Dangerous Affection

Clint's Hideout

(LILA'S POV)

The world spun when they shoved me into a small, sterile room, cold, clinical, and silent except for the hum of computers and the faint beeping of machines.

Clint was waiting, leaning against a table, his eyes glinting with something dark as he watched me struggle to stand. His presence was like a storm waiting to break.

"Let me go!" I shouted, my pulse pounding in my throat. "You won't get away with this."

Clint didn't flinch. Instead, he straightened up, eyes narrowing. "You really think that, don't you?"

As I looked around the room, something caught my eye, computers, monitors displaying charts, lists of names, and files marked with red symbols. A plan in motion. I felt a chill race down my spine.

"How long has this been your plan, Clint?" I demanded, my voice shaking despite myself. "How long have you been manipulating everything from behind the scenes?"

He smirked, the malice in his eyes obvious now. "Longer than you think."

I stepped closer to the monitors, instinctively drawn to the mess of data. That's when I saw it: a picture of Quinn, ripped clean down the middle. One half of his face was torn off, exposed to the harsh edge of the paper as if someone had gone out of their way to ruin it. My breath hitched in my throat.

Clint's voice cut through the silence like a knife. "That picture, Lila... It's the story of my life. And Quinn's."

I spun to face him, heart pounding. "I've already heard about that story..."

Clint's laugh was hollow, bitter. "That was Quinn's version, allow me to tell you mine."His eyes darkened, and for the first time, I saw the full weight of his anger. "Quinn and I were friends, once. Best friends, even. He was everything to me. Until he decided to leave me. He abandoned me, Lila. And the worst part? He left for you. He won't admit it but he always talked about you, about how much he admired you. He wanted to be with you, but he never bothered to tell you."

I blinked, shock sweeping over me. "What are you talking about? Quinn never—"

"He had a crush on you, Lila." Clint's voice was low, venomous. "He talked about you all the time. But when he left my side, I became nothing. Just a shadow under his feet. And you, Lila, you were the final blow. He could've stayed. Stayed with me. But he chose you instead."

I didn't know what to say. Clint's words were like a twisted version of reality, something so foreign that it left me reeling.

"Why St. Mary's, Clint?" I asked, suddenly breathless. "Why my hospital? Why all of this?"

Clint's lips twisted into a grim smile. "Because I knew it would break him. I knew he'd come running back to you. He always does, doesn't he? You're his weakness. I just had to wait for the right moment."

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