I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 8

"I asked around," Zachary pressed, refusing to drop it. "When you were in med school, you had a boyfriend. A top student at the aviation academy. Everyone said it was an incredibly passionate romance. Is it because of him?"

Sienna's fingers curled tightly into fists at her sides.

Ex-boyfriend. Passionate romance.

Hearing those words fall from someone else's lips made it sound like a story that belonged to a total stranger.

True agony eventually numbed the soul entirely.

The memories that once kept her crying all night had finally been dragged back into the light, only to feel utterly insignificant.

She let out a careless, dismissive laugh.

"Like you said, he's just an ex-boyfriend. He's dead to me. Why on earth would I still care?"

Dead to me.

Why would I still care?

Standing in the shadows, Finn heard every single syllable with devastating clarity.

He felt as though a blade had just been shoved directly into his chest and twisted violently, carving a gaping, bloody hole right where his heart used to be.

The bitter March wind swept in from the doorway, tearing straight through that open wound and freezing him to the core.

By the time he regained his senses, Sienna had already slipped into a taxi, disappearing completely into the endless traffic.

-

The moment Sienna walked through her front door, Lily James called her.

Lily was her best friend, the girl she had known since high school.

She currently worked as an instructor at the Capital City Film Academy.

"So? How did it go with Dr. Vance's parents?"

"Don't even mention Dr. Vance," Sienna groaned, collapsing onto her small sofa. "He and I are officially over."

Lily was absolutely stunned.

"It ended that fast? Why? I thought the guy seemed decent."

Sienna's voice dripped with exhaustion.

"Interesting. Lay it on me."

"First off, when we left our tiny hometown in Riverdale to study in Capital City, you completely hid it from your parents. You were the ultimate golden child, doing exactly what they said. They wanted you to go to the state teaching college, but you insisted on med school. That was rebellion number one."

"Then, freshman year, you met Finn. You chased him relentlessly and made the impossible happen. That was rebellion number two."

"And finally, when that horrible thing happened..." She paused, her voice softening significantly. "...that was number three."

"Bestie, have you realized it yet? Out of three major life rebellions, two of them were caused by the exact same man."

Sienna spaced out completely.

She had never bothered to dissect her own psychology like that.

But now that Lily had laid it all out so perfectly, it suddenly hit her—the vast majority of her chaotic, life-altering choices had revolved entirely around Finn.

"So all this 'I wouldn't feel a damn thing' crap is just a delusion." Lily's voice dragged her back to reality. "If that day ever actually comes..."

"I'm serious." Sienna abruptly sat up straight, her tone turning defensive. "It actually happened just a few days ago. His wife was rushed into the ER, and I was the attending. He was standing right there in front of me, and I treated him like an absolute stranger."

"Finn's wife? He's not even married!" Lily shrieked, her voice pitching up a full octave.