He Hated Me Until The Rainy Night

Chapter 4: "Coffee At 2AM"

2:03 AM. No power. No audience. Just us and the storm.

The text from Vanessa’s number was still glowing on Victor’s phone.

He hadn’t said anything about it in 20 minutes.

Just sat on the floor across from me, elbows on his knees, staring at the dark like it personally offended him.

My head was pounding. I was starving. Cold. And that text from the hospital was burning a hole in my pocket, “Payment due by 8AM or treatment stops.”_

I made a sound. Didn’t mean to. Just a shaky breath.

Victor looked up instantly. “What?”

“Nothing.” I pulled my thrift blazer tighter. “I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

We both went quiet again.

The building groaned. Water dripped somewhere on the floor below us.

After a while, Victor stood. Walked to the cabinet behind his desk. He pulled out a camping kettle, two bottles of water, instant coffee packets, and protein bars. CEO emergency kit, apparently.

“You’re shaking,” he said. Not unkind. Just... stating it.

“It’s cold.”

“Bullshit.” He clicked the kettle on with a battery pack. “You haven’t eaten in 2 days, have you?”

I didn’t answer.

He poured hot water into two paper cups. The steam curled up in the red emergency light and for a second it felt almost... normal.

He handed me one.

“Drink.”

I wrapped my hands around it. They were raw. Red and cracked from cleaning chemicals.

Victor saw. His eyes stayed on my hands too long. Then moved to my face. To the dark circles. To how thin I looked.

“When was the last time you slept?” he asked.

“Tuesday.”

He frowned. “It’s Friday.”

“My mom’s chemo is at 8AM. If I don’t pay $4,200, they stop treatment.” The words came out before I could stop them. I was too tired to lie anymore. “I’ve been working nights and mornings. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I used a fake name.”

Silence.

Victor took a sip of his coffee. His throat bobbed.

“You could’ve asked for help.”

I laughed. It came out broken. “The man who called every company in New York and told them not to hire me? Right. I should’ve sent you a resume.”

“I was angry.”

“You were cruel.”

“I know.”

That shut me up.

Because he didn’t yell it. He didn’t defend it. He just said it. Like it weighed on him.

“I saw the medical bills on your application,” he said quietly. “When you applied as Clara. I thought it was fake. A sob story to get hired.”

“It’s not.” My voice cracked. “She’s all I have, Victor. My dad left when I was 14. It’s just me and her. And now the cancer’s back and I’m out of options.”

I expected him to look away. To get uncomfortable.

He didn’t.

He just listened.

“Lily used to talk about you,” he said suddenly. “After the accident. For months. ‘Where’s Sally-Auntie? Did she make me the blueberry muffins?’ She kept your drawings on her wall for a year.”

The cup shook in my hands. Hot coffee spilled on my wrist.

“Don’t,” I whispered. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Make me remember the good parts. I can’t hate you if you do that.”

Victor set his cup down. Ran a hand over his face. He looked exhausted. 29 going on 40.

“You weren’t a monster, Sally. I just needed someone to be one. Because if it wasn’t you... then it was someone I was supposed to protect.”

The air left my lungs.

Outside, the rain finally started to slow. The thunder was farther away now.

“We’ll get your mom’s bill paid,” he said suddenly.

“What?”

“Jackson Group has an emergency medical fund. For employees and contractors. I’ll sign the paperwork in the morning.”

I stared at him. “Why would you do that? After everything? After the blacklisting?”

Victor was quiet for a long time. He picked at the rim of his cup.

“Because of that text.” He held up his phone. Vanessa’s number still on screen. “Because if you’re telling the truth... then I owe you 3 years of your life back.”

He didn’t say sorry.

He didn’t reach for me.

But he stood up, took off his suit jacket, and slid it across the floor to me.

“In case you’re cold,” he said. Then he looked away. Like it embarrassed him.

I pulled it on. It was warm. It smelled like cedar and him.

At 2:47 AM, in a blacked-out building, Victor Jackson made me coffee, doubted 3 years of hate, and offered to save my mom.

And I had no idea if I could trust it.

Or if I could survive if he changed his mind again.