NovelUSAChapter 175
Chapter 175
-Ava’s POV-
“...Refuses to die.”
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The words hung in the air for a moment before | felt a wave of relief crash over me. It was so overwhelming that |
almost stumbled backward. Beside me, Elaine let out a quiet sigh of relief, though her face betrayed her attempt
to mask her worry.
“There's internal bleeding,” my father continued, his tone flat and clinical. “A lot of it. The bullet missed his
heart, but it’s caused serious damage to surrounding tissue. We've stabilized him for now, but...” He trailed off,
his expression tightening.
“But what?” | managed to whisper, though my throat felt like sandpaper.
His eyes met mine, heavy with the weight of what he was about to say. “It’s critical. He's not out of the woods
yet. The next 24 hours will be crucial.” There was a pause, and then, almost reluctantly, he added, “But | believe
he’ll pull through.”
“So he is going to be fine?” Elsine asked quickly, her tone sharper than mine.
“I just said that,” my father snapped, throwing her a look that made it clear he thought the question was
ridiculous. His gaze shifted back to me, narrowing in disapproval. “The company you keep,” he muttered,
shaking his head before his eyes scannedagain from head to toe. “Clean that blood off your face and change
into something more appropriate. If you don’t, I'll have security escort you out.”
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away without another glance.
“Wow,” Elaine said, breaking the silence. “He takes ‘asshole’ to a whole new level. Couldn't even bother
pretending to have a shred of humanity while wearing that coat, huh?”
| let out a long sigh but didn’t respond. Grayson was alive. He was alive*. That was all | cared about right now.
| didn’t bother asking my father if we could see Grayson. | knew the answer already: not until he was stable.
Instead, | watched as Elaine began gathering her things, tossing her scarf over her shoulder.
“Well,” she said, her voice detached, “I guess that’s it for the day. I'll be back later, or not. Who knows.” She
turned and started walking toward the exit.
“Elaine, wait.”
She paused, turning back to face me. For a brief second, | thought | saw worry flash in her eyes, but it was
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtquickly replaced by her usual irritation, though this tit looked forced.
| hesitated, my gaze dropping to her still-flat stomach. “Congratulations. And... on your mating too.”
Her expression softened for a moment, genuine surprise flickering across her face before she muttered a quiet,
“Thanks.” Without another word, she turned and walked away, leavingalone again.
I sank back into the chair, letting out a breath I didn’t realize | was holding. My father might not have delivered
his orders in the kindest way, but he was right about one thing: | needed to clean up and change. | reached into
my pocket, intending to grab my phone, only to find it wasn’t there. My stomach dropped as | realized | must
have lost it in the chaos at the carnival.
Cursing under my breath, | got up and went to find Rachel. She was standing near the nurse's station, flipping
through a chart.
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Chapter 175
“Rachel,” | called softly, and she looked up, her face immediately creasing with concern.
“Mrs Blackwood, are you okay?”
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“I'm fine,” | lied, my voice shaky. “I just... | lost my phone. Can | borrow yours? | need to call someone to bring
“Of course.” She reached into her pocket and handedher phone without hesitation.
“Thank you.” | typed in Isabella’s number from memory, holding my breath as it rang.
“Hello?” Isabella’s voice answered on the other end, cautious. “Who is this?”
I didn’t bother answering the question. “It's Ava. Please, | need you to bringa fresh set of clothes to my
father’s hospital. Right away.”
There was a pause, and | could hear the faint rustling on her end. “I'm on my way,” she said finally without any
other question before the line went dead.
| handed the phone back to Rachel with a small smile of gratitude. “Thank you.”
She nodded, her gaze lingering on me. “You should sit down. You look like you're about to collapse.”
“I'm fine,” | repeated, even though | wasn't.
As | turned away, | caught sight of my reflection in the glass panel of a nearby door. Blood smeared across my
face, my clothes rumpled and stained. I looked as broken as | felt.
| headed to the restroom to clean up, scrubbing the dried blood off my skin and rinsing my face with cold water.
The coolness stung, but it helped ground me. When | finally looked up at my reflection again, | looked less like a
mess but still felt like one.
| returned to the waiting area. My legs felt like lead as | sank into the hard plastic chair. | tried to numb my
thoughts, pushing everything to the back of my mind, but it was useless.
Grayson didn’t have his wolf anymore. If he had, none of this would have happened. He would've healed faster,
fought back, done something. And the reason he didn’t have it? Me. | was the reason. His choice to be with me
was what kept him from breaking the curse.
The guilt weighed onlike a mountain. My mind kept spinning with a loop of “what ifs” and “if onlys.” What if |
hadn’t suggested we go to the carnival? What if | had convinced him to do what was best for him as the Alpha
King. What if...
“Lilian!” Isabella’s voice joltedback to reality. | looked up to see her standing a few feet away, her eyes wide
with panic. She rushed over, her hand covering her mouth as she gasped, “Oh my goddess, what happened to
you? Why are you here?”
| blinked at her, unable to muster much of a response. “Did you bring the clothes?” | asked quietly.
She frowned but handedthe bag. “I did, but talk to me, Lilian. What happened?”
| avoided her gaze for a moment, gripping the handles of the bag tightly. Then I forced myself to look at her, my
throat tightening as | began. “We were at a carnival... and out of nowhere, someone just started shooting.” My
voice wavered, but | pushed through. “We wouldn't have been there in the first place if | hadn't made him take
that turn.”
My voice cracked, and | whispered, “This is all
my
fault.”
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Chapter 175
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Isabella knelt down in front of me, grabbing my hands firmly. “Lilian, stop,” she said, her voice.eady and full of
conviction. “This is not your fault. You didn’t ask those shooters to come. You didn’t put that gun in their hands.”
Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes as | shook my head. “But if | hadn’t-"
“No,” she cutoff, her grip on my hands tightening. “If it's anyone's fault, it’s mine. | was the one who played
that stupid prank that made you cout in the first place.”
| shook my head again. “It's not your fault, Bels.” My voice was barely audible. “I just... | need to get changed.”
She nodded, standing up and givinga moment to collect myself. “Okay. Go ahead. I'll wait here.”
| stood and walked to the bathroom, the bag of clothes feeling heavier with every step. Once inside, | locked the
door behindand leaned against it for a moment, staring at the tiled floor. My thoughts crushing back as
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm| changed into the fresh clothes.
Grayson didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to suffer because of me. The image of him lying on the ground,
fighting for his life, wouldn't leave my mind. The blood, the sound of the gunshots, the chaos-it was all replaying
like a broken record.
| splashed cold water on my face, trying to shake the images away. The water dripped down my chin as | stared
at my reflection in the mirror. My face looked pale, my eyes red and swollen. | barely recognized myself.
As | pulled on the clean clothes, my mind wandered back to the curse. What if Grayson resentedfor this?
What if, deep down, he regretted choosingover his wolf?
| shoved the thoughts away as best as | could, but they lingered like a shadow. Taking a deep breath, | gathered
my dirty clothes into the bag and stepped out of the bathroom.
Isabella was waiting forjust as she said she would be, her arms crossed and a worried look on her face. She
straightened when she saw me. “Feeling a little better?”
I shrugged. “Not really, but thanks for the clothes.”
“Anytime.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “You know I'm here for you, right? Whatever you need.”
I nodded, grateful for her support even though the weight on my chest refused to lift. “I know. Thank you.”
| sat down again, gripping the bag tightly in my lap, and stared at the clock on the wall. All I could do now was
wait and hope Grayson made it through the night.
Deep down | knew he would and this would pass.
Grayson was too powerful and this was not the end of his story but maybe it was the end of mine with him
because the moment he woke up, | was going to him to do it...
| was going to tell him to find his fated mate.
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