is wrong with you?” Aria’s first instinct was to retaliate, to hurl the thermos back at her, but she was too frail. In her weakened state, she knew it was a fight she couldn't win.
“Oh, something’s definitely wrong with me. I’m incurable.” With a chilling lack of hesitation, Kendra tipped the thermos and poured the remaining hot soup over her own arm. “The only thing that will fix me is seeing you dead,” she added, her voice like ice.
Then, her expression shifted to one of sheer panic. She started to scream. “Cade! Help! Aria’s trying to hurt me! Somebody help!”
Cade had only been gone for a moment to answer his phone. At the sound of Kendra’s screams, he rushed back into the room. He saw Kendra’s arm, red and blistered, soup still dripping from her skin.
Kendra put on a convincing show of agony. “Cade, I was only trying to make peace. I didn’t want to cause more trouble for you. I brought her soup to apologize, but… I never thought…”
Tears welled in her eyes as she held out her injured arm for him to see. The performance was flawless; the burn was all the proof he needed.
Cade’s expression softened as he gently gathered Kendra into his embrace. “Kendra, how bad is the pain?”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and tearful, a picture of vulnerability that ignited his protective instincts.
He looked at Kendra with tender concern. Then his gaze fell upon Aria, and his face hardened into a mask of cruel indignation. “Aria, you never change, do you? I shouldn’t have expected anything more.”
Aria remained silent. She knew defending herself was pointless. When trust is gone, any explanation just sounds like an excuse.
Her own burns were far worse, but she refused to show them to him. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
She remembered her mother’s words. A woman should only reveal her vulnerability to a man who truly sees her. “Without love, everything else is just a joke.”
She had no intention of making a joke of her own suffering for Cade’s amusement.
The room fell quiet as soon as Cade escorted Kendra out. Aria sank back against the pillows, her mind replaying his long-forgotten promises. The man who swore he would protect her was the very one who had inflicted the deepest wounds.
She was still weak, her body exhausted from the trauma. The burning pain in her arm wasn’t enough to keep her awake. She soon drifted back into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
The following morning, she awoke and inspected the damage. Large, ugly blisters had formed on her skin. Despite the severity of the burn, she left it uncovered, hiding it beneath the sleeve of her loose-fitting hospital gown before making her way downstairs to see Leo.
As she walked down the sterile corridor, her phone buzzed with an incoming video call. It was Kendra.
When she answered, she saw Leo. He was there with Kendra, both standing by the high, steep cliffs of a private estate in the Hamptons.