For six years 509

Kate’s excuse left even Carter dumbfounded.

Rhea was visibly taken aback. She knew that Kate was quick on her feet and duplicitous, but she hadn’t expected her to stoop to this level of shamelessness. It was mind–boggling!

Lauren stared at Kate, her eyes wide with disbelief as she struggled to find her voice. “Kate, have you no shame? You rip into me like that and call it motivation? I fu-”

She grabbed her phone and hurled it at Kate with deadly accuracy, screaming hysterically as she did so. She winced from the pain in her back and watched as Kate clutched her eye and crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

The phone had nailed Kate right in the eye socket. However, Lauren wasn’t done. Still fuming, she snatched Carter’s phone from his hand and chucked it, too.

This time, there was a dull thud as the phone collided with the top of Kate’s skull. She looked up in shock and clutched her head, her face turning ghostly white.

It was clear from the sound alone that Kate’s skull was hard. It was just too bad she hadn’t put the brain it shielded to good use.

Lauren, still lying on the bed, screeched at the top of her lungs. “Get up, Kate! You’re the bravest, right? Stand up! I believe in you. Your eye and your skull are perfectly fine! You’ve got this, so have faith in yourself!”

Kate claimed that she was trying to motivate Lauren, huh? Well, Lauren would do the same!

“Get up, why don’t you?” Lauren’s throat was practically smoking with how loud she was. “I’m motivating you, too! You’ll forgive me, won’t you, Ms. Pearson?”

Kate’s left eye was swelling, and every touch sent sharp pain shooting through her. Tears streamed down her face as a reaction to the pain, but not a single person stepped forward to help or comfort her.

Heidi looked down and blinked. “Kate, Lauren’s asking you a question. She was motivating you, too, so can you forgive her?”

Inside, Kate was a volcano of rage. She felt like a thousand furious demons were roaring in her chest. However, she hadn’t forgotten that Damian was still there. She made her shoulders tremble as she weakly said, “As long as Lauren feels better, I can forgive her.”

“Mr. Frost, she’s the reason I’m hurt like this. I threw a phone and nicked her a bit. I’ll consider that compensation for the medical bills she owes me. But while I’m stuck in the hospital for my recovery, I want her to look after me. That’s not too much to ask, right?” Lauren asked.

Kate’s head snapped up, her hand still covering her eye. Look after Lauren? Not a chance in hell!

Damian was Sawyer’s friend. There was no way he would refuse to help Kate at a time like this. So, she put on a pitiful look and said, “It’s fine, Mr. Frost. I can stay and look after her. Just… please don’t tell Sawyer. I don’t want him worrying about me.”

Lauren’s heart sank when she remembered that connection. What if Kate got off easy because of Sawyer’s

influence? A flicker of worry crossed her mind.

Just then, a coat appeared in her line of sight. She strained to look up and saw Rhea standing there. The latter had her hands in her coat pockets as she gazed down at her. “You want Kate to take care of you?”

Lauren’s heart pounded. She was slightly taken aback. “Yeah.”

Rhea turned to Damian. “Mr. Frost, about employee matters…”

He got the hint. “We agreed when you joined that you’d handle the staff you brought with you. I won’t interfere.”

Kate’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it.

Rhea smiled. “Thanks for understanding, Mr. Frost. In that case, we’ll go with Lauren’s wishes. Any objections, Kate?”

Although Kate could barely breathe, she managed to force out, “No. None at all.”

And that was that. During Lauren’s recovery, Kate would be fully responsible for her care.

For a moment, Lauren’s eyes stung with tears, thinking that she must’ve lost her mind. Why else would she think Rhea was so damn cool?

If she’d known Rhea was this generous, protective of her own, and not stingy, why the hell did she waste her time chasing Carter back then? She’d have been happy to call Rhea her stepmother!

Somehow, Rhea seemed to understand the reason behind the wild admiration in Lauren’s eyes. She stepped back and looked at her coolly. “Calm down. I’m not auditioning to be your stepmom.‘

Lauren became deflated.

X

Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.