Chapter 5

When Juliet opened her eyes again, she heard heated voices arguing just outside the door. "Julie's my sister, and she grew up under your care too! How could she have possibly pushed anyone into the water? Don't you think you owe her an apology for drowning her on purpose?" "Fine, I can apologize, but only if she apologizes to Callie first! If she hadn't let jealousy get the best of her and hurt Callie, I wouldn't have had to retaliate! You care about your sister, while I care about my wife! If anything had happened to Callie, Juliet wouldn't be able to make up for it even if she died a hundred times over!" Juliet felt her body go cold after listening to Damien's furious roar. All the times he turned her away had never left her feeling this hopeless. She had assumed that even if they could never be lovers, there'd at least be a shred of care between them since they'd known each other for years. But now, she knew that she was nothing when it came to matters involving his true love. Outside the door, the argument raged on. The two men were oblivious to the fact that she was awake. "You have no proof at all, yet you're putting all the blame on Julie! Can't you even let her explain herself? Just because she has liked you all these years, you think you can hurt her however you please?" "I only put up with all her years of clinging for your sake! Haven't I done enough to spare her pride? Now that we're talking about hurting her feelings, have you ever considered how long I've had to put up with it?" All the anger Henry had bottled up finally snapped. He could no longer hold back from grabbing Damien by the collar and swinging his fist over. Damien didn't back down either and returned the punch. Juliet's heart skipped a beat when she heard the commotion. Forcing herself up, she stumbled out to ease the fight. When she saw their bruised faces and the two still locked in a brutal fight, she threw herself between them. Tears she had been fighting to hold back streamed down her face as she hysterically cried out, "Stop it! Please, just stop! Henry, just come back with me, okay? I'm begging you!" Her tears cut through Henry's rage as he snapped back to rationality. His nose stung, and he shut his eyes, slowly taking a deep breath before letting go at last. Taking Juliet's hand, he turned and led her back to the ward with slumped shoulders. Just as the door swung shut between them, they heard Damien say in an icy voice, "Don't think playing the victim will get you my forgiveness. This is my last warning—stay away from Callie." Henry's suppressed anger threatened to ignite once more, but Juliet threw her arms around him and pleaded, "Leave it, Henry. I'm leaving soon and won't ever appear in Damien's life again. You don't have to fight him or any of your other friends for me." The more she begged, the more it tore at him. Silence fell over the ward and lasted for some time before Henry finally said, "It's my fault, Julie. Damien has only ever cared about Callie and would even fight his best buddies for her. I should've told you the truth the moment I realized you had fallen for him. Maybe you wouldn't have been so obsessed."