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We watched silently as the video played. My mind was still trying to catch up with everything happening. The moment I had fallen through the steps, it felt like it was happening at a different time, earlier than when Pa Greg had been hurt. I couldn’t make sense of it, but the video was clear, and the room was so quiet. No one knew what to say.
Then Noah spoke up. “Don’t you think you and Georgia should apologize to Eden after accusing her of crimes she didn’t commit?” His voice was calm.
Keith shot him a cold look. “This doesn’t prove anything. After all, you saw the person in the video wearing the same exact dress as Eden,” Keith argued. He still didn’t want to believe that I was innocent.
I felt my frustration rising. “Fine,” I said, my voice steady, despite the ache in my head. “Now that I’m clear, please uncuff
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- me. And I need my privacy.”
Keith hesitated for a moment, his eyes narrowing as if he wasn‘ t ready to let go of the argument. Georgia stood beside him, but she didn’t speak up. Keith walked toward me, but then paused and turned to face Noah.
“You,” he said sharply. “Aren’t you going to leave?”
Noah just scoffed, not looking at Keith. “I don’t see it as your business,” he replied,
as
if Keith‘ s words didn’t matter at all.
Keith stepped closer, his voice getting harder. “Get out,” he demanded.
set
Noah’s eyes locked with Keith‘ s, and for
a second, I thought they might come to blows. But Noah didn’t move. “I won‘ t,” he said, his voice just as stubborn.
I could feel the tension in the room building, and it made my head throb even more. I couldn’t stand it anymore. “I want to be by myself, please,” I yelled, the words
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coming out more forcefully than I meant.
It worked. Noah stood up without saying anything else. He walked over to me and checked my temperature with a gentle touch. “Have a good rest,” he said, his voice soft. “I’ll send you a quick recovery flower later in the day.”
With that, he walked past Keith, who was still seething with rage, and left.
Georgia seemed like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t get the chance. Keith snapped at her. “Leave,” he said, his voice so cold it froze the air around us.
She stood there, shocked, before turning and leaving without another word. The door closed behind her, and it was just Keith and me left in the room.
I could feel the anger radiating off him, and it made my stomach twist. He stepped closer, his eyes full of fury. “What do you think you’re doing, Eden?” he snapped. “Letting Noah treat you like you belong to
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him and say all that crap?”
I was so tired. My head still throbbed, and I couldn’t even keep up with the whirlwind of emotions swirling around us. Keith‘ s words felt like a weight on my chest, and I didn’t have the energy to fight him. But what he said hit me in a place I didn‘ t expect.
I looked at him, feeling a mix of exhaustion and frustration. “And you, Keith,” I said, my voice quiet but firm. “You don’t owe me anything. I don’t belong to you. Please get that into your head.”
“You belong to me, Eden. You are my wife, for crying out loud!” Keith’s voice was filled with frustration as he stood there, glaring
at me.
I met his angry eyes and replied, “That won’t be necessary, since we are going to get a divorce.”
Keith scoffed, the sound harsh. “There‘ s no way I will sign that paper.”
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I stared at him, confused. “I don’t get it. Isn’t this what you wanted all along? To be with Georgia? Now I’m telling you that I will give you that opportunity, if you‘ 11 just sign the divorce papers. You can be with the woman you love, forever.”
His eyes narrowed. “You‘ re just acting like a jealous wife, Eden. There’s nothing going on between me and Georgia.”
I felt my stomach twist. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. His words hit me like a punch, leaving me speechless. How could he say that? Why was he telling me this? Was he really trying to convince me that nothing was going on between them? He must think I’m blind.
“Believe it or not, Eden, whatever happened between me and Georgia is in the past,” he continued. The words felt empty, like he was trying to reassure himself more than me. I didn’t respond. Deep down, I had decided not to engage with him anymore, not to answer his
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words. I was done with trying to make sense of his excuses. Keith saw that I wasn‘ t saying anything, and without another word, he stormed out of the hospital room.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My head still ached, but the weight of everything Keith had said made it even worse. I leaned back against the pillow, closing my eyes for a moment. Maybe if I ignored it, the pain would go away.
A few minutes later, the door to my room opened, and Georgia walked in. Her face wasn‘ t the usual confident mask she wore; today, she looked angry–no, more like… defeated.
“I thought you were going to die,” she said, her voice cold. I froze at her words. My heart skipped a beat, unsure of how to process them. She thought I was going to die? Why would she say that?
Georgia took a few steps toward me, her
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eyes narrowing as she continued. “You know, cousin, I put you on Pa Greg in an unconscious state. I had a great plan. If he died… then there would be no need for you to die, but Keith would be with me. And if he survived, and you died… there would be no need to kill him, because it’s the same thing. One of you had to die so I’ll be with Keith.”
Her words were like ice water, cold and chilling, but they made my blood run even colder. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was she really telling me that she planned for me to die? That she had set everything in motion, hoping one of us wouldn’t survive? It was like a nightmare come to life.
“But since you are awake,” she said, her voice turning dark and ominous, “that means only one thing…” She paused for a moment, a smirk playing on her lips. “He gotta go.”
