The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 03

The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 03

I’d clung to the hope that he was different—that even if the world turned against me, he still remembered the vow from the hunter’s cabin and his affection had been real.

Landon released my jaw. “I meant it at first.”

His tone was flat, as if discussing something trivial that didn’t concern him.

“When I learned you were the girl from Sandermont, I was genuinely moved. I intended to honor our engagement.”

“But look at you. You spilled champagne and embarrassed us at a charity gala.”

“Waverly is nothing like you. Poised, sensible, never making me look foolish.”

His gaze swept over me, cool and self-righteous.

“The Reeds raised Waverly for twenty years. Everyone accepts her as the true Reed heiress.”

“You appeared out of thin air and shattered the life she’d known for two decades. How much pain have you caused her?”

“Humiliating you a few times to cheer her up—isn’t that a fair trade?”

I stared at him. My grip on the pendant tightened until its sharp edge dug into my palm.

“Why bring me back at all?” My voice shook, tears spotting the bedspread. “I never begged to join this family, and I never forced you to keep our engagement.”

My chest constricted painfully, the agony nearly stealing my breath.

“If you love her so deeply, why not leave me to my quiet life in the countryside? Why wound me like this?”

I cried out, hysterical, hot tears hitting the floor.

Landon’s eyes darkened. He leaned down, his warm breath fanning my face.

“At first, we considered pressuring you to leave voluntarily. But then we realized Waverly delighted in watching you fall apart. Every time she saw you humiliated, her depression eased.”

A faint smile tugged at his lips, as if he were watching an amusing plaything. “You’re the best medicine Waverly could ask for.”

He let go of my chin and patted my cheek lightly. “That’s why you can’t leave.”

It felt as though all blood drained from my body. I trembled uncontrollably.

“So this family homecoming banquet isn’t meant to acknowledge my place in the family. It exists only to entertain her?”

Landon lifted an eyebrow, offering neither confirmation nor denial.

“The Reeds are giving you room and board. Why should you care what strangers online whisper?”

His thumb brushed my lip, his gaze heavy.

“Be cooperative. Let Waverly vent her frustrations, and I’ll make it worth your while. What do you want? A mansion on the West Side? Designer bags? Name your price.”

His patronizing offer made my stomach churn.

I slapped his hand away and screamed at him with every ounce of strength left. “Don’t touch me! You disgust me!”

“Landon, I want to break off this engagement! Tomorrow I’ll hold a press conference and cut all ties with the Reeds!”

Landon laughed lazily. “Laurel, you still don’t grasp your situation.”

He loomed over me. “The doctored footage they plan to play at the banquet is just a cheap edit. I could release a statement afterward and write the whole thing off as a tasteless prank.”

He bent low and murmured right beside my ear, his voice low and menacing. “But if you cause a scene…”

He pulled out his phone and held a video in front of my eyes.

His words coiled around me like venom. “I also have the real footage.”

The screen showed dim, hazy shots from my birthday last month, when he’d joined me at the hotel to blow out candles.

The hidden camera had captured my face clearly, showing us clasped in a tight embrace.

A knife seemed to drive deep inside my chest, and fresh pain flooded through me.

“You… you were filming me even then.” Tears poured down without restraint. “Landon, you are ruthless. You would stoop this low for Waverly.”

Landon grabbed the nape of my neck and forced me to meet his eyes. “So you will obey me.”

“Play your part at the homecoming banquet. Deliver the spectacle. Don’t shame Waverly.”

Blood seeped through the stitches on my forehead, mingling with the tears that blurred my vision.

Nausea rolled over me in violent waves. I staggered toward the hospital bathroom and retched until there was nothing left in my stomach.

Landon lingered in the doorway, watching me collapse in humiliation.

He pulled a few tissues from the box. “Stop this hysterics.”

“You don’t wish to end up homeless and disgraced, do you?”

He dropped the tissues on the floor and turned to leave without a backward glance.

The door slammed shut. I knelt on the freezing tile floor.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, my thumb hovering over the screen.

A new message popped up on the screen: [I’ll be there. No matter what.]

I braced myself on the sink to stand, and darkness swarmed my vision.

When I woke again, my mother and father sat beside the bed.

The second Mrs. Reed saw my eyes flutter open, tears welled up instantly. “Laurel, you scared us half to death!”