He Paid Five Million to Cut Ties, Then Came Crawling Back Chapter 04

He Paid Five Million to Cut Ties, Then Came Crawling Back Chapter 04

I got sick after that.

The fever wouldn’t break. My body felt like it was filled with wet sand.

The burn on my hand had gotten infected, and the old injury underneath flared up with it. At night, the pain wouldn’t let me sleep.

The only thing that eased the nerve pain was my prescription painkillers.

I dragged myself up to get my pills.

The bottle was empty.

I’d just refilled the prescription days ago.

I tore the shop apart looking for them. Nothing.

The panic came in slow, cold waves.

Without the meds, I wasn’t going to make it through the night.

The pain did things to you. It ground you down until there was nothing left but the agony.

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. I called Bennett.

He was the only person who knew about the condition. The only one authorized to request an emergency refill.

It rang and rang. He answered just before I thought it would go to voicemail.

“What.” Not even a question. Just a wall.

“Bennett, I…” My voice cracked. “My pills are gone. I need you to bring me more. Please.”.

“Again?” He didn’t even try to hide his suspicion. “What is this, Maren? Another one of your stunts?”

“I’m not… I can barely move. Bennett, please.”

I was on the floor by then, curled into myself, cold sweat soaking through everything.

The pain in my hand was swallowing me whole. My vision kept tilting sideways.

“You’ve pulled this before, Maren. How many times do you expect me to fall for it?” His voice was ice.

“I’m in the middle of something. Serena’s touring exhibition opens this week, and I don’t have time for this.”

The line went dead.

The call disconnected with three sharp beeps. I think I smiled.

Dying didn’t sound so bad.

In the next life, Bennett, don’t come looking for me.

Right before everything went dark, I heard the door chime.

Someone was coming in.

A figure, backlit by the streetlights, moving toward me.

But I didn’t have the strength to wonder who.