Chapter 6 Are You Trying To Punish Me By Courting Death?

• Candice sat in the treatment room getting her wound dressed.
• The door suddenly burst open. A tall, commanding man stormed in as if he were about to kill someone, startling the doctor.
• Candice glanced over. “It’s okay, he’s my husb—boss.”
• The word husband almost slipped out, but she changed it at the last second.
• Kyle’s throat seemed clogged. He stepped forward and asked the doctor, “Is it serious?”
• “Just a surface wound, nothing major,” the doctor replied disinterestedly, not curious about their relationship. He finished dressing Candice’s injury and handed over a prescription for topical medication.
• Candice gave a brief thanks and left the room.
• Kyle followed closely behind. He tried to pay for her, grabbed the medication before she could, acting the part of a responsible husband.
• Candice couldn’t even be bothered to comment.
• Outside the hospital, she looked down to order a rideshare, but Kyle snatched her phone, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and dragged her to the parking lot. He opened the passenger side door and shoved her inside. Then he walked around to the driver’s side and got in himself.
• The door slammed shut with force, sealing them off from the outside world.
• The air turned heavy.
• “Blocked my number? Are you trying to punish me by getting yourself killed?” he turned to her, his face twisted with frustration and irritation.
• Candice: “…”
• She stared at him, stunned. Then a laugh slipped out.
• Her heart had been heavy just moments ago, but this absurd line actually made her laugh.
• He wronged her, and now she was punishing him by dying?
• How could someone be so narcissistic?
• “Relax. You won’t have to worry about that. Now give me my phone,” Candice said, reaching for the phone in his hand.
• Kyle dodged. “Fine, I admit I lied today. But you humiliated someone without thinking of the consequences—don’t you think you went too far? She’s just a pampered girl who speaks without thinking. Was it really worth getting mad at her?”
• Candice listened to his excuses. Listened to how he described that girl. Listened to the casual affection laced in his tone…
• Kyle, do you even hear yourself when you talk? Do you see how much you've changed?
• After a long silence, she finally spoke. Her voice was drained and cold. “From now on, I won’t bully her, and I won’t care what happens between you two. But do me a favor—keep her away from me.”
• “My feelings for her are like that of a brother to a sister. You’ve misunderstood,” Kyle frowned.
• “Right. A sister,” Candice said, fighting the urge to throw all the evidence she had in his face. “Fine. I overreacted. I misunderstood. Congratulations on your new little sister.”
• “…”
• “Just drive,” she said, feeling a chill deep in her bones. She pulled the tailored jacket around her tightly, her nose brushing against the collar and catching a whiff of that warm sandalwood scent.
• Kyle finally noticed the fine gray men’s jacket draped over her shoulders—clearly bespoke. “Whose jacket is that?”
• Candice turned her face to the window. To throw his “little sister” line back at him, she said mockingly, “My brother’s. A new one.”
• Kyle: “…”
• His expression turned dark. He yanked the jacket off her and tossed it out the window.
• Candice, both shocked and furious, jumped out to retrieve it. She had intended to return it cleaned.
• Kyle, seeing she dared to go after it, pulled her back and leaned over to kiss her hard.
• Candice kept her mouth tightly shut.
• But he forced her lips open, prying her mouth apart with his hand. The kiss was aggressive, unreasonable, punishing.
• When he finally pulled away, his heavy breath brushed against her cheek. “Don’t provoke me like this. You need to think about other people’s lives too.”
• “…”
• Candice was speechless.
• In the end, she couldn’t get the jacket back.
• She’d promised to return it clean. What now?
• After everything that had happened over the weekend, Candice came down with a cold and a fever that night.
• Kyle stayed home. He cooked porridge and fed her himself, giving her the illusion that perhaps he still cared.
• At midnight, her fever still hadn’t broken. She was groggy and miserable.
• Bzzz— Bzzz—
• Kyle’s phone buzzed on the nightstand.
• Candice propped herself up, and both she and Kyle turned to look at the screen. The time was 12:35 a.m.
• The name flashing on the screen: Candy Girl.
• What a sweet and intimate contact name…
• In the stillness of the night, the vibration was especially jarring. It felt like it wasn’t just shaking the nightstand, but their nerves too.