CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ALICE
The air in the infirmary feels thin, as if the giant standing at the edge of my bed is sucking all the oxygen out of the room.
I look at him, my vision still slightly swimming, and try to summon enough strength to push him away.
"Ms. Cox said no stress," I croak.
My voice feels dry, like I've been swallowing sand, but I force the words out.
"So you can leave."
Zade doesn't move toward the door. Instead, he takes a slow, predatory stride toward me, his amber eyes darkening with a familiar, dangerous glint.
"Ms. Cox also said not to leave the fucking bed."
"I'm fine," I snap, though the way my head throbs tells a different story.
"Listen to me, you Witch," he hisses, leaning in until his breath is almost touching my face.
The scent of him—sandalwood and damp rain—invades my senses, making my heart gallop against my ribs.
"Do whatever the hell you want after you get better. I just don't want to end up in prison for manslaughter because you're too damn proud to ask for help."
"Even if I die, it won't be your concern," I fire back, matching his bite with my own.
"I didn't die on the spot when you hit me, did I? My death won't be on your hands."
"Right. But I still wouldn't want myself tangled in a lawsuit,"
he growls, his voice dropping into a low, menacing register.
"You're going to stay in the penthouse for the next few days. At least until I make sure you can stay alive on your own."
The mention of the penthouse sends a jolt through me.
Suddenly, I recall the way we looked at each other this morning—that moment in the kitchen where the world stopped spinning and for a second, he wasn't a monster.
The memory makes my skin prickle with a traitorous heat.
"I won't come near your penthouse ever again," I stammer, struggling to regain the power I feel slipping away.
"That place... it makes me want to vomit. How do you even live in that tomb?"
"That 'tomb' is a hell of a lot better than the rat hole you call an apartment," he retorts, his eyes narrowing.
"And you're going to come with me. Starting today."
"I won't. I am not someone you can just buy off, Zade Hamilton."
I wince, pulling a face to show him I'm in pain.
I just want him away from me.
My own body is being a traitor, reacting to his proximity in ways I can't control, and the only defense I have left is to fake a setback.
"Don't fake it," he says, his voice flat. "It's of no use. I know your tells."
He reaches into his blazer pocket and pulls out the sleek glass case.
He drops it onto the bed with a heavy thud.
"Why did you not take the glasses this morning?"
"Because they weren't mine," I say, giving a careless shrug that hurts more than I'm willing to admit.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" His frustration finally boils over, his hands clenching at his sides.
"I broke your old ones. I'm giving you new ones. In what world does that make them 'not yours'?"
"They aren't mine because those are eighty times more expensive than the pair I owned," I say, my voice trembling slightly.
"I don't want your charity, Zade. I don't need to be another project for a bored billionaire."
A genuine wince catches me then—this one isn't faked.
The sharp spike of pain behind my eyes makes me gasp, and for a second, the room goes dark.
Zade watches me, his jaw working as if he's biting back a thousand different insults.
Finally, he lets out a jagged breath and straightens up.
"Fine. I'm leaving," he says, his voice cold and final.
"Now try, for fuck's sake, to stay stable for five minutes."
He turns on his heel and strides out of the room, the door swinging shut behind him.
But he left the box. The bronze seashell frames are still sitting there on the white sheets, a silent, glittering reminder of his persistence.
I stare at the case, a terrifying realization sinking into my chest.
He isn't letting go. Between the injury, the penthouse, and the way he looks at me when he thinks I'm not watching, I realize I can't escape him this time.
He calls a Witch, but Zade Hamilton is the one who has cast the spell.
And I'm starting to think I don't have the strength to break it.