He Mistook Her for Me, Now He Regrets

Chapter 2

A cool touch on my fingertips woke me.

Ethan sat beside the bed, gently blowing on my injured fingers as he dabbed ointment onto them with a cotton swab.

Blowing on a cut might ease the sting, but nothing could touch the pain in my heart.

For a moment, it felt as though we had gone back in time.

Back when Ethan and I were together, I often came away bruised after driving off the half brothers who mocked and bullied him.

He would tend to my injuries with the same care, his eyes full of concern.

The moment Ethan saw I was awake, he stood and tossed the tube of ointment at me. His face hardened.

"Don't get the wrong idea. Vanessa likes your playing, and you'll perform for her again. I need those hands working properly."

"Ethan, would you finally be satisfied if I died?"

Something about my question reignited his temper.

Ethan lunged forward and pinned me hard against the mattress, his eyes bloodshot.

His lips parted. "You..." was all he managed before he stopped himself.

With a dull thud, his fist slammed into the mattress beside me hard enough to make my ears ring.

I stared numbly at him from inches away. Then several warm drops landed on my cheek.

Before I could make sense of them, Ethan jerked upright and turned away. His voice had gone flat and cold.

"We haven't done this month's sensory-link test yet."

My body shuddered before I could stop it.

For three years, Ethan had repeatedly used me to test the neural synchronizer his company had developed. Every session had been agony.

The moment the electrode pads touched my temples and wrists, a sharp current tore through my body.

I curled up on the floor as cold sweat soaked through my thin hospital gown.

"Why... what is this for?"

Ethan watched me without emotion. After a brief pause, he answered, "Pregnancy-symptom synchronization."

My head snapped up. I couldn't believe what I had heard.

We had used the neural synchronizer together before.

Once, when I had a severe cold and ached all over, Ethan had put the primary unit on me and connected himself to the linked unit so he could share my pain.

Now he wanted me to suffer in another woman's place.

"Vanessa is suffering from morning sickness and mood swings. You'll endure them in her place."

'He really loves Vanessa that much.'

The current tore through my body, already ravaged by organ failure. I curled tighter on the floor and dug my nails into the wood until they left bloody grooves.

Ethan frowned and crouched beside me. As if acting on instinct, he slid his palm under my fingers so my nails dug into him instead of the floor.

"They're only pregnancy symptoms. Who are you trying to convince with this act?"

Despite the cruelty of his words, he sounded genuinely confused.

When it became clear that I couldn't take much more, Ethan finally panicked. He grabbed the neural synchronizer and smashed it to the floor.

The crash was deafening.

"Why is she reacting so badly this time?" he shouted at the doctors rushing in. "What did you do to her?"

Agony split my skull, and my mind began to fade. Through blurred vision, I saw Vanessa's assistant rush in and whisper something in Ethan's ear.

After one glance at me, he hurried away.

I lost consciousness soon after.

It was dusk when I woke. As I stepped into the hallway, the nurses pointed at me and whispered among themselves.

Some looked sorry for me. Others smirked.

A sense of dread settled over me.

I grabbed a young nurse by the arm. "Where is Ethan?"

She pointed outside and gave me a pitying look.

"Ms. Blake had a nightmare that your father was haunting her. Mr. Caldwell said he was going to dig up your father's grave and scatter the ashes so the nightmares would stop."