Chapter 5

Bernice never imagined Taryn would snap like that. Panic washed over her as her face flushed red from being suffocated. She thrashed desperately, knocking a vase off the table and causing a loud commotion. The door suddenly swung open. When Zane stepped in, he saw the scene, and his heart skipped a beat. He immediately kicked Taryn, sending her sprawling. Her injuries flared, and pain ripped through her. Meanwhile, Bernice was cradled in Zane's arms. His expression was tight with fear. Her face had gone pale from being strangled, so he immediately called for medical staff to take her for treatment. Within moments, only Zane and Taryn remained in the ward. The silence was suffocating. Taryn struggled to push herself upright. Her hospital gown was stained with blood from her reopened wounds. But before she could steady herself, Zane grabbed her by the collar. With disgust, he shouted, "Taryn, how can you be this evil? Bernice came to check on you out of goodwill, and you tried to strangle her. Why is your jealousy so strong? Do you like me that much?" Taryn froze. Her fingers curled as panic overtook her. Zane knew she liked him. Meanwhile, he tightened his grip and said coldly, "I'll end the engagement as soon as possible. After that, we're done completely. Stop clinging to whatever twisted feelings you have. You and I were nothing more, and I'll never like you." Taryn's eyes filled with tears. The pain in her chest spread until it felt hard to breathe. She had thought she had hidden her feelings well, but Zane had known all along. In his eyes, she had been nothing but a joke. With tears in her eyes, she asked, "Is it true that my mentor's heart is in Bernice's body? You ordered the doctors to transplant it. Did you really throw away his ashes?" Zane was stunned. He hadn't expected Taryn to know about that. Back then, he hadn't known that Ethan was her mentor. At the time, Bernice's condition was critical, and he couldn't watch her die. Even so, the truth remained unchanged. Without denying it, he said, "The heart was from your mentor. Bernice said her heart ached and that something was holding on. Someone suggested that letting the ashes return to nature would help. I confirmed it with someone knowledgeable and threw them into the water." Taryn trembled, her breaths coming in uneven gasps. She shouted in disbelief, "That was my mentor! Zane, are you even humane?" Zane remained unmoved, taking nothing to heart. He said, "It was just ashes. If it made Bernice feel better and fed the fishes, it wasn't wasted." Those words shattered whatever self-control Taryn had left. She grabbed a fruit knife and tried to stab Zane's heart. Her heart ached. He clearly knew what Ethan had meant to her, yet he did all of this. Her own heart had already shattered into pieces. Everything that had happened before now felt like a cruel joke. Taryn smiled bitterly, clutching the knife tighter. Zane reacted instinctively, trying to defend himself, unable to comprehend why she was doing this. In the frantic struggle, the knife ended up in his hand. By the time he regained his senses, it had already pierced Taryn's heart. In the blink of an eye, her body went limp, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She lay on the floor, staring up at him with an expression full of despair. Then, her eyes slowly drifted shut. Taryn had failed Ethan. She couldn't bring herself to kill Zane. She loved him too deeply and hated herself for being unable to take revenge. Her consciousness dimmed. She thought that if she died now, it might be considered repaying Ethan. Just then, she seemed to hear Zane's panicked voice. "Doctor! Call a doctor!" Zane didn't know how things had escalated. He had only meant to teach Taryn a lesson. He hadn't intended to cause real harm. The emergency room lights were on through the night. Finally, the doors opened. Upon seeing the doctor, Zane rushed forward and asked about Taryn's condition. The doctor replied, "The patient's condition is stable now. If the wound had been half an inch deeper, we wouldn't have been able to save her." It was only then that Zane felt relief. Off to the side, Bernice watched the scene unfold, her expression slowly twisting.