Beatrice took a shuddering breath, the tears still flowing freely. "Even if he gets the chemo, he only has two years left at best. Look at how sick he is... please stop hating him."
A blinding pain pierced through Juniper’s skull, like a drill relentlessly boring into her brain.
"Mhm."
She asked for the hospital's address. By the time she hung up, her throat felt raw and torn.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Nelson spoke, his tone casual. "Not heading home?"
Slumped against the glass, a profound sense of powerlessness paralyzed her.
"Juniper, what happened?"
His voice was wrapped in an intimate, lover-like murmur—a brutal irony considering the shattered wreckage of their relationship.
Juniper blinked slowly. "Just take me home, please. Thank you."
Nelson scrutinized her. "Are you planning to head to the hospital alone later?"
He had overheard the address. It was obvious she didn't want him tagging along.
She was just so incredibly tired. Her nerves were frayed to the breaking point, and she felt that if she forced herself to process one more thought, she would completely lose her mind.
"Going to see Alistair?"
The question was a lit match tossed straight into a powder keg.
Steering with one hand, Nelson’s lips curled into a vicious sneer. "Didn't let me finish the job, so now you’re running off to Alistair to pick up where we left off?"
A plastic water bottle smashed directly into his brow bone. She had grabbed it from the console.
He blinked through the impact, a tidal wave of fury surging through him as he slammed the brakes, jerking the car to a halt on the shoulder of the road.
Juniper gasped for air, feeling as though the sheer toxicity of the moment was going to kill her. "Nelson, is that literally the only thing that ever goes through your head?!"
He glared at her, his expression dark and menacing. "Yeah, well, I’m obviously no match for Alistair. I’m sure you two have plenty of deep conversations."
Her fingers curled into tight fists. She popped the door handle, ready to bolt, but he snatched her arm and hauled her back inside.
The doors locked with a sharp click.
"Let me go! Get off me!"

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