After Him Chapter 5

When I woke up, it was the next day.

Jameson sat by my bedside. The moment he saw me open my eyes, he came closer, his face full of guilt. "Emma, you're awake? I'm sorry... Does the incision hurt? What do you want to eat? I got your favorites..."

He pulled out expensive supplements and gifts, but I just stared blankly at the ceiling, my eyes empty.

That day, while Jameson was out getting me soup, Riley snuck into my room, sneering. "Well, well, if it isn't the hero who just donated a kidney."

"Emma, you're pathetic. Jameson always says he loves you, but no matter what I do to you, he always takes my side. And now he's made you give me your kidney! Why can't you take a hint and stop clinging to him?"

All I felt was disgust. "Get out," I said hoarsely.

Her expression turned vicious instantly, glaring at me hatefully. "Ungrateful bitch. Don't blame me for this!"

She stormed out angrily.

Not long after, Jameson returned, his face dark as he burst into the room with furious accusations. "Emma! Why did you pay off a nurse to tamper with Riley's IV?!"

I was completely blindsided. "...What tampering?"

"Riley said you hate me for forcing you to save her, so you bribed a nurse to add allergens to her IV and put her into anaphylactic shock! They just barely saved her life in the ER!"

His tone was severe, full of unquestionable accusation.

I felt nothing but bitter irony, my heart going completely cold. "Riley's hurt me so many times, and you never truly held her accountable! She frames me once and you immediately come interrogate me without even asking questions? Jameson, is this how evil you think I am?"

"Who else would it be besides you..."

"I didn't do it!" I finally couldn't hold back. All the emotions I'd suppressed for so long exploded. I sat up abruptly, tears streaming down my face as I screamed:

"Jameson! I've had enough! I really can't take anymore! You only ever believe her! Always take her side! I lost a kidney! She almost got me killed! My body's covered in scars!"

"And what have you done?! Besides forcing me to apologize, forcing me to donate my kidney, forcing me to die—what have you ever done for me?!"

"Your love makes me sick! Absolutely sick!"

He looked shaken by my outburst, doubt and uncertainty flickering in his eyes as he watched me fall apart.

But before he could speak, the door opened. Riley appeared in the doorway, looking weak as she leaned against the frame, her voice soft and fragile:

"Jameson... you promised me... she almost killed me this time... you said you'd let me have her for three days..."

Jameson looked at the weak Riley, then at my breakdown, intense conflict in his eyes. Finally, he said heavily to Riley:

"...Okay. But during those three days, you can't put Emma's life in danger. That's the line!"

"Don't worry, I just want to teach her a lesson. I won't kill her." Riley immediately agreed.

I stared at him in disbelief. Jameson was actually handing me over to be tortured just to appease Riley?!

"Jameson Carter! Don't you dare!!" I tried to get out of bed in terror, but he looked away, his voice low. "Emma... just three days... it'll be over soon..."

Riley waved her hand. Two female soldiers in combat fatigues walked in and unceremoniously dragged my weakened body out of the hospital bed!

"Jameson! Help me! No! I don't want to go!"

I screamed desperately, reaching out to him, but he just clenched his fists, stood there with his eyes closed, completely unmoved.

For the next three days, Riley held me in an isolated military controlled area, using every method she could think of to torture me.

Whipping, needles, electric shocks—she did everything possible to violate my body and dignity.

It wasn't until I was covered in blood, barely breathing, that she finally stopped and had someone dump me at the emergency room like garbage.

I don't know how long I was unconscious. When I finally woke up, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief. "You're finally awake... we almost lost you... we should notify your family to complete the paperwork."

He handed me back my phone.

With shaking hands, I opened it. The first thing I saw was an encrypted message from General Carter: "Divorce finalized. Remember your promise. Disappear completely."

Reading that message, my heart ached so badly I could barely breathe, yet I also felt a numb sense of liberation.

Knowing Jameson's obsessive personality, I called the General's private line, my voice raw as I begged: "Please help me fake my death certificate. Use an unclaimed body from the morgue to replace me."

"If I just disappear, Jameson will use military resources to search the world for me. Rather than endless entanglement, better to let him think I'm dead. A clean break."

The General was silent for a long moment before finally relenting. "Follow my people. I'll handle the rest."

With the General's arrangements, I forced myself to leave through the hospital's back entrance and headed straight for the airport.

Meanwhile, Jameson checked his watch. The moment three days were up, he immediately ended his meeting and called Riley, his voice anxious. "Time's up! Where's Emma? I warned you—no fatalities!"

Riley's voice was aggrieved. "You miss her that much? Relax, I already sent her back to the hospital. If you go now, you'll hear the good news about her successful resuscitation."

Jameson immediately drove there, arriving just as the OR lights went out.

The doctor removed his mask and shook his head gravely. "Major Carter, my condolences... Ms. Sullivan's injuries were too severe—multiple organ failure. We did everything we could."

A gurney covered with a white sheet was wheeled out.

BOOM—

Jameson's ears rang, his mind going completely blank.