Chapter 1810:
“William, snap out of it! I’m not your enemy!”
Stella tried to push him away, but her resistance only seemed to fuel his rage. He grabbed her, flipped her over, and sank his teeth hard into her shoulder.
Searing pain exploded through her body.
Her shoulder—still healing from the gunshot wound—tore open under the assault. Fresh blood welled up immediately and soaked through the bandage. The pain was so brutal that Stella cried out, her vision swimming as she nearly blacked out.
Only when he saw that vivid splash of crimson did a flicker of clarity return to William’s eyes. The rage burning in his gaze began to fade, and the violent emotions coursing through him slowly settled.
Stella lay there on the bed, tears streaming silently down her face.
William seemed to snap back to himself all at once. When he registered what he was seeing—Stella lying beneath him, bleeding—horror and self-loathing crashed over him.
Th𝗈𝘂sa𝗇d𝗌 𝗈𝘧 𝗿еad𝘦r𝘴 𝗈𝘯 𝘨𝗮l𝗻о𝗏𝗲𝗹s.𝗰о𝗆
“Stel…”
He whispered her name, his voice breaking with disbelief.
Stella went completely still, her eyes widening in shock.
He hadn’t called her “Stel” in months. Even during his clearer moments, he’d only ever called her by her full name, cold and distant.
William’s hands shook violently as he touched her bleeding shoulder. He scrambled off the bed, his voice frantic.
“I need to get you to a doctor, Stel. I’m so sorry. Just hold on—please, hold on!”
Hearing those words, Stella finally lost control and broke down sobbing.
“William, do you remember me now? Do you really remember?”
He’d only just taken the antidote minutes ago. She hadn’t expected it to work this fast.
She bit down hard on her lip and turned to face him. When she saw his eyes filled with guilt, anguish, and self-hatred, all the anger inside her simply melted away.
William’s brow creased deeply. He reached toward her, but his hand shook so badly that he pulled it back.
“Stel, I’m so sorry… I swear, I didn’t know I was hurting you. God, I’m sorry. I’m a monster—worse than a monster. I can’t believe I did this to you…”
William had never hated himself more than he did in this moment.
He felt like a monster.
He remembered everything he had done over the past few months. It had felt as though someone else were controlling his body while the real him was trapped somewhere deep inside, forced to watch helplessly as he hurt the woman he loved.
But just moments ago, all those chaotic voices in his head had finally gone silent. The world itself seemed to have gone quiet for the first time in months.
His gaze dropped to Stella’s wrist, where a red mark showed where he’d gripped her too hard. He remembered all the other marks and bruises he’d left on her arms while she had been staying with him.
And now this gunshot wound…
“Stel, I need to call Jewell right now!”
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