My Boyfriend Drained My Blood to Please His Stepsister novel Chapter 4

"Finish them," he ordered. "Then you can leave."

I didn’t hesitate.

I grabbed a bottle and started chugging.

Laughter erupted around me.

"Damn, Zane, your lapdog is dedicated. She’ll do whatever you say!"

"She’s gonna puke everywhere-so nasty."

"Better not throw up on me, bitch-"

The alcohol burned down my throat like fire, my stomach twisting in agony.

By the third bottle, my body couldn’t take it anymore.

I doubled over and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The room spun.

Then-darkness.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was a flicker of something on Zane’s face.

Regret?

No.

Just my imagination.

I woke up in the hospital.

Gastric bleeding.

Zane stood by my bed, looking down at me, his gaze empty.

"Chloe, don’t think for a second that this makes me care about you," he said coldly.

"You’re just a dog in the Parker family. Even your life belongs to me."

"I’ll use it however I see fit."

I laughed.

Laughed until tears ran down my face.

Then, in one sharp motion, I ripped out my IV.

I met his eyes, all the love I once had for him completely gone.

"If my life belongs to you," I said softly, "then I’ll give it back."

Zane grabbed my wrist, his grip tight, his jaw clenched.

A vein throbbed in his forehead as he let out a dark, bitter laugh.

"You wanna die? Not without my permission."

I yanked my arm free and forced myself to stand, every movement agony.

I walked out of that hospital without looking back.

Not at Zane.

Not even once.

Stumbling down the street, I got a call from my sister’s hospital.

Her condition had worsened. She needed surgery-immediately.

Dad was out of town, ignoring my calls.

My stepmother and Lily just watched, indifferent.

I had no choice.

I swallowed my pride and went to Zane.

I thought he’d say yes.

It was nothing to him-less than what he spent on one of Lily’s handbags.

And I was still, technically, his wife.

But I was wrong.

"Chloe, what game are you playing now?"

Zane’s voice was ice.

Lily clung to his arm, eyes full of mock concern.

"Oh, come on, sis, stop pretending. Everyone knows you love playing the victim."

She turned to Zane, pouting.

"She’s just doing this for attention."

Zane stared at me like I was dirt beneath his shoe.

"Trying to get me to chase you? Pathetic."

"Your sister’s life means nothing to me."

Then, his lips curled into a smirk.

"Chloe, remember how you begged me to marry you?"

Zane didn’t even glance back.

The window went up.

The car disappeared into the rain.

As I watched the taillights fade, my heart turned to stone.

He was never going to help me.

I dragged myself inside, barely holding on.

Shoving down whatever food I could find, I forced myself into a hot shower.

Only then did I feel human again.

Pain crashed into me like a tidal wave.

In just a few days-I had lost a child, nearly bled out, had my legs slashed by glass, suffered a stomach hemorrhage, and spent a night kneeling in the freezing rain.

Every breath felt like knives in my ribs.

But I had to keep going.

My sister was still waiting.

At least-at least until the trial started.

My phone buzzed.

A message from the lab.

"The medication has arrived."

Hope.

A flicker, but hope nonetheless.

But the hospital wouldn’t wait.

"Her condition is critical," the nurse warned. "She might not make it through the night."

I gathered every piece of jewelry the Parker family had given me.

Then, with shaking legs, I stumbled out into the storm.

The pawnshop clerk counted the cash.

It still wasn’t enough.

Just as I was about to leave with the money, Zane’s men grabbed me and dragged me back.

They threw me at his feet.