Chapter 5

Anna's POV

I was halfway down the hall when Edward spoke again.

Anna Hartwell, just you wait!

I raised an eyebrow, pretending not to hear him, and kept walking.

I'm in danger here!

This time he dropped the threat.

I stopped, slightly taken aback.

Danger? He was in a private room at the hospital, with medical staff looking after him around the clock. Who would want to hurt him?

If I die, do you think Julian Vance will leave you alone?

His words sent a chill down my spine. I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself.

He was right. Julian and Isabelle had been plotting against me for a long time. Unless they got their hands on the trust fund my mother had left me, they wouldn't give up. Even if I escaped the surgery today, I wouldn't be safe from whatever they had planned next.

With that in mind, I reached for Patricia's wrist and softened my voice.

I tried the word she'd offered me. "Mom? What if Edward came home? He's been in this room for months. Would it help to have him somewhere familiar?"

Patricia sighed, studying my face with an expression I couldn't quite read.

"His doctor's suggested something like that. I come every day and talk to him. I still can't tell if he hears me." She glanced back at the room. "Maybe he'd respond to someone else."

Her gaze made my heart race. I couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen right through me.

"Nathan, take care of the discharge paperwork."

"Yes, ma'am."

When the doctor heard that Edward was being discharged, he hurried over and carefully went through a list of precautions.

Nathan handed Patricia a folder while the doctor was talking. She showed me a copy of a marriage record with both our names on it. I didn't see how they could have managed it, but it was enough for her to introduce me as Edward's wife.

"The home-care team will handle his medications and do range-of-motion exercises with him every day so his muscles don't waste away. Talk to him when you can, Mrs. Sterling. A familiar voice might get through to him. So might a hand on his arm."

I looked down at the list. It ran to a second page.

I'd agreed to be his wife. Somehow I'd also signed up for bedside duty.

"Anna, Edward will be counting on you from now on."

Patricia placed a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes were slightly red, and her voice carried the weight of her trust.

I opened my mouth to tell her I'd do my best, but nothing came out.

Just as I was about to leave, a familiar voice suddenly called out behind me.

"Anna! I've finally found you! Where have you been? I was worried sick!"

Julian stood in front of me, his face filled with affection and concern. He delivered the performance so convincingly that anyone watching would have thought he was a devoted fiancé.

If I hadn't been given a second chance at life, I might have fallen for it all over again.

But now, seeing him put on that act only filled me with bitter irony.

"They've already postponed your surgery by an hour. Come with me."

Julian reached for my wrist. Before he got close, one of the Sterling guards stepped between us.

"Anna?"

Julian pushed his glasses up. The smile held for a second longer.

I wondered how much of it he'd worked out. Until he saw Patricia, he'd still been free to tell himself I'd just gotten scared and run.

But he quickly composed himself and put on an earnest expression.

"Anna, your parents were terrified when they heard you were missing. They're on their way to the hospital right now. Come back with me. Don't make everyone worry any longer."

Harold and Vivian. Of course he'd called them.

They were worried that the truth would come out, that I would no longer fall for their lies, and, most of all, that they would lose their chance to get their hands on my mother's trust fund.

"You're Mr. Vance, aren't you?"

Patricia stepped forward, her voice calm but authoritative.

"Anna is now part of the Sterling family. I'd appreciate it if you stopped harassing her."

Julian stared at her in disbelief.

"What?"

I took a deep breath and straightened my back.

"I'm Edward Sterling's wife."

My face was still pale, but I held my head high.

My legs were still unsteady, but I kept my head up. I'd had all of about an hour to change the course of my life. I was going to get out of this hospital and find a way to take back what my mother had left me.

Patricia seemed to notice how tense I was. She gently patted the back of my hand before turning to Julian.

"Mr. Vance, please step aside."

"No way. Anna is my fiancée..."

Julian clenched his fist, as if trying to convince himself that this wasn't really happening.

Watching his eyes dart around, I could guess what he was thinking. He would never willingly let go of someone he considered his ticket to a fortune.

Sure enough, his expression soon softened.

"Anna, I know you're afraid of the pain. If you don't want the surgery, then you don't have to go through with it. Let's go home first and talk things over, okay?"

The moment I went with him, he'd have me strapped to the operating table before I knew what was happening. Once my body was permanently damaged and I had no way to fight back, I'd have no choice but to let him control my life, marry him, and hand over everything I owned.

"I'm not sick, Julian. I know what you were trying to do."

"What are you talking about? Fine, you're not sick. Let's just go home, okay?"

"No."

I clenched my teeth, a bitter taste rising in my throat.

The Hartwell house wasn't a home. It was a place where people like me were slowly destroyed. I couldn't go back there. Not ever.

"Anna, don't throw a tantrum."

He pushed his glasses up again.

"We can talk about whatever's bothering you when we get home. Don't make a scene in front of Mrs. Sterling."

"My home is with the Sterlings."

As I said it, I glanced at Patricia.

She gave me a gentle smile, her eyes filled with encouragement.

Her support gave me the confidence to face Julian.

I looked straight at him and repeated, "I'm already married to Edward Sterling."

"Ha! That's impossible. Edward Sterling is nothing but a living..."

He abruptly cut himself off.

Several icy glares turned toward him at once. His face went pale, and he seemed to struggle to keep his balance.

"Mr. Vance, Anna is our daughter-in-law," Patricia said, her voice turning cold.

I watched Julian's face turn red, then pale. He was clearly furious, but he didn't dare let it show in front of Patricia.

Forcing himself to remain composed, he tried to reason with her.

"Mrs. Sterling, you must be mistaken. Anna was supposed to marry me."

"Were you engaged?" Patricia asked.

Julian shook his head.

"Were you married?"