Chapter 7

After the family dinner, Emily returned to the Lockridge residence alone. The night was deep, and the house was so quiet it felt suffocating. She mechanically washed up and changed into her pajamas. Just as she lay down in bed, the door was suddenly flung open. Noah strode in and yanked her up by the wrist. "Come with me!" Before Emily could react, he dragged her out of bed. She stumbled barefoot behind him with her feet stepping on the cold floor; she didn't even have time to put on her slippers. He shoved her into the car and slammed on the gas. It wasn't until the hospital's harsh fluorescent lights stabbed at her eyes that she finally understood what was happening. Bella had fallen down the stairs. She was bleeding badly and in urgent need of a blood transfusion. Emily's blood type happened to be a match. Emily's face went ghostly pale. "No. I'm anemic, and I can't donate…" Noah snapped in a cold voice, "You've always wanted me to take you on a date, don't you? Give her the blood, and I'll take you out." Emily could feel her heart throb terribly in pain. It'd been four years, and in their four years of marriage, they'd never had a wedding, taken wedding photographs, or gone on a date. She remembered that when she'd carefully, timidly suggested it the first time, he said he was too busy with work. On her second try, he said he had a meeting. On her third attempt, he still said no, so she eventually stopped asking. She assumed that if she just prepared his breakfast each morning, remembered exactly how he liked his shirts ironed, slipped him a warm glass of milk during late nights at his desk… one day he'd reach for her hand and say, "Let's go out together." Now, when he finally said it, it was for another woman. "Time's running out!" Noah grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the blood donation room. "Donate blood for her, and I'll keep my word." Before she could react, the nurse had strapped her arm. Her hands trembled with pain when the needle pierced her vein. She watched her warm blood flow through the tube and into the bag, while Noah stood outside the door and didn't bother to spare her a single glance. When it was over, her face was terrifyingly pale as she braced herself against the wall, her vision swimming in and out of blackness. But Noah was nowhere to be seen. The nurse eyed her with concern. "You look awfully weak, and you're probably anemic. Should we get you admitted for observation?" Emily shook her head and forced herself to move. At the end of the hallway, she saw Noah sitting by Bella's bed and carefully tucking her blanket around her. She turned away and slowly walked out of the hospital. The cold night wind howled and had her shuddering, but her heart felt so much colder. In the days that followed, Noah didn't come home or think of asking how she was doing. It wasn't until Emily opened the door a week later to take out the trash that she finally ran into him again. Except now, he wasn't alone and still had Bella beside him. Once Bella entered the door, she bounded up to Emily and smiled sweetly. "Thank you so much for donating your blood to save me, Emily! Noah and I talked about it, and we've decided to take you to a resort on vacation as a thank-you gift!" Emily's first instinct was to reject the offer since her body hadn't recovered, and she felt weak after the blood donation. But before she could speak, Bella was already dragging her toward the car. The resort was beautiful and picture-perfect, but Emily felt like an outsider the entire time. She watched Noah hold an umbrella over Bella, watched her cling to his arm and pout playfully, and watched him lower his head to listen to her whisper with eyes full of warmth he'd never shown his wife. When Emily returned to her room at night and was about to wash up, she noticed her protective charm around her neck was missing. Her face paled. It was the last thing her dad had left her before he passed, and she'd worn it for ten years, never taking it off. She rummaged through her suitcase, under the bed, and in the bathroom, but found nothing. When Noah walked in and saw her kneeling on the floor, searching frantically, he frowned. "What are you looking for?" "My protective charm. Did you see it?" she asked in a tight voice. He carelessly rummaged through a drawer and said, "No. Maybe you never brought it here." She shook her head. "I was wearing it…" Refusing to give up, she ran out and crouched down, searching the hallway inch by inch. Just as she was about to give up, a cleaner pushed a trash bin past her, and she spotted a scrap of familiar red out of the corner of her eye. It was her protective charm, but it was broken in two and lay in the bin like trash. Emily ran over and snatched it up with trembling fingers. "Who threw this away?" The cleaner shook their head. "No idea." "I did." Bella's voice drifted from behind her. Emily spun around to see her leaning against the wall with an innocent smile on her lips. "It was just an old piece of stone. I thought it was garbage, so I broke it in half and tossed it away." There was a glint of blatant provocation in her eyes. Emily's nails dug into the ruined charm as her heart twisted in agony. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Her voice shook. Bella tilted her head as her grin spread wider across her face. "What do you mean, Emily? I don't understand." Emily couldn't hold it back anymore as she rushed up and slapped Bella hard across the face. The sharp, crisp smack echoed down the hallway. Clutching her cheek, Bella staggered backward and instantly broke down in tears. "Emily, what are you doing?" Noah's furious voice came from behind her as he stormed up and shoved Emily hard. Her head slammed into the wall, and pain exploded through her skull; warm liquid trickled through her hair. Noah froze for a split second. Just as he was about to step forward and check on Emily, Bella started sobbing into her hands. His anger flared up again. "Have you lost your mind, Emily?" Emily braced herself against the wall as blood from her forehead trailed down her face. She pointed at the trash bin and cried out, "She broke my protective charm! It was the last thing my dad left me!"