Part 3The Runaway Bride's Awakening

Liam rushed me to the hospital overnight.

He held my hand, staying by my bedside for the entire night.

How touching!

I heard the young nurses whispering to each other:

"Mr. Sterling loves his fiancée so much! He hasn't closed his eyes all night just to take care of her."

In the eyes of the public, the heir to the Sterling empire was aloof, arrogant, and entirely uninterested in women.

Only I knew the truth.

He was worried.

Worried that if I couldn't attend the wedding as planned, it would introduce a variable into Mia's perfect happiness.

Seeing me wake up, Liam carefully fed me porridge, spoon by spoon.

His bitten finger was wrapped in thick layers of gauze.

Yet, his only concern was me:

"Chloe, I wish I could take this sickness from you. Please, get better quickly, for me. Can you do that?"

I swallowed the porridge expressionlessly.

Suddenly realizing that this would be our last breakfast together.

Countless sorrows fluttered wildly in my subconscious.

I wanted to scream, to tear things apart, to demand answers.

The old Liam used to stand just one step away, patiently waiting for me to even look at him.

He would go out in the middle of the night to buy my favorite spicy crawfish, beat up the thugs who bullied me, and bring me warm brown sugar water when I had my period.

Slowly but surely, I had fallen into the trap of his indulgent devotion.

Only to discover overnight...

That he was merely using the illusion of true love to lock me inside a prison of romance.

I finally broke down and cried.

Liam frantically pulled me into his embrace, wiping away my tears:

"Chloe, does it hurt a lot? I'll get the doctor."

He pulled out his phone.

A message popped up, and his face drastically changed.

"Chloe, there's an emergency at the company. Take your medicine and get some sleep. I'll be right back to stay with you."

Before I could even speak.

He pushed the door open and rushed out.