When I Gave Him My Heart, He Regretted It

Chapter 5

The lights were so bright I could make out every flicker of emotion on Ethan's face.

Grim and ice-cold.

The next second, Jake exploded with rage first. "Zoe, I was wondering why you suddenly hit Ethan up to take photos for you! Turns out you set up this huge trap here waiting for him, huh? Only Ethan is dumb enough to fall for your tricks once, and now he's walked right into your trap again!"

My throat went tight as I fumbled to explain.

"Ethan, asking you to take photos for me wasn't a trap, I have to..."

I didn't even get the word "cancer" out before Ethan dropped the white daisies in his hand, turned on his heel, and walked away without a single hesitation.

Jake glared at me with such pure disgust I swear he would've gutted me on the spot if he could.

All that time, when news of my supposed suicide had blown up on the hot search, Ethan had kept asking over and over if it was just a rumor. He'd even come to visit me.

And it was all just a scheme.

After a long beat, Jake let out a cold, bitter laugh. "Zoe, you know the last time I saw Ethan with that dead, empty look on his face? It was when he was in the ER fighting for his life. He called you, begged you to come see him one last time, and you didn't even pick up a single call. Zoe, I wish you were dead. People like you don't even deserve to be alive."

How dare you stamp his sincere heart into the mud again and again?

Jake spat out every last bit of his fury, then stormed off. Tears welled up in my eyes, when Yvonne suddenly started clapping.

"Congratulations, Miss Sloane. You've got yourself a never-ending cash cow. Ethan still loves you."

Smack. I slapped her so hard my palm stung. "Get the hell out of my sight."

Then I ripped the IV out of my arm, letting bright red blood gush out alongside the leftover saline.

It dripped all the way to the ward door, right onto the white daisies Ethan had thrown down.

Back when we were together, Ethan only ever gave me white daisies.

I'd been confused back then, pestering him over and over. "Ethan, every other boyfriend gives their girlfriend roses or lisianthus, flowers that symbolize eternal love. How come you only ever get me white daisies?"

He'd answered very seriously.

"Because daisies mean I hope you're happy forever."

I'd asked him then, "Aren't you scared we'll break up one day?"

He answered, "Zoe, if breaking up is what you want, then I hope you're even happier after."

A tight, aching lump formed in my chest.

I pressed the flowers to my chest, and tears slipped down my cheeks without a sound.

Ethan was so good. But I had no choice but to let him slip through my fingers.

The TV in the ward was playing a live interview from an entertainment channel, yanking me out of my thoughts.

A reporter asked, "Ethan, can we talk about your relationship with Zoe? Rumors online are saying you turned bitter after your feelings for her were unrequited, so you made her prove her sincerity by attempting suicide?"

On the screen, Ethan's eyes were perfectly calm.

He paused for a beat, then stared directly into the camera. "I'm not crazy. There's no point asking a heartless person to prove they have real feelings for me."

He lo oked so collected on camera, but that icy gaze seemed to cut right through the screen and pierce straight through me.

I crumpled to the floor, buried my face in my hands, and sobbed so hard I could barely catch my breath.

When I was completely unraveling, Luna burst through the door and pulled me tight into her arms.

Her voice was thick with tears and worry. "Zoe, I'm so sorry I'm late."

I lifted my tear-streaked face, my words coming out ragged and desperate. "Mom, please. Can you make it so I don't have to die in so much pain?"

I pressed a hand to my chest, my eyes hollow, my voice hoarse and broken. "Mom, it hurts so bad right here..."

That space was stuffed full of nothing but Ethan — the Ethan my own love had ripped to pieces.