Chapter 9
When I opened my inbox and saw the flood of hate mail, I almost wanted to track him down.
How much hate did it take to want to destroy your own son’s happiness like this?
I inhaled slowly.
1/4
The emails were all the same threats, photos of my exes looking miserable, and “friendly warnings” to stay the hell away from him.
Delete. Delete. Delete.
I’d been drowning in wedding prep lately, juggling my side’s endless guest list, which meant less time with Alaric.
So when his assistant called that evening, voice shaking, saying he’d tried to kill himself…
My whole world froze.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Just felt myself falling into a black hole of ice.
Alaric saw his father right before he tried to kill himself.
Don’t know what that bastard said, but it shattered Alaric’s
Chapter 9
fragile mind. He slashed his wrists right after.
Luckily, they found him in time.
2/4
I huddled against the ER wall, wrapped in a shawl, shaking like a leaf.
What kind of father did this? Knowing his son’s hanging by a thread, and still pushing him over the edge…
They wheeled Alaric out with an IV drip, white as a ghost. All that color he’d gained lately – gone in a flash.
I sat there watching him until his eyes opened.
“Eileen,” he croaked, voice like rusty nails.
I ignored him, called the doctor instead.
After the nurse took the IV, I just stood there, staring him down until he couldn’t meet my eyes.
“Hit me, yell at me, anything,” he whispered, panicked. “Just… Eileen… don’t go cold on me.”
Silent treatment terrified him. Whenever I went quiet, he’d grab my sleeve like a scared kid, begging for forgiveness.
Not this time.
I stayed silent all day, watching him spiral, clawing at his old. scars until they bled..
Chapter 9
3/4
Even the doctor tried to intervene, saying, “Consider his mental
slate.”
“Sure,” I said softly.
Back in his room, Alaric stared emptily at the window. Looking
like a ghost of himself, soul barely tethered to his body.
“Alaric.” Three steps away, my voice was steady as steel.
He flinched, squeezed his eyes shut. Didn’t answer.
I ignored that, going straight to the point, “The engagement’s
off.”
CRASH vase hit the floor.
His face twisted before he exploded, “EILEEN!”
He lurched out of bed, ripping open his wounds, blood soaking through.
I caught his bleeding wrist, brushed his wild hair back.
“What’s it gonna be?”
“Follow your dad’s footsteps? Lock me up, break me in? Or would you rather destroy yourself than touch me?”
“Eileen…” He looked up at me like a dying animal, eyes full of terror and confusion.
Chapter 9
“It’s the second one, isn’t it?”
I leaned down, ghosted his cold lips, traced his hollow cheek.
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“Honey, you’re not him, and I’m not her. We won’t repeat their fucked–up story.”
“Alaric, my love, my everything… what are you so scared of?”
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