Chapter 7
FLORENCE’S POV
I stared at Mason, my pulse pounding in my ears.
“I don’t remember anything from that time,” I said.
But his jaw clenched, his eyes bumed into mine. He didn’t believe me.
“So Jade loses her memory… and now you lose yours? Isn’that convenient.” His words cut through me like glass. “Do you really take me for a fool?”
“Whitehill, that’s enough,” Raiden said calmly. “She has reason to lie. Leave her alone.”
Mason didn’t even spare him a glance. He continued looking at me as he said, “And who is this little knight in shining armor? Your new benefactor?”
“Mason… I started.
“Tell me why you felt the need to get a job when I take care of your every need,” he said. “Why my wife is accepting money from random men.”
Toze.
“Whitehill, enough. She needs to lie down.”
“What the hell do you care?”
“Someone has to.”
Mason didn’t like the subtle accusation. The two men glared at each other, breathing heavily. Mason finally dropped my arm, and I knew what was coming…
The tension in the air crackled like a live wire.
His anger wasn’t about me or Jade. It was about losing control of me. For some reason, he liked that I stayed home all day for him, ready to do his bidding. And what’s funny is had he been halfway decent to me, I would have stayed there for the rest of my life.
Mason made the first move, punching Raiden’s right jaw.
I gasped. “Mason!”
Raiden barely flinched from Mason’s punch, his head snapping to the side but his stance unwavering. With a slow, measured movement, he wiped the corner of his lip where flood was already beginning to trickle.
His expression darkened. In a flash, Raiden struck Mason back on his ribs, the force of it sending him staggering back. He recovered quickly, his rage only growing as he launched himself forward again, slamming Raiden into the nearest wall with a sickening thud.
A flurry of fists, brutal and unrelenting.
I rushed forward. “Stop! You’re both acting insane!”
Neither of them listened.
Mason lunged again, this time grabbing Raiden by the collar and slamming him onto the floor, pressing a forearm against his throat.
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“You think you can take what’s mine?” Mason growled, both ragged.
Raiden sinirked, even as Mason’s weight bore down on hit “She’s not yours, Whitehtil.”
Mason raised his fist. I reacted Instinctively, stepping forward with my hands out, desperate to stop the madness.
“Stop It! You’re going to–
But in the chaos, a stray elbow swung too wide.
Pain exploded through my skull.
I stumbled backward, the room tilting around me.
Everything turned muffled, like I was underwater. My vision blurred, and before I knew it, I was falling.
Then–darkness.
The last thing I heard was Mason shouting my name.
When I woke up, the sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nose. White hospital walls. Soft beeping from machines. A dull ache in my ribs.
I opened my eyes and Jade was sitting beside my bed, wearing the same red cocktail dress she’d worn all night.
She looked up the second I stirred, her eyes were filled with worry.
“Florence,” she breathed, reaching for my hand. “I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t left early, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
I blinked at her, disoriented.
She squeezed my hand. “Come on,” she said softly. “Let’s get some fresh air.”
Before I could protest, she was already moving behind the wheelchair, pushing me toward the hallway.
I should have stopped her. I should have refused.
But for some reason, I didn’t.
Maybe it was because, for the first time in forever, she seemed… kind.
Had I been too petty? Had I let old wounds fester for so long that I couldn’t see when someone was trying to make things right?
For the briefest moment, I allowed myself to believe people were good and the world was right.
That was my mistake. Because as we turned a corner, I heard a familiar voice.
Mason.
Jade stopped pushing the wheelchair, probably hoping to listen in as well. I craned my neck to see who he was talking to… It was Chris. Chris had his hands in his pockets, his stance relaxed, but there was a sharpness in his gaze.
“So… is this the part where you tell me you and Florence were some great love story all along?!
Mason bowed his head, looking tired and maybe even a bit ashamed. “Not really.”
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Chapter 7
Chris raised a brow. “Then why the hell did you marry her knew you back then, Mason. You didn’t even look at her twice. You were all about Jade,”
Mason exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. “I had a reason.he sighed. “Five years, Chris. I married Florence and stayed with her for five years… just to find evidence that she pushed Jade off that cliff.”
My stomach dropped.
My
I felt Jade tense behind me. She was the first to react, mushing to kneel beside me.
“I–I’m so sorry,” she whispered urgently. “I know you would never do that. I know you-
But I wasn’t listening.
The man I stood beside for five years hadn’t married me because he loved me. He hadn’t even married me out of pity.
He had married me because he thought I was a murderer.
I needed to get away.
I turned my wheelchair away from Jade.
“I need to be alone,” I whispered.
Jade hesitated. “Florence, 1-”
“Please,”
Something in my voice must have told her I was serious because she finally nodded.
I gripped the wheels of my chair and started pushing myself back to my room. I had spent my life worrying about Mason’s feelings towards me. Finally, having gotten some clarity, I felt a strange sense of relief mixed with disgust.
I had no idea how to move forward.
Hours later, after I’d eaten something, Mason walked into my hospital suite. I instantly looked away.
“Hey. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Are you here to accuse me of any other crimes? Ricking puppies? Kidnapping children?”
Mason sighed. “You’re behaving like a child. I asked you a simple question.”
I turned to look at him, my chest tight with frustration. “A simple question? You accused me of murder, Mason. You actually think I pushed my best friend off a cliff?”
His expression remained unreadable. “I never said you pushed her.
“Well, apparently, some very interesting facts I heard earlier today suggest otherwise.”
His eyes widened. For the first time, he looked caught.
“So tell me, after five years of marriage, have you found any evidence?” I asked.
Silence.
Mason exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples. “I don’t know.”
Chapter 7
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1 froze. He doesn’t know?
So he still believes there is a possibility I did it? He had spent five years with me, sharing a home, meals, moments
believing I might have killed someone. And to what end? Just as he shared his crush on Jade with me, Jarle shared her secrets with me, too. And I knew she didn’t love Mason like he loved her. Sure, he was fun, but he was not her end game,
Why exactly did he think I would kill her? What would be my motive?
I swallowed hard. “You have no idea what that’s like, do you?” My voice was quiet, almost too calm. “To love someone so much, it hurts, only to realize they never even saw you as human.”
Mason’s expression flickered–just for a second–but he caught himself, schooling his features into the same stoic mask he always wore.
I looked away again, staring at the IV drip in my arm, willing my emotions down. I wouldn’t break in front of him.
“Rest, Florence. We’ll talk when you’re discharged.”
I didn’t answer.
He hesitated, like there was something else he wanted to say. But then his phone rang, and I didn’t have to guess who it was.
Jade.
He pulled the phone out of his pocket, checked the screen, and answered.
“Jade?” His voice was filled with concern.
I closed my eyes.
“Slow down. What happened?”
There was a pause.
“What!?” Mason’s posture stiffened. “Someone broke into your house?”
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Chapter B
