Chapter 8

Savannah quickly ended the call and pretended to be calm. "Nothing." Hendrick narrowed his eyes, but didn't press further. Instead, he calmly suggested, "I know things have been sour between you and Elle because of the sketches. Tomorrow, let's all have fun at the amusement park." Savannah wanted to say no, but the words caught in her throat. She remembered how she used to beg him to go to amusement parks with her, and he would always brush her off, saying it was childish. If she refused too quickly now, it might raise his suspicion. "Sure," she answered softly. The amusement park was buzzing with people. Hendrick stayed close to Chantelle the entire time, buckling her seatbelt on the roller coaster, helping her onto the carousel, even feeding her ice cream by hand. Savannah trailed behind them like an unwanted shadow. Then, when Hendrick stepped away to answer a call from work, Chantelle suddenly grabbed Savannah's hand and suggested, "Let's ride the drop tower together, Savannah!" The latter instinctively pulled her hand back. "I don't want to." "Come on. Ricky told us to make amends with each other," Chantelle said. She then whispered in Savannah's ear, "Are you still mad about the sketches? You're acting petty, don't you think?" Curious glances from nearby parkgoers landed on them. Savannah pressed her lips together, not wanting to cause a scene in public. With no better option, she reluctantly followed Chantelle onto the ride. As the safety bar locked into place, Chantelle suddenly leaned in with a smirk. "Did you know? Ricky said he's taking me to Viremont once the divorce is—" Before Savannah could respond, the ride suddenly jolted violently. In the split second the safety harness snapped, she felt the air vanish beneath her. She and Chantelle were both plummeting from over 30 feet in the air! Wind howled past her ears as Savannah squeezed her eyes shut in despair. However, the expected pain never came. Instead, she landed in a warm, solid embrace. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into Hendrick's panicked gaze. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, his breath coming fast and uneven. "You…" Savannah had just spoken when he abruptly let go, as if burned by a realization. "I grabbed the wrong person," he said stiffly, before turning sharply toward the fallen Chantelle. "Elle!" he shouted, rushing to her side. … In the hospital corridor, a doctor rushed over, his expression tense. "The patient's experiencing severe blood loss. We need an emergency transfusion. She's RH negative, and the blood bank's nearly out." Immediately, Hendrick's gaze darted to Savannah. "You're RH negative, too." It wasn't a question but a statement. She leaned weakly against the wall, blood still seeping from the gash on her knee. As she met his eyes, she suddenly understood what he meant. "Donate your blood," he said, stepping closer. "Then I'll agree to cancel the divorce application." His breath brushed past her ear, carrying that familiar, cold scent. Once upon a time, being this close to him would've made her heart race. Now, all she felt was numbing cold. When the nurse brought over the blood donation consent form, Savannah signed it without hesitation. She knew that if she refused, Hendrick would grow suspicious. She couldn't afford that—not with her plan to leave for Alvaria hanging by a thread. So, the needle pierced her vein, drawing her blood as it slowly filled the bag, one after another. "We need to stop, she's tapped out!" the nurse exclaimed. "She's already at her limit!" Savannah's vision blurred, waves of black washing over her eyes. A ringing then filled her ears. In her haze, she saw Hendrick standing at the bedside, frowning. His lips were moving, but she couldn't make out a single word.