Chapter 6

In the split second of the crash, Demetrius's instincts took over. He threw his body over Cayla, shielding her from the impact. Julianne, in the back seat, was thrown forward, her head hitting the back of the passenger seat with brutal force.

When she woke up, she was in a hospital bed. The first thing she felt was a searing pain in her head and a dull, throbbing ache in her leg, which was now in a heavy cast.

A nurse came in, her face kind. "You're awake. That's good. You have a severe concussion and a broken leg. You were very lucky."

Julianne's throat was dry. "The others?" she rasped.

"Your... friends are fine," the nurse said. "Miss Hurst has some bruises, but she's okay. Mr. Rogers was a hero. He refused treatment until he knew you were stable. He even donated blood for your transfusion. You have a rare blood type, and he was a match. He saved your life."

Julianne was stunned. He had donated blood for her? After everything? A tiny, treacherous flicker of hope ignited within her. Maybe she had been wrong.

A few minutes later, Demetrius walked in. He looked tired and bruised, but his eyes were cold and distant. The hope inside her died as quickly as it had appeared.

"You're awake," he stated. It wasn't a question.

"They said you gave me blood," she said, her voice small.

"I did," he replied, his tone hard and business-like. "Consider it a repayment. For the four years of financial support. For my mother's medical bills, my sister's school. For my career."

He was drawing a line, erasing any emotional debt between them. He was making it a transaction.

"Now we're even," he said.

Julianne looked at him, at the handsome face that was a near-perfect copy of another's, and she felt a profound sense of peace. He had given her the out she so desperately needed.

"Yes," she agreed, her voice clear and strong. "We're even. The contract is terminated. We owe each other nothing."

A strange look crossed his face-not relief, but something darker, something that looked almost like panic. He seemed to realize he had just given away something he hadn't known he wanted to keep.

"You caused me so much pain," he said, his voice suddenly thick with an emotion she couldn't place. It sounded like resentment, but there was something else underneath.

"I did?" she asked, genuinely confused. She was the one who had been used, betrayed, abandoned. What pain could she possibly have caused him?

She searched his face, trying to understand. "Is it because I came between you and Cayla? Is that it?"

Before he could answer, Cayla appeared in the doorway, her eyes red from crying. "Demetrius! I was so scared." She limped into the room, making a show of her minor injuries.

Demetrius's attention immediately shifted. His hard expression softened as he went to her side. "I'm here. It's okay."

He turned back to Julianne, his face hardening again. "You see what you've done? You're always hurting her."

"Hurting her?" Julianne repeated, baffled. "When have I ever laid a hand on her?"