Chapter 151

[Evelyn’s POV]

I was partly stunned to see Alexander nodding his head. The second Fiona’s name slid off my tongue, I highly anticipated being met with a doubtful look and some kind of a scowl.

But no.

It made me wonder if Alexander only agreed with me because he happened to catch Fiona in the actual act. The man must have sensed the wheels turning in my head. He reached out to rest his hand on the exposed side of my face.

“Oliver helped me figure it out.”

“Oliver?”

Alexander gently shook his head and gave something resembling a shy childish look.

“He stopped me from slipping into a very dark place in my mind,” he said. “He kept me focused while I tried to slow down the bleeding. He kept asking me questions, trying to get me to stay focused. We came to a natural conclusion that it could only be Fiona who made those lacerations.”

The word felt like a harsh slap to the injured side of my face.

“Lacerations...”

I unconsciously lifted my other, slightly injured, hand to touch the side of my face. My heart thumped in my chest. The ugly bitterness of Fiona’s awful words came rushing back.

“She wanted to make me ugly,” I muttered.

Alexander sucked in a sharp breath and shook his head. “She could never do that.”

I wanted to believe him. But the pain that continued to course through my body was a good enough indicator that told me that Alexander may, very well, be wrong.

“Are they bad?” I asked.

“There was a lot of blood at the time, making it hard to really see the marks. As you start to heal, we’ll be able to get a better idea. We’re not going to jump to any sort of conclusions yet.”

I let my eyes fall away from him. I never thought I’d see the day when I wished Alexander wasn’t around me. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me—like I was some wounded animal that needed to be kept under constant surveillance.

It made me feel small, weak, and pitiful.

“Your sedative has more than likely worn off at this point. How are you feeling right now?” he questioned.

Everything had hurt.

The back of my head was slightly pulsating from when Isabella had knocked me. My face, of course, was the worst of the pain, yet the feeling in my lower chest was starting to match it.

“You said that a few of my ribs were broken.” Alexander nodded solemnly. “I can fairly guess that there isn’t much you can do to ease the pain in my face, but is there anything that can be done for my lower chest?”

“Yes. Ian recommended that we use ice packs to help keep the swelling down,” he mentioned.

“Ian?”

“My doctor,” he clarified. “I trust the man with my very life. Give me a moment, I’ll be right back with some ice packs.”

I vaguely watched Alexander cross the room once more. The second I heard the door click shut behind him, it was as though all my repressed emotions came flying out. I snapped my hand over my mouth to keep my broken sobs from being heard.

All I had wanted to do was tell Isabella to leave me and Alexander alone. And somehow I ended up nearly losing my life to the sheer insanity that ran rampant in my family like some kind of sick disease. Fiona shouldn’t have been a surprise. It wasn’t as if the two of us had ever gotten along. She blamed me for ruining her career when she had essentially done that all on her own.

There was a dark feeling in the back of my mind that was telling me that they’d all gotten away. Surely, that would have been one of the first things Alexander would have told me. But considering that he had yet to mention anything about them, I was left to assume the worst.

Those bitches got away...

The door opened before I could properly dry my face or even hide the fact that I was in the midst of a mental and emotional breakdown.

I ducked my head down as he approached with the ice packs in hand. The room was still heavily shadowed, helping me hide my current state.

Alexander gently pulled back the blankets, allowing me to get a clear view of the horrific sight of Isabella’s handy work. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth as I gazed down at the series of deep purple bruises that covered my lower chest.

Alexander first helped me get into a better-suited position by placing one of the pillows behind me. He let out a long-tempered breath as he placed the ice packs in a towel before placing them over my chest. “Fiona did quite a number on you,” he commented.

I let my head fall back against the pillow. “This wasn’t Fiona’s work...It was Isabella’s.”

A startling sound tore itself from Alexander’s throat. He brushed some of the hair back from my face while fighting back the bitterness in his tone.

“Do you feel like you’re going to fall asleep again? Or are you fully awake?” he asked coolly.

“I’m fully awake.”

He nodded. “I’m going to reach out to Ian then. He’s going to come by and check in on your injuries.”

...

Within the hour, Ian had made it over to the manor with his doctor’s bag at his side. Having knocked on the door, he stepped in and gave me a soft smile while formally introducing himself.

“Hello, Evelyn. I’m glad to finally meet you under better circumstances,” he said. “You seem to already be doing a bit better than I expected.”

“Really?”

Ian nodded his head. “I was worried that you may have suffered from a concussion on top of everything else. Now, I’m sure the sedative I issued you before has worn off. What I’d like to do, with your permission, is to check over all of your sustained injuries.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

Carefully and with the utmost care, Ian started with the most minor injuries, my wrist and fingers. He’d removed each of the splints and tested joint and bone movement.

“Good to see that these are already healing properly. I’d say, give it a few days and your wrist should be just about back to normal. Now your ribs and face will naturally take a bit longer,” he explained.

Normally, I would have felt myself flush when asked to pull back to the bed sheets and towel that was covering my best. However, I felt the exhaustion really getting to me. Plus, my real worry sparked when it came to what lay beneath the gauze on my face.

Just as Ian was about to reach out and undo the wrapping, I pulled back. Both he and Alexander visibly went still.

I parted my lips to speak but hesitated.

“Evelyn, what’s wrong?” Alexander asked.

Ian prompted me to speak with a light nod. “It’s alright.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling horrible for what I was about to demand. There was zero doubt in my mind that this wasn’t going to end well.

“Alexander...I need you to leave the room.”