Chapter 8 A Deadly Deception
1007 Words
For the next few days, Jace miraculously didn't f**k up.
He pushed off multi-million-dollar board meetings, practically moving into Stella's hospital room to care for her around the clock.
He personally slow-cooked her porridge, brewed her broths, and spent ridiculous amounts of time carving intricate fruit platters just to make her smile.
He seemed to have entirely reverted back to the flawlessly attentive, hopelessly devoted Jace who had relentlessly pursued her years ago.
Terrified that the nurses would hurt Stella while changing her dressings, he paid an exorbitant fee to bring in a top wound-care specialist strictly to teach him the gentlest bandage-changing techniques.
Even after mastering it, he was still painfully cautious. With every layer of gauze he peeled back, he gently blew cool air onto her wounds, absolutely terrified of causing her even a flinch of pain.
If she simply rolled over in bed, he would instantly jump up to ask if anything was hurting.
If she even furrowed her brow slightly, he would enter a full-blown panic, interrogating her until she assured him she was fine.
And he was still personally micromanaging every single detail of their upcoming wedding.
From the grand architectural setup of the venue to the exact ribbon on the bridal bouquet and the artisan wedding favors, he handled it all with the dedication of a man deeply in love.
If all of this was truly just an act, then Stella had to admit that Jace deserved a f*****g Oscar.
His performance was so flawless that every doctor, nurse, and patient in the ward was entirely convinced Jace was hopelessly in love with Stella, constantly gushing about how he was the ultimate perfect man.
Stella, however, just listened to their praise with a deadpan expression, reacting to absolutely none of it.
It wasn't until the day of her discharge, while Jace was down at the billing department processing the paperwork, that Stella saw Chloe's latest update.
This time, it wasn't a passive-aggressive status. It was a blatant, direct DM.
Chloe: You got bullied by me in school. You got your boyfriend stolen by me when we were dating. And now, right before your wedding, I'm stealing your husband too. Tsk. Stella, you are seriously the most pathetic, unchallenging rival I've ever dealt with.
Attached below the messages was a short video clip.
In the video, Chloe was leaning gracefully back against her hospital pillows, surrounded by Jace's entire inner circle of frat boys and heirs.
Some were holding massive bouquets, others holding ridiculously expensive fruit baskets, and some clutching high-end supplements.
They crowded around her bed, all talking over each other.
"Our queen Chloe, we've told you a million times. All that sweet-talking Jace does with Stella is 100% fake."
"Yeah, Jace is purely doing it to mentally torture Spencer for stealing you away from him back in the day."
Right on cue, Jace walked through the hospital room door in the video.
He walked straight to Chloe's bedside, holding an insulated soup container.
Chloe looked up at Jace with massive, tear-filled puppy-dog eyes. "I only want to hear it from Jace."
Jace froze for a split second. After a moment of heavy silence, he nodded. "Yeah. It's all an act. Every single exception and every bit of favoritism I've ever shown Stella are totally faked. Be a good girl, Chloe. Everything is going exactly according to my plan."
Chloe let out a dramatic sob. "You're lying! If it's all an act, then why did you let Stella get pregnant with your baby?"
Jace's expression instantly became impossibly complicated.
Chloe pressed on. "If your supposed devotion to her is totally fake, then prove it to me. Make Stella abort that baby. She doesn't even know she's pregnant yet anyway, right? Do it for me, Jace. Please?"
The moment she said those words, the heavy metal thermos in Jace's hand slipped and crashed onto the floor.
Looking completely unmoored, he bent down to pick it up, but Chloe threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. "Jace, say something."
Jace remained frozen for what felt like an eternity before his voice finally cracked out. "Okay."
The video ended abruptly.
Stella's heart violently seized, the pain so sharp that it felt like her chest was being ripped open.
She pressed her hand fiercely against her chest, gasping frantically for air as tears began to stream uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Suddenly, a terrifying memory from a few days ago hit her like a freight train: the massive hemorrhage she had suffered.
At the time, the doctor had told her that taking multiple hard falls had traumatized her uterus, causing severe internal bleeding.
Jace had been standing right there in the room. She remembered him aggressively ordering the doctor to use the absolute most expensive medications to ensure the damage to her body was minimized.
At the time, she had actually felt a twisted sense of relief. Even if his love was fake, at least his fake persona was kind enough to care about her physical safety.
But now, the horrifying truth clicked into place.
Jace was a f*****g monster.
A vibrant, living, breathing life had been ruthlessly murdered before it even had a chance to exist.
Stella slowly brought her trembling, icy hand down to rest flat against her flat stomach.
She couldn't wrap her head around it. If Jace were so hellbent on his sick revenge, why did he bother ordering the doctors to use the best medication to minimize the damage to her body?
A wild, sickening realization bloomed in her mind, but she instantly crushed the absurd thought.
Stella closed her eyes as a profound numbness washed over her.
'Jace. I truly, deeply hope that everything you said is true. I hope your supposed love and special treatment for me were nothing but a revenge plot. Because if I find out that you actually fell in love with me for even a single second, I will make sure you burn in absolute agony for the rest of your pathetic life.'
- Writer
