He Called Me Crazy, I Married My Rival

Chapter 2

Miles hung up the phone and headed downstairs.

Sierra immediately put on a soft, seductive smile, her voice sweet and syrupy. "Miles, what was so urgent that you had to call me over in such a rush?"

Miles didn't even glance at her. He just pointed straight at me. "She had a pretty intense outburst just now. Make sure nothing goes wrong tomorrow."

Sierra turned to cast me a dismissive glance, her tone confident and sure. "It's probably just a stress response because the medication wore off. I'll bump up her dosage tonight."

Miles's brows furrowed tightly. He said nothing, just stood there in silence.

"You don't believe me?" She paused, then fixed her gaze on me and barked an order. "Go clean up the mess on the floor."

Memories of my past life flashed to the surface.

The two of them had teamed up to trick me into firing all the household staff, spinning it as a way to help me recover from my illness.

"Holly, doing more housework will help stabilize your mood."

After that, I was left alone in that huge, empty villa, with nothing but cleaning supplies and housekeeping tools for company.

I dropped to my knees without a flicker of emotion on my face, cupping the disgusting mess on the floor with my bare hands, then dumped it before walking mechanically to the utility closet and turning on the robot vacuum to finish the rest of the cleaning.

Then, while they weren't looking, I darted into the bathroom, the door clicking softly shut behind me, and coughed up a clump of sticky white medication.

"What do you think you're doing!"

Miles was standing right behind me, completely silent, like he'd appeared out of thin air.

I grabbed a rag and wiped down the sink, not a flicker of panic showing on my face.

"You're sure she won't have another random outburst?" he asked, directing the question to Sierra.

Sierra trailed her fingers in slow circles over Miles's abs.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she can't even stand up tomorrow."

Miles let out a long, relieved breath behind me. He leaned in to whisper something in Sierra's ear, and she immediately pouted playfully, swatting at his chest with a coy "Stop it."

The air reeked of cheap, cloying lust.

Miles and Sierra kissed hungrily as they stumbled over to the bathtub.

He tangled his fingers with hers and pressed her down beneath him.

"Once I take over the Quinn Corporation, I'll find an excuse to send Holly to a mental asylum. Then you can have my kids."

He paused, his voice low and warm, thick with affection. "Dr. Mae, there's a part of me that hurts real bad. I need you to treat it..."

I listened to the breathy moans coming from the bathtub as they went at it, gasping and moaning, and I didn't feel even a twinge of sadness.

I curled my fingers slowly into a tight fist. All of this was just to steal the Quinn Corporation and take my place.

More memories from my past life flooded in.

Miles had said, "Holly, let's have a baby, yeah?"

As an orphan, I'd longed for a blood relative of my own more than anything, so I'd thrown myself into preparing for pregnancy without a second thought.

I'd had no idea that every folic acid pill I'd swallowed had been swapped out for depression-inducing drugs designed to break my mind.

My reflection stared back at me from the mirror—my face deathly pale, gaunt and worn out, so gaunt and hollow it made my stomach turn.

I tucked away the sticky clump of medication I'd forced myself to throw up.

In the mirror, I could see the robot vacuum buzzing away, still cleaning the floor.

I went back to my room, pulled out my phone, and sent a message to the contact saved on the business card I'd kept.

Unknown: Come back tomorrow, no matter what.

I'd let them have their stupid little victory lap tonight. For now.

After they were done, Sierra sauntered out in front of me wearing my silk nightgown.

Her pale neck was dotted with hickeys, bright and obvious.

Her voice dripped with mockery. "Do you know what Miles says about you?"

She flopped lazily back into the ergonomic rocking chair Miles had custom-made just for me.

A sharp, unexpected stab of pain shot through my chest.

Fucking disgusting.

"He says you have zero s*x drive. You're nothing but a dead fish in bed."

She covered her mouth on purpose, letting out a high, tittering laugh. "You've never even felt what it's like to be properly f****d, have you?"

Her shrill cackle echoed through the room, sharp as nails on a chalkboard. "After tomorrow, I'll be the lady of this house, fair and square."

I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms, forcing down the sharp, stinging twist of my heart.

Oh, you love getting filled up that much?

I sneered silently to myself. She'd get more than enough chances for that soon enough.

After I was forced to drink the boosted dose of medication, my strength drained away in minutes and I passed out cold.

The next day was the anniversary banquet.

The drugs had seeped into every inch of my body, leaving a dull, throbbing ache in my bones. I could only get around in a wheelchair.

When I showed up, the crowd of guests burst into hushed, shocked murmurs.

"I had no idea Holly was this sick. She looks like she's got one foot in the grave."

"Thank God Mr. York's so devoted, stepping up to take over when she can't. Who else would want to deal with this mess?"

Miles pushed me along, his face set in a perfectly crafted mask of grief, the look of pained concern in his eyes so perfectly rehearsed it could have won an award. He wheeled me straight to the very center of the venue.

He'd invited every high-profile, wealthy figure in the whole city.

He planned to use my sickly, gaunt appearance to sell his whole "devoted husband stepping up in a crisis" persona.

All these guests were here to witness his big, glorious moment in the spotlight.

My eyelid twitched. I spotted Finn Zane cutting through the crowd, heading right towards us.

The entire room burst into a fresh flurry of whispers.

"Even Mr. Zane showed up? He must be thrilled to see Holly looking like this."

"No kidding! She defeated him in business in those days. He's finally gonna get to gloat and settle that old score."