CHAPTER 15
Oliver’s injury had been very serious.
The Fontaine’s finally sent men to rush him to the hospital after Sebastian and Madelynn left. He was barely unconscious when they arrived at the hospital. His face was pale, he was covered in blood and was barely holding on.
While the doctors worked around the clock to stabilize him, Harry and Amelia made a quick
decision:
“Cecelia,” Amelia said, “stay here and take care of him. Don’t leave his side. Let us know what
the doctor says.”
Cecelia had nodded obediently.
But her mind was already elsewhere.
She sat at Oliver’s bedside in silence, but her thoughts were far from the man lying broker beneath the sterile white sheets.
The only image flashing through her head was Sebastian.
Sebastian Wilde. The rich, powerful and breathtaking man. A true alpha. A man any womar would kill to marry.
Oliver? He was practically useless now.
He was just an injured and broken mess.
Who in their right mind would choose a man who would never walk properly again? That would destroy her image. She would become a laughing stock.
She glanced at the monitors and the wires snaking out of his body. Then she looked at the stump where his leg used to be.
This wasn’t what she wanted. She needed to get out of here. She needed to go find Sebastian before some other worthy woman got to him first.
Cecelia stood and smoothed her skirt, just about to slip out of the room when Oliver’s voice groggy and weak, cut through the silence.
‘… Cece?”
She froze.
Slowly, she turned around, switching her face back into the sweet, concerned mask she wore sc well.
“Of course, Oliver. I’ve been here the whole time,” she said softly, approaching the bed. “How are you feeling?”
Oliver’s eyes fluttered open. His face was pale, his lips were dry, but there was a flicker of relie
when he saw her.
She sat down beside him, brushing his hair gently back.
“You were out for a long time. The doctor said… the bullet hit some major arteries.”
Oliver tried to sit up, wincing as pain sliced through him. His face twisted in agony. Then he tried to shake his leg, but felt nothing. “Cece… I can’t… I can’t feel my leg.”
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Cecelia’s face twisted in disgust. “Yeah… about that…”
“Cece, what’s going on? What happened?” Oliver asked in a panicked voice. She could see him looking down at his legs, or well, his leg. Was he still high on the anesthesia? Couldn’t he see for himself that his leg was gone?
Cecelia rushed to support him, gently easing him back down.
“The injury was serious,” she said carefully. “They’re saying you… might not be able to walk normally again. Oliver, they had to cut it off to save your life.”
Oliver’s face pale as a ghost.
His lips parted. “You mean- I’ll be crippled? Forever?”
Cecelia gave a little sigh, pretending to hold back tears. “That’s what it is, Oliver. But don’t worry I’m here for you. I’ve always been here. You’ve been like a brother to me since we were kids. I’l
take care of you.”
She leaned in closer, letting her voice soften into something pitiful. “If you want to blame someone, blame my sister and Sebastian. They’re the ones who did this to you.”
For a long moment, Oliver said nothing. His chest rose and fell as he tried to control his
emotions.
Then, finally, his voice rasped out. “This has nothing to do with Madelynn. It was all Sebastian’ doing.”
Cecelia’s smile cracked.
Even now… he was still defending her? Before she could respond, the door slammed open.
Oliver’s mother, Polly Kane strode into the hospital room like a storm.
She didn’t look at Cecelia. She didn’t even greet her son. Her sharp eyes locked immediately or Oliver’s leg.
What the hell happened?” she demanded.
Cecelia saw an opportunity.
She stood up and put on her most sympathetic voice. “Aunty Polly… the doctors said the lamage was too bad. They had to amputate or he would’ve died. Madelynn and Sebastian went way too far. Oliver will never fully recover. Even a miracle doctor couldn’t fix this.”
Oliver frowned. ‘Didn’t I just say this wasn’t Maddy’s fault?’
But before he could speak, he heard a loud smack.
Polly slapped Cecelia so hard she stumbled backward.
Oliver froze.
‘You!” Polly seethed. “It’s you again!”
Her voice thundered with rage. “Years ago, you threw yourself at my son like a cheap perfume sample! Then you disappeared the night before your own engagement party!
“Now that he’s finally found some peace with Madelynn, you come crawling back like a bad rash and you dare try to pin this on her?”
Cecelia’s mouth opened, stunned. Her cheek burned like hell.
She wanted to yell, to defend herself, but then she remembered: this was Polly Kane. Offending her was a one-way ticket to social ruin.
“Mom-” Oliver tried to speak, but she turned on him next.
“And you!” she shouted. “Are you completely brain-dead? Can’t you see how that girl treated you all these years?”
She stabbed a finger toward him. “She cooked for you. Cleaned for you. Bore your insults and your silence. And you repaid her by cheating with this trash?”
Polly turned her glare on Cecelia again, venomous. “Over my dead body will you marry into our family. If you don’t get down on your knees and beg Madelynn to come back, I never want to see the both of you again!”
And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room without asking a single question about her son’s recovery.
Oliver lay frozen in bed, stunned into silence.
Cecelia sat slumped in the chair, her face burning with humiliation.
Neither of them spoke.
Because deep down, both of them knew-
They deserved it.
