Chapter 2
Chapter 2:
The morning sun stung June’s eyes.
She was propped against the stiff hospital pillows, staring at her phone screen. The headline of an entertainment news site glared back at her: The Golden Couple of the Compton Empire. Below it was a high-resolution photograph of Cole and Alycia from the gala the previous night. They were laughing, their heads close together.
The door to the private room was shoved open with violent force. It struck the wall with a loud bang.
Cole strode into the room.
He was still wearing the tuxedo pants and dress shirt from the night before, his tie loosened. The sharp scent of expensive scotch and Alycia’s floral perfume clung to his clothes, filling the sterile room. He did not look at the medical chart hanging at the foot of the bed. He did not look at the IV line taped to her pale hand. His jaw was clenched tight as he stopped beside her bed, glaring down at her.
“Are you done throwing your little tantrum?” Cole demanded, his voice dripping with contempt. “Using an emergency room to get my attention? You’ve hit a new low, June p>
June looked up at him. His face — the face she had loved for four years — suddenly looked completely foreign to her.
“Get out,” June said. Her voice was weak, but her tone was absolute ice.
Cole’s eyes narrowed. He was used to her begging. He was used to her quiet submission. This sudden defiance felt like a direct challenge to his authority. He leaned closer, his large hand snapping out to grip her chin, fingers digging into her skin.
“You are my wife,” Cole sneered, his breath hot against her face. “I have every right to be in this room p>
S𝘩𝘢𝗿е 𝘺𝗈u𝘳 𝘵𝘩ough𝘁𝘀 оn
June tried to pull her face away, but she was too weak. “Don’t touch me p>
Cole let out a dark, mocking laugh. “You staged this entire drama to drag me here from the most important night of my year. Don’t pretend you didn’t want me to touch you p>
He released her chin and shoved her shoulders back against the pillows, his weight pressing hard into the bedframe. The movement was rough — a punishment for her defiance.
Panic seized June’s chest.
“Stop!” she screamed, her hands flying down to shield her freshly sutured abdomen. “I just had surgery p>
Cole’s contempt was a thick filter, blocking out all reason. To him, this was just another lie, another dramatic performance designed to manipulate him. He reached across her, his knee pressing hard into the mattress, intending to intimidate her into silence.
The sudden, jarring pressure radiated directly to her torso. A blinding flash of agony ripped through her stomach. The stitches holding her flesh together snapped under the strain.
“Ah!” June shrieked, her back arching off the bed. Her face turned the color of ash.
Cole froze. He felt her body go completely rigid beneath his hands.
He looked down.
A dark red stain was blooming rapidly across the white hospital gown, directly over her lower abdomen. The blood seeped through the fabric and into the pristine white sheets beneath her.
Cole stepped back, his eyes widening for a fraction of a second — but the shock vanished just as quickly, retreating behind a wall of cold indifference. He adjusted his cuffs, refusing to acknowledge that he had caused any real damage.
“Is this what you wanted?” Cole sneered, his gaze moving over the blood with disdain. “To make a mess? You’re pathetic p>
His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. A custom ringtone. Alycia’s ringtone.
Cole pulled it out and answered immediately. The hardness in his face dissolved at once.
“Hey, Alycia,” he said softly, turning his back to June. “The doctors are saying it was just a minor scare — she’s being dramatic. I know. I’m leaving right now. I’ll be right there p>
He ended the call and glanced over his shoulder at June.
“Clean yourself up,” he ordered coldly. “Stop embarrassing the Compton name p>
He walked out of the room and let the heavy door click shut behind him.
June lay on the bed, gasping for air. The physical pain was excruciating, but the nausea churning in her stomach was something worse. She felt sick at the thought that she had ever let that man touch her.
She reached out with a trembling hand and pressed the nurse call button.
A nurse rushed in seconds later. When she saw the pool of blood soaking the sheets, she gasped and ran into the hallway, shouting for a doctor.
The medical team flooded the room. They tore the gown open and began applying pressure to the torn surgical site.
“She’s hemorrhaging again! Get the crash cart — page Dr. Evans, now p>
Through the chaos, June made no sound. She stared at the ceiling. Her eyes, once soft and pleading, hardened into sharp glass.
Once the bleeding was stopped and she had been stabilized for the second time in less than twelve hours, the doctor left with a stern warning: strict bed rest for at least another week. Any sudden movement could be fatal.
June waited until the room was empty.
Every muscle in her core screamed in protest. She ignored it.
She reached into the small handbag on the nightstand and pulled out a folded stack of papers she had prepared weeks ago.
The divorce agreement.
She reached over and ripped the IV needle from the back of her hand. A drop of blood welled up and fell, landing directly on the signature line of the paper.
June picked up a pen. Her hand was shaking, but she pressed the tip hard against the page and signed her name over the drop of blood.
Then she looked at her left hand. The massive diamond ring felt heavy. It felt like a handcuff. She pulled it off. It slid easily over her knuckle.
She set the ring in the center of the divorce papers and left them on the nightstand where they could not be missed.
She picked up her phone and texted her best friend, Vera.
I’m done. I need out.
June did not wait for a reply. She ignored the doctor’s orders. She pulled her own clothes from the small overnight bag Mrs. Lynch had carelessly packed and dressed herself slowly, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood to keep from crying out with each movement. Every small motion was a slow, deliberate agony.
She walked out of the room, leaning heavily against the wall for support.
When she finally pushed through the sliding glass doors of the hospital lobby, the cold New York wind struck her face.
She looked back at the building one last time. She made a silent vow, right then and there, that she would never bleed for Cole Compton again.