Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 31

To avoid any impropriety, Zack didn't linger in Willa's apartment after bringing her home from the hospital.

Before leaving, he hovered like a worried mother hen, relentlessly repeating a list of precautions until he finally felt comfortable enough to head out.

After taking her medication, Willa fell into a deep sleep, only to be jolted awake the next morning by violent pounding on her door.

She dragged herself out of bed and hobbled toward the entrance.

But just as she reached the door, the electronic lock chimed and swung open.

Sophie Sommers barged in, her hands full of shopping bags, looking like she was fleeing a disaster.

"Wills, I'm so sorry, I forgot I had your passcode—" she started sheepishly.

She stopped mid-sentence as her gaze landed on Willa's ghostly pale face, her voice skyrocketing in volume. "You look like a walking corpse!"

Dropping her bags on the floor, she rushed over, grabbed Willa by the arm, and carefully guided her toward the sofa.

"Zack called me first thing this morning and said you took a tumble down a mountain? What the hell happened?"

Sophie and Zack were old classmates. Willa had only met Zack through Sophie, so technically, those two should have been much closer.

Worried Sophie might feel slighted that Zack had only invited Willa on the camping trip, she quickly gave a rundown of their fake-dating charade, carefully leaving out Randal's name.

She knew Sophie's temper all too well. The sheer frustration of hating Randal but being unable to do anything about him would drive the pampered heiress absolutely insane.

"So, you and Zack... are you guys turning this fake romance into the real deal, or...?" Sophie asked bluntly, adopting a serious, analytical tone. "Honestly, though, Zack is a great guy..."

"He's Randal's cousin."

Still, being sick with someone by her side was a million times better than being alone.

But...

"This apartment's lease is up in less than two weeks. You can't stay that long even if you want to."

Sophie looked bewildered. "You're moving out? Where to?"

Willa hesitated for a second before telling her the whole story about Martha Vance and her family squatting in her childhood home.

The giddy, gossip-hungry excitement vanished from Sophie's face in an instant.

Furious, she slammed her hand against the armrest and shot up from the sofa. "Oh hell no. As soon as you can walk, we're going over there. I want to see exactly what kind of lowlifes think they can bully my best friend like this."