Chapter 30
Chapter 30:
There was a time when Kristine had desperately hoped Colton would walk into her room. She had longed for his touch. To win him over, she had tried everything — slipping into alluring dresses, perfecting her makeup, even practicing a playful, flirtatious tone. Yet no matter what she did, Colton always kept his distance, brushing her off with cold indifference. Each rejection chipped away at her confidence, leaving her adrift and forcing herself to smile whenever he was around.
When Colton finally sensed something was off and tried to address it, Kristine’s voice broke through, raw with pain. “I know how pathetic I was before. But I’ve learned my lesson. I refuse to be that girl anymore. You got a problem with that p>
Seeing her eyes brimming with tears, Colton’s chest tightened. “That’s not what I p>
But his voice trailed off as his brows drew together. His palm pressed firmly against his stomach as sharp cramps twisted through him, draining all the color from his face. His old stomach condition had returned with a vengeance.
With a single glance, Kristine recognized the signs instantly. Four years of living with him had taught her exactly what one of his attacks looked like.
Even so, she brushed his hand aside, her expression cold, and shut the door firmly in his face.
Left alone in the hallway, Colton doubled over as the pain worsened. He stared helplessly at the closed door, feeling something deep inside him slowly shatter.
N𝘦w 𝘸𝘦𝖾k𝘭y 𝘤𝗵а𝗉𝘵e𝗋𝘀 𝘰n ѕ.com
Devin ended up driving Colton to the hospital himself.
“Claire said you collapsed outside Kristine’s door,” Devin remarked, studying Colton’s ashen face. “You couldn’t have at least knocked or called out for her p>
All those years, it had been Kristine who nursed Colton through every stomach attack.
A faint tremor passed through Colton’s lashes. “She stood there and watched while I was having the attack p>
Devin sprang up, barely believing his ears. “What p>
Was that even possible? The same woman who used to nearly break down whenever Colton was sick had apparently just let him suffer without doing a thing.
Colton’s eyes drifted open. Gone was any warmth — only cold shards remained in his gaze. “She’s different now p>
Devin shook his head, still unable to accept it. “Impossible. She used to love you more than anything. Every time your stomach acted up, she’d drop everything — make soup, get the medicine. Remember the chicken soup? Even the doctors swore it helped you more than their prescriptions p>
Colton gave no reply.
Devin pressed his lips together and grabbed his phone. He reached out to Kristine directly, sending a message: “Colton’s in the hospital — another stomach attack.” A photo of Colton’s pale, drawn face went along with it.
He refused to believe she could truly be so cold.
As dawn crept closer, a pale light spread slowly across the sky. With still no reply from Kristine, Devin assumed she had fallen asleep and decided to send one more message. This time, however, a bold red exclamation point appeared on his screen.
Kristine had blocked him.
Devin sat there in shock, unable to move for several minutes.
He remembered Colton mentioning at his last birthday that Kristine had gone back to Peudon to get married. But when he had asked Asher directly, Asher admitted there had been no official marriage registration. Devin had chalked it up to Kristine’s way of getting Colton’s attention. Now, though…