My Enemy's Daughter (Edited)

chapter 54

Fiona's POV

I couldn't shake the thought from my mind. He wants to kill me. The words kept circling, building into a terror I can't suppress. I felt it in my bones, in every breath I took. My heart raced and every time I closed my eyes, I remembered the look on Samuel's face-the hatred, the pure venom in his gaze. That was what scared me the most. Not the pain from my head, not the wound itself, but the fact that I saw it. I saw the hatred in his eyes, and it was real.

The bandage wrapped around my head was a constant reminder, the dull ache throbbing beneath it amplified my fear. He'd shoved me so hard, so violently, that my head cracked against the wall. The sound of it still echoes in my ears, followed by the sharp pain that took my breath away. I couldn't forget how quickly it all happened. How fast everything unraveled between us.

I laid here in the hospital bed, and tried to pull myself together, but it was impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined Samuel towering over me, the anger on his face, and my body seizes up in terror all over again.

"Fiona, you should eat something," Bruno says softly, his voice breaking through the fog of my thoughts. He's been by my side since I was admitted. Calm, steady, and always reassuring, even when I felt like my world is spiraling out of control. He's done everything he can to help me feel safe here, but nothing can truly erase what happened.

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry."

Bruno sighs, settles down in the chair beside my bed. "I know you're scared, ma'am. But Samuel didn't mean to hurt you."

I turned my head sharply, glaring at him. "You weren't there, Bruno," I snapped, the words filled with the bitterness I've been holding inside. "You didn't see his face. You didn't see the hatred in his eyes when he pushed me. He wanted to hurt me."

He tried to argue, but I didn't let him. "He said he hated me, Bruno! More than once. He hates me, and now he's proven it."

Bruno looked uncomfortable, his brows furrowed as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "He calls constantly," he says gently, as if that could somehow change the reality I've been living in. "He's checking on you, worried about you. He even asked about coming in person, but..."

"No," I cut him off, shaking my head firmly. "He's not coming near me. He's not worried about me-he's pretending. It's what he does. He's a master manipulator."

Bruno watches me, his face softening. "I know he's quite rough around the edges and he's no saint. But I don't think a man who truly hates someone would act like this. You should have seen him at the hospital. He looked wrecked, Fiona. Like he's losing everything."

I laughed bitterly, a sharp sound that cut through the room. "Of course he's pretending. That's what he's always done. He fooled me long enough to get what he wanted-my trust, my loyalty, marriage. And once he had me trapped, he told me he hated me and my father. And he meant every word."

Bruno shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "But why would he need to pretend now?" he asked softly, a question that hung in the air between us.

I faltered for a second, not sure how to answer that. My mind raced with the images of Samuel's anger, his cruel words, the way he pushed me-no, there was no pretending anymore. This was who he truly was.

"I don't know," I murmured, lowering my gaze. "But I'm not falling for it again. I won't let him fool me."

Bruno sighed heavily, clearly torn, but before he can say more, I close my eyes and shifted under the blankets. "I need to rest, Bruno. Please."

There was a long silence, before he got up and quietly left the room. I listened to the sound of the door closing, the soft click echoing in the quiet. I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembled as I grip the blankets tighter. The fear gnawed at me, relentless and all-consuming. I couldn't escape it, not even in the supposed safety of this hospital room.