Page 64 of Married to My Sis’s Bratva Fiancé

She held her arm and her voice trembled. "If it is really urgent, she wouldn't have hung up. If you keep calling, you'd just start fighting again."

I yanked my phone back, cold anger packed into every word. "You interfered with my call. You hung up for me. Who the hell gave you permission to make decisions for me?"

"I was scared." She bit her pale lip. "The anesthesia wore off. Every time I close my eyes I hear the crash again. I was scared you'd take her call and leave. I was scared you'd leave me here alone."

The blood seeping through her gauze and the shake in her shoulders forced my anger to stall. Whatever she'd just done didn't change the fact that a few hours ago she'd almost died beside me.

"Get back in bed."

She edged closer. "Are you going to stay?"

I didn't answer.

On my screen, Elena's name sat at the top of the call log.

She'd said she went to the hospital. Why?

I replayed the unnatural pause in her voice. A bad feeling crawled up my spine.

Was she sick? Had something happened—something big enough that she'd called after our fight?

I should've called her back immediately.

Chapter 17

Kiryan

I had just moved to do something when Isabella blacked out. I caught her before she hit the floor and carried her back to the hospital bed.

A nurse making rounds hurried over, checked Isabella over, and replaced her bandage with a clean one.

"Kiryan." After the nurse left, she slowly opened her eyes. "What happened to me?"

"You fainted. The nurse said you got yourself too worked up." I stood by the bed, watching the color drain from her face.

Isabella didn't stay still. She braced on her knees and crawled to the edge of the mattress, slow and careful. Her injured arm hung stiff at her side. Her other hand reached out and hooked my belt.

"Isabella." I let the warning sit in my voice.

"You didn't use to say my name like that." She tilted her chin up. Her palm pressed over my slacks, then slid, unhurried—like she was checking an answer she thought couldn't possibly be wrong.

She knew me too well. One look, one hint, and I usually snapped. But tonight it all felt like it was happening to someone else. My senses stayed sharp. My desire didn't even flinch.

Elena's face filled my head instead.

When she painted me, her gaze skimmed over my body like she was afraid of what she might wake up. Her cheeks had flushed, but she still tried to play calm. She didn't know how to turn a man on. Somehow she did it anyway. When her fingertips brushed my skin, my body recognized her faster than my brain could catch up.

"Lie down. Your wound already split once. The nurse said you need rest." I stepped back.

That distance said more than any excuse ever could.

Isabella's hand stopped midair. She glanced down at my crotch, and the last bit of certainty on her mouth broke.

"You really don't want me?" She looked up, her eyes turning sharp. "Before, I only had to touch you, and you got hard. You wouldn't even let me finish a sentence. But just now, my hand was right there, and nothing. Do you not feel anything for me anymore?"

I didn't answer.

"Did you fucking fall in love with Elena?" Her voice went high and ugly.