Chapter 4
“Then I’ll beat sense into you about a wife’s duty!”
The cane ripped through fabric, carving bloody stripes into her skin. Nova trembled with pain but held her ground.
“I won’t take it…”
Blood saturated her dress. Her vision blurred.
The last thing she saw was Zane’s back-still talking on the phone.
Before darkness devoured consciousness, Nova clung to one thought: Let this be the final martyrdom. After tonight, my
heart bleeds for him no more..
Nova woke in a hospital bed.
A respectful voice drifted nearby-the hospital director:
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“Mr. Blackthorn, the cane wounds are severe. Some lacerations reached the epidermal layer-”
“Use the best medication. Assign your top specialists.” Zane’s voice was ice. “No scarring.”
“Understood. We’ll spare no effort.”
As the director left, Zane turned and saw her open eyes.
He strode to the bedside, brow furrowed. “How do you feel?”
Nova shifted slightly. Fire blazed across her back.
“I’m fine,” she managed. “The staff here are excellent. You should go… if you’re needed elsewhere.”
To her surprise, Zane didn’t leave.
He sat beside her, his gaze complex. “Why didn’t you call for me when mother confronted you?”
Nova remembered his turned back, his absorbed conversation with Ivy. A bitter smile touched her lips. “You seemed
occupied.”
She paused, then asked softly, “If I had called… would you really have come?”
“Immediately.” No hesitation.
Nova froze.
The answer shocked her.
“I’ve handled the family,” he continued. “No one will pressure you about children again.”
“Understood.” Nova looked down. “You should go.”
“Why do you keep dismissing me?” Zane’s frown deepened.
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She blinked. “Aren’t you… busy?”
With the company. With Ivy.
“Not currently.” He smoothed her bedsheet. “I’ll stay with you these next days.”
Nova was stunned.
True to his word, Zane stayed.
He adjusted her bed. Fed her meals. Even changed her bandages himself.
One night, pain kept her awake. Zane sat beside her, soothing her back with gentle strokes until she finally slept.
For a suspended moment, Zane’s tenderness spun Nova back to their fragile season of intimacy.
But Nova wouldn’t drown in it again.
Her path was carved in stone now: forward, away, never retracing steps to his ruinous shore.
A week later, the welts had faded significantly.
As Zane applied ointment, a light gasp escaped her.
His hands stilled.
Nova turned—and froze. Desire blackened his eyes, his throat working. Then she felt it: the hard, urgent press against her
hip..
Her breath hitched.
Zane leaned closer, his breathing roughening.
Just as his lips brushed hers-
The sound shattered the moment.
They jerked apart.
Ivy stood frozen in the doorway. A shattered fruit basket lay at her feet, its contents rolling across the floor.
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