Chapter 84

Sean POV

"Stop playing games, Christina." My voice came out harder than I'd ever used with her.

"Jennifer and Mike. Your friend and your former security guard. Where are they?"

Something calculated flashed behind her eyes before being quickly masked with confusion.

"Jennifer? I haven't seen her since this morning. And who's Mike?"

"Don't." I tightened my grip slightly on her wrist. "Don't lie to me. Not about this."

"The security guard who worked your summer garden party," I continued, watching her face. "The one who, coincidentally, was involved in attacking Angela today."

Her eyes widened with seemingly genuine shock. "Angela was attacked? Oh my god, Sean, is she alright? I had no idea-"

"Stop." I cut through her performance.

"The timing of your disappearance. The way you kept calling until I left the hospital. Your closest friend found at the scene."

I moved closer, using my height to loom over her bed.

"Do you really expect me to believe this was all coincidence?"

"You're frightening me. I would never hurt anyone. You know that."Christina's lower lip trembled.

"Do I?" I caught her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. "Because right now, I'm wondering how much I actually know about you at all."

A tear spilled down Christina's cheek.

"How can you say that? After everything we've been through? After I risked my life to save yours?" Her voice broke. "That day on the yacht-"

I felt my resolve waver at the sight of her tears.

Despite the anger and suspicion churning in my gut, there was still something about Christina's vulnerability that pulled at me.

Almost unconsciously, I reached for the tissue box on her bedside table and held it out to her.

My hand trembled slightly - caught between the instinct to comfort and the need to remain stern.

Christina took a tissue with trembling fingers, her eyes meeting mine with a mixture of gratitude and hurt that made my chest tighten.

I watched as she dabbed at her tears, the familiar gesture bringing back memories of all the times I'd consoled her before. Had those moments been real, or just another performance?

"I remember," I said finally, my tone softening despite myself.

The weight of that old debt still pulled at me, mingling uncomfortably with my current suspicions.

My emotions were a tangled mess - anger at her possible betrayal, sympathy for her tears, guilt over doubting someone who once saved my life, and a desperate need to know the truth.

"I've always been grateful for what you did. But gratitude has limits, Christina."

"You have no proof," she whispered, her voice trembling as she crumpled the tissue in her hand.

"You're just throwing accusations at me because you need someone to blame. Why would I want to hurt Angela? She'll be out of your life soon anyway-your marriage contract is almost up."

I felt a flash of annoyance at her words, followed immediately by a wave of confusion at my own reaction.

Once, Christina and I had planned together how to remove Angela from my life, and I had welcomed such suggestions.

But now, when she brought it up again, I only felt irritation mixed with an inexplicable protectiveness toward Angela.

Something had changed, though I couldn't quite explain what. These conflicting emotions left me feeling both frustrated and uncertain - I couldn't trust Christina fully anymore, but I couldn't completely dismiss her either.

"I would never hurt anyone, I've only ever hurt myself... to protect my dignity, my feelings." She caught my hand against her cheek.

"That day on the yacht, I didn't even think about my own life when I jumped in to save you..."

I pulled my hand away slowly, torn between suspicion and long-ingrained trust. Something about this whole situation felt wrong, but I couldn't quite piece it together.

I needed more information, more evidence.

"I'll look into what happened today," I said finally, my voice carefully neutral. "If you're telling the truth, it will come out. But if I find out you had anything to do with Angela's attack..."

"Sean, I don't care what other people say about me," Christina's voice grew softer. "Like this incident-people might think I deliberately set up Angela, but I can ignore all of that. But if you misunderstand me too, just like everyone else..."

She lowered her eyes, her expression crumbling into despair.

"And now with my face ruined... if you don't believe in me either, I really don't know what's the point of living anymore..."

I left her room without responding, my mind already working through the possibilities. I needed to talk to my security team, check the hospital cameras, trace Mike's movements. If Christina was behind this, there had to be evidence somewhere.

But first, I needed to check on Angela. The thought of her alone with Christopher for so long made something twist uncomfortably in my chest.

When I arrived at Angela's floor, I heard voices from the nurses' station. A young nurse was speaking to her colleague, her voice carrying clearly down the hall.

"Mr. Blake is so attentive! Did you see how he hasn't left his girlfriend's side since she arrived? That's what I call true love."

I stopped dead in my tracks, my hand tightening into a fist at my side.

Girlfriend?

The word echoed in my head like a taunt.