Chapter 5

Kayla slowly opened her eyes, the harsh white lights stabbing at her vision. Everything felt blurry and distant. When her gaze finally settled, she saw Darren standing in front of her, looking down at her with a blank expression. She parted her lips to speak, but her throat was too dry to manage even a whisper. "Mr. Tate…" With great effort, she reached out a trembling hand, trying to grab the cuff of his pant leg. But Darren said nothing. After a long pause, he took Winona's hand instead. "Of course I'd choose you," he said with a helpless, tender smile. "I've never had feelings for Kayla. Please don't test me like this again, okay?" Winona burst into relieved laughter and threw her arms around him. "I knew it. I knew you loved me the most." Darren ruffled her hair, wrapped his arm around her, and walked away with her in his arms. He never once looked back at Kayla. Still lying on the floor, Kayla stared after them and forced out a bitter smile. Something inside her cracked wide open, and a sharp wave of pain surged through her chest until her vision blurred to black. She collapsed completely, consciousness slipping away. … "You're finally awake." The nurse wheeled in a cart of medications and sighed in relief when she saw Kayla's eyes open. "You've got over 30 stitches on your head and shoulder. When they brought you in, you'd almost lost too much blood to make it." Kayla's voice was faint. "Who brought me in?" The nurse replaced her IV bag. "A bartender from the club. You're lucky. If it had been any later, you wouldn't have survived." Kayla slowly closed her eyes again. The scene before she passed out came flooding back—the way Darren had chosen Winona without hesitation and how he hadn't even spared her a glance. Her chest tightened again as the memory settled over her like a weight. She clutched the bed sheet in both hands to stop herself from crying. Then her phone vibrated sharply on the bedside table. She picked it up with weak fingers. The screen lit up with a message from Winona. A string of over a dozen photos filled the screen. The first photo showed them at Lover's Cliff, watching the sunrise. Darren stood behind Winona, arms wrapped gently around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. The look in his eyes was so soft, it could have knocked the breath out of anyone. The second photo showed them at an upscale restaurant. Darren was seated across from Winona, carefully cutting her steak, his focus entirely on her plate. The third captured the moment Winona tried on a diamond necklace. Darren stood behind her, fastening the clasp with a concentration that made it seem as though he were handling something sacred. Each image was worse than the last. In every frame, Darren looked at Winona with a depth of affection Kayla had never seen before. Then came a video. Kayla hesitated, then tapped to play. In it, Winona was curled up in Darren's arms. She looked up at him and asked sweetly, "I heard Kayla had to get a lot of stitches. Do you think I was too much?" Darren chuckled. "A little." Winona immediately sat up, clearly about to get upset, but Darren pulled her back into his arms and kissed her before she could say a word. He bit down on her lip, his voice rough with heat. "What can I do? I'm in love with you." The rest of the video was nothing but breathy moans and kisses. Winona murmured against his chest, "Are you going to check on Kayla?" "Will you be mad if I do?" "Of course I'll be mad." "Then I won't go." The video ended with the two of them locked in a deep, lingering kiss. Kayla watched the clip again and again until her phone screen went dark. She couldn't make sense of it. Darren already belonged to Winona. He had never felt anything for Kayla—not even a flicker of interest. Yet Winona still treated her like a threat, as if her existence alone was some kind of offense. Kayla shut her eyes, too drained to fight the ache building in her chest. Tears slipped down her cheeks in silence. But it didn't matter anymore. She would be leaving Cadville soon and starting over in another country, with no reason to ever cross paths with them again.