The Stand-In Girl He Couldn’t Keep Chapter 07
We returned from the hospital to my apartment.
The moment he walked in, Steven changed into sleepwear, clearly planning to stay the night.
I was injured badly, yet he still wanted to sleep with me. It felt downright heartless.
I raised my bandaged hand, waving it to catch his attention. “Steve, I can’t take care of your needs tonight, so maybe you should go home.”
Steven frowned, visibly displeased by my words. “Who said I wanted sex tonight? Can’t I just hold you and rest with you?
“Am I really such a monster in your eyes? Like I wouldn’t even care about your condition?”
There was no way for me to answer that. For the past three years, every time we met, he always ended up dragging me into bed.
If it happened to be during my period, he would make me use my hands instead.
Steven seemed to recall those moments, too. His expression shifted awkwardly. “I said we’re not doing anything tonight, so we’re not.”
To his credit, he kept his word and didn’t push me further.
But he insisted on holding me while he slept, clinging to me like an octopus, arms wrapped so tightly around me I could barely breathe. I was so overheated I couldn’t fall asleep at all.
Much later, after he finally drifted off, I carefully tried to pry his arm away.
The instant I moved, he woke up. “If you’re not sleepy,” he murmured hoarsely, “then maybe we should do something more interesting.”
As he spoke, he gave me a deliberate strike.
I stiffened and didn’t dare move again.
A low laugh rumbled from his chest. He kissed my earlobe lightly. “Good girl. Go to sleep.”
Some time later, half-dreaming, I heard him answer a phone call.
“Mr. Warren, Ms. Hardy has been crying since the evening. She hasn’t eaten dinner either.
“If this keeps up, I’m worried her body won’t handle it.”
For once, Steven didn’t soften. “If she refuses to eat, then let her stay hungry.”
“I’ve spoiled her too much. That’s why she’s become this uncontrollable.”
But his resolve lasted less than twenty-four hours.
The next day, the maid called again, saying Sophia refused to eat no matter what and had fainted from hunger, ending up in the hospital.
Steven, who had been having dinner with me, immediately set down his knife and fork and walked out.
Two hours later, Sophia sent me a video.
In the video, Steven held a plate in one hand and a spoon in the other, patiently coaxing her to drink soup.
Sophia turned her head away stubbornly. “Since you hate me so much, you might as well just let me starve to death. Why do you even care?”
Steven explained softly, “The moment I heard you fainted, I rushed over to take care of you without even finishing my own dinner. If I hated you, would I be this worried about you?”
Sophia still wouldn’t let it go. “Then who matters more to you, Eleanor or me?”
Steven let out a weary sigh. “You, alright?
“Now drink the soup before you actually ruin your stomach.”
Only then did Sophia finally open her mouth obediently.
The video ended there.
A moment later, another message from Sophia popped up. “See that? I’m the most important person in Steve’s heart.
“So what if he stood up for you yesterday? He only cared because if you got hurt, you wouldn’t be able to satisfy his needs.”
My heart remained completely calm.
Anyway, Mom had started using her new medicine today.
And besides…
My gaze drifted toward the velvet box sitting on the coffee table.
Inside was a necklace worth well over 200 thousand dollars.
Steven had given it to me earlier that day as compensation for what I’d suffered yesterday.
Whether he loved me or not didn’t matter. As long as he felt guilty toward me, that was enough.
I needed to leverage his guilt to squeeze out enough money for Mom’s medical treatments as quickly as possible.
And then I would leave him for good.