Two years later, he stood victorious, his rivals crushed, cameras flashing while he knelt in front of me with a diamond ring he claimed to have designed himself. He said I was the only one in the world for him. That he wasn’t with me out of obligation, but love.
The world called me blessed.
Now I knew I had simply been convenient.
After my crying quieted, he asked gently, “Are you hungry? I can make your soup.”
He remembered my stomach issues. He always did.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Soup would be nice.”
Anything to make him leave.
This hospital room wasn’t a room at all—it was a private luxury suite. His money had turned it into something closer to a penthouse.
When the door finally closed behind him, I felt my way across the nightstand until my fingers brushed cold glass. No buttons. Just smooth surface.
I pressed the edge until the phone vibrated in my palm.
A mechanical voice echoed in my ear.
“Main menu. Messages available. Tap twice to open.”
Blind-assist mode.
My fingers trembled as I dragged across the glass, counting every vibration, praying I would land on Rowan’s name.
I didn’t.
A recording played on its own.