Chapter 36

**Audrey's POV**

"Mrs. Parker? She's Sinclair! Audrey Sinclair!" Astrid shot up from her chair with a scoff. "Blake Parker and Laurel Rose are in this hospital too,aren't they?"

She moved toward Michael, protective anger radiating from her every movement. "Audrey's injured. Whatever they have to say can go through me!"

"Miss Wilson." Michael positioned himself carefully in the doorway,his normally composed expression showing a hint of strain. "Please understand, that wouldn't be appropriate." He shifted his attention to me,his voice softening slightly. "Mrs. Parker, Mr. Parker requests your presence. He suggests that if you want the divorce proceedings to move forward smoothly..."

The implied threat hung heavy in the air, unspoken but clear. I stared at my hands for a moment, feeling the familiar throb at my temples intensify.Of course he would use the divorce as leverage - it was so perfectly,predictably Blake.

I gave a bitter smile as I tried to push myself up from the bed.

"Here, let me help." Felix was at my side before I could process his movement, one hand extended in support.

I leaned away from his offered assistance, managing what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "Thanks, I can manage."

"I could come with you," he offered, dropping his hand but hovering uncertainly.

"That's not necessary." I kept my voice gențle but firmn. "I can't let Blake hold a grudge against the Thompson famnily."

The flash of frustration across his features told me he wanted to argue, but years of social training kept him silent. In any other circumstance, his chivalrous instincts might have been endearing.

Astrid wasn't so easily deterred. She was at my side in an instant,her presence both comforting and concerning. "I'm coming with you."

"No." I carefully extracted myself from her protective stance."Wait here."

"Audrey-"

"Please." I cut off her protest with a look we both understood. Her quick temper combined with Blake's arrogance and Laurel's manipulations would be explosive. The last thing I needed was a scene in the hospital corridors.

She pressed her lips together, clearly unhappy but understanding. "Fine.

But keep your phone close. One call - that's all it'll take, and I'll be there."

Her fierce loyalty almost made me smile. Almost.

I turned to Michael, straightening my spine despite the protest from my injuries. "Lead the way, Mr. Chen."

The journey to the VIP floor felt endless. Michael maintained a respectful silence as we navigated the hospital's maze of corridors and elevators.Other patients and staff came and went, each floor we passed marking another step up the hospital's unspoken hierarchy.

"Mrs. Parker," Michael finally ventured as we approached yet another elevator. "You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." The lie came easily after three years of marriage to Blake.Always fine, always composed, always the perfect Mrs. Parker - even when my world was crumbling around me.

"And Miss Rose?" I couldn't help asking. "Is she injured?"

Michael's slight hesitation spoke volumes. "Miss Rose is... it's complicated."

We were still several feet from the suite when Laurel's voice drifted through the partially open door, perfectly modulated for maximum dramatic effect.

"Blake darling, what if I don't make it?" Her voice quavered with precisely calculated fear. "When I was on the track, I actually thought about writing my will!"

"Don't talk like that." Blake's response was gentle, filled with the tenderness he'd never shown me. "You'll live a long, healthy life..."

"But we need to do everything we want to do, right away!" Laurel's voice rose and fell in perfect theatrical rhythm. "Promise me you'll be there,Blake..."

Hearing her words, I just felt incredibly disgusted. Even I could see through her calculated performance, yet Blake, who prided himself on seeing through things, was completely taken in.

Michael cleared his throat awkwardly, rising his voice. "Mrs. Parker, are you absolutely sure you have no other injuries?"

"Thank you for your concern," I replied, loud enough to be heard inside

the room. "I'm fine."

The scene that greeted us could have been lifted straight from a daytime soap opera. Laurel reclined against a mountain of pillows, her designer hospital gown arranged just so, while Blake sat beside her, peeling an apple with devoted concentration. Their clothing was subtly disheveled -not enough to be improper, but just enough to suggest intimate comfort.

"Well, well." Laurel's eyes found me immediately, her smile razor-sharp."Mr. Chen took quite a while to fetch you, Miss Sinclair. You're rather difficult to reach these days."

Once again, she called me "Miss Sinclair" - the implications couldn't have been clearer. In her mind, she was already Mrs. Parker.

"The distance between floors accounted for the delay." I kept my voice calm, refusing to engage with her performance.

Her expression shifted instantly, vulnerability showing up. "Blake darling...

"Her lower lip trembled as she turned to him. "What is she implying?

That you're playing favorites with the hospital rooms?"

"I never said that," I replied evenly.

"You didn't have to." Her voice sounded sweet but was full of spite. "Blake darling, I told you I didn't need the VIP suite. I'm not some princess...you insisted." She cast a pointed look at me. "And now Miss Sinclair comes in here, making snide remarks..."

I watched as Blake tensed, his hand tightening around the half-peeled apple. "Stop making a fuss," he said to me, his voice cold."Laurel's injuries are more severe. That's why she's here. If you were actually ill, I would arrange that too,"

Looking at him, I felt a wave of coldness wash over me. The man I had once loved was taciturn, sharp-witted, calm, and unruly. Even when he was blind, he could judge a person's character and qualities based on just a few words. But now, with his clear eyes, He seemed worse off than if he were blind and deaf, believing every word Laurel said.

*Some people*, I thought with bitter clarity, *regain their sight only to become truly blind.*

"Is that why you had Mr. Chen threaten me with the divorce?" I asked quietly. "To bring me here for this performance?"

"I've heard enough." I straightened my spine, ignoring the pain that shot through my body. "If there's nothing else, I'lI return to my rest. Remember to transfer the fifty million from our bet to my account, and I hope to see you tomorrow at the court."

"Audrey·Sinclair!" Blake's voice cracked like a whip. "After what you did to Laurel on the track, don't you think you owe her an apology?"

"Blake darling, let it go." Laurel's voice softened with practiced vulnerability. "Miss Sinclair won't apologize. She won't admit that she deliberately slowed down to make me crash..."

I stared at her, momentarily stunned by the sheer audacity of her lie. The truth - that she had deliberately rammed my car when I slowed to give her space -felt suddenly irrelevant. Blake would believe whatever version of reality Laurel chose to present.

"I won't force her to apologize," Laurel continued, her voice thick with unshed tears. "My feelings don't matter... I'll just cry it out..."

The apple slipped from her perfectly manicured fingers, hitting the floor

with a soft thud. She burst into tears, her body trembling as she pressed one hand to her chest, nearly swooning against the headboard in an impeccably executed display of distress.

"Laurel!" Blake hugged her instantly while comforting her.

His eyes, when they turned to me, blazed with fury. "Apologize to her.Now!"