Chapter 4

Celia's POV

But I didn't let Jill go. I clung to her with a death grip. The only thought that consumed my mind was to tear apart that lying mouth of hers.

I wanted to make sure she'd never spread another lie again.

"Chayce," Jill shrieked.

The next second, a heavy fist slammed into my shoulder—Chayce's.

The blow sent me stumbling sideways. My foot missed its footing, and the back of my head cracked against the sharp edge of the stairs.

Then, my body, like a puppet with its strings cut, tumbled all the way down the flight of stairs.

Chaos rang in my ears—the sound of the neighbors' horrified gasps, Jill's crying, Chayce's angry roars, and the dull, heavy thuds of my own body colliding with the steps over and over again.

As the world spun around me, the last thing I saw was Chayce shielding Jill.

Then everything went black.

…

When I woke up again, I was in the hospital. The fluorescent lights overhead stabbed at my eyes, while the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose, leaving my throat painfully dry.

I twitched my fingers. The hospital room was completely empty. There wasn't a single soul. No Chayce, no familiar faces.

Just then, a nurse pushed the door open and walked in. The moment she saw I was awake, she let out a visible sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, you're finally awake! Do you realize you needed six stitches in the back of your head? Your shoulder blade is also fractured, not to mention the countless cuts and bruises all over your body.

"You're a young woman. How can you be so careless?"

She continued to chatter on while changing my bandages. Though her tone carried reproach, there was obvious concern beneath her words.

I merely lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. I didn't shed a single tear. I supposed this was what people meant when they said there was no greater despair than the death of the heart.

After collecting myself, I asked the nurse to bring me my phone.

The screen lit up with dozens of unread messages, all from either Chayce or Jill.

Chayce: "Sis, I'm out of money. Send me 2,000 dollars."

Chayce: "Why aren't you answering me?"

Chayce: "If you don't transfer the money right now, I'll never consider you my sister again!"

Jill: "If you don't come get your stuff out of the hallway, I'm throwing it all away."

Jill: "Do you hear me?"

Jill: "Fine. Don't regret it."

I read every message. That unbearable pain from before was gone. All that remained was a numb, icy emptiness.

As it turned out, me being pushed down the stairs and rushed to the hospital didn't matter to Chayce at all. What mattered was that I hadn't sent him his money yet. What mattered was that my belongings were in his way.

I tapped on Chayce's profile and promptly blocked and deleted him. Then I did the same to Jill. After that, I called my boss.

The call connected almost immediately.

"Sir, I've decided to accept that outstation assignment you mentioned before."

I hadn't dared to accept it before, because the posting was incredibly far away, and it'd last about two years. I was worried that if I went that far away, I wouldn't be able to look after Chayce. I was afraid that he wouldn't eat well, he'd be mistreated, and that he might stray down the wrong path without me to keep an eye on him.

But now… I wasn't worried or afraid anymore.

On the other end, my boss sounded pleasantly surprised.

"You finally came around, Celia. The salary over there is three times what you're making here. Since you're willing to go, I'll have HR start processing the paperwork right away."

After hanging up, I found my landlord's number and sent a text.

"Hello, sir. I won't be renewing the lease on the apartment. Please go ahead and look for a new tenant.

After hitting "Send", I stared at the screen for a long time. It felt as though something inside my chest had finally snapped, and with it, a great weight had finally been lifted.

…

Three days later, HR notified me that the approval process was completed.

That same day, I packed up everything I owned. Dragging my suitcase behind me, I left the city I'd called home for the past 27 years.

…

Third-Person POV

That evening, the apartment doorbell rang.

Chayce muttered a curse under his breath, tossed aside his phone, and opened the door.

"Who is it?"

It was the landlord, Bruce Osmond.

Bruce looked Chayce up and down before waving the workers behind him inside.

"The lease on this apartment has ended. Throw everything in here out."

Both Chayce and Jill froze where they stood.