Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right by Rosie Steppe

Chapter 719

+25 BONUS

Hayden had faked his death and taken brutal beatings to keep his identity hidden. Deini? She'd sacrificed her entire future, paying a price so unimaginable it made my chest ache. If we called the cops now, all of that could be for nothing And let's be real-If the police could fix this, DracoLux would've been shut down ages ago.

This couldn't go unchecked, though. Especially not for Lena. She'd always been fierce about protecting women, and seeing someone like Demi humiliated and broken like this? It wasn't something she'd ever tolerate. "How's Demi? Has she woken up? Can I see her?" I asked, my voice shaking.

Without a word, Lena led me to Demi's room.

Seeing her hooked up to all those machines, tubes everywhere, an oxygen mask covering her bruised face... It broke me. Lena's earlier description of her injuries echoed in my head, every detail slicing me open. "I'm... fine," Demi whispered weakly, as if she could sense my heartbreak and wanted to

comfort me.

Tears spilled down my face as I held her hand. "Demi, I swear, I'll make them pay for this. I will. I promise."

She gave me the faintest smile, but it was like a knife in my chest. Demi used to smile all the time, her laugh lighting up everything around her. Now, her smile was hollow-a shadow of who she used to be. "You need to report this," Lena said, her voice sharp, cutting through my pain.

Demi's smile wavered. "No... I... won't," she said softly.

is insane," Lena snapped, her

voice steady.

Not

tears, no visible pain-just emptiness. Yet I could feel the

all down," she said, her

Instead, her voice softened. "I'll do everything I can to treat your

eyes, finally

She handed me a tissue as I wiped my face,

uterine rupture and stopped the bleeding. But I can't

Children.

After all she'd

her entire life shattered-would

to love someone again? Could she trust

anything, just stared at the bloodstains on Lena's gown. "Go

Lena turned to leave, she stopped. "She doesn't want to report this because

I nodded.

Lena sighed. "That's reckless."

darkness ran-it forced people to risk their lives just to get close enough to expose it. "Demi can't do this alone," Lena continued. "But if others worked