waking

Chapter 33 

The Edwards were reeling after Naomi stormed out, pushing Shawn in his wheelchair. Victoria, Rosalind, and Javier were left there shaking, trying to wrap their heads around what just went down. Javier was the first to get up, wiping his sweaty forehead with shaky hands 

Victoria and Rosalind leaned on each other, trying to stand, swapping glares that could kill. That bitch Naomi, she’s always been trouble,” Victoria hissed. “If it wasn’t for her being a match for Rosalind, she’d never have set foot in our house. We took her in, let her give Rosalind her blood, and she should be grateful. Now she walks our with some ugly guy she just met, acting like she owns the place…..” 

Victoria was so angry she couldn’t finish her rant. The humiliation of begging Naomi to stay was engraved in her memory, a disgrace she’d never 

shake off. 

Javier stayed quiet. Something told him they’d picked a fight with the wrong people. 

At the hospital, Rosalind was getting better, but Dillon insisted she stay for more check–ups. When she woke up. Dillon was there beside her, telling her he’d found her, totally alone, on a mountain hike with his sister. 

Turned out Freddy had ditched her and took off. If Dillon and his sister hadn’t found Rosalind, she might have been a goner up there on Frostpeak Mountain by herself 

When she first heard, Rosalind didn’t buy it. But then she got pictures of Freddy cozying up to Naomi, clinking glasses at dinner. That was when it hit her–Freddy must’ve fallen for Naomi, and they had plotted to leave her on that mountain, Freddy had made it look like an accident, but he’d actually joined Naomi down below while Rosalind was left stranded. 

Rosalind was seething and wanted to give Freddy a piece of her mind, but Dillon talked her down. If it was all a scheme, they’d never fess up, so why would she bother? She decided to focus on getting better; that was what really mattered. 

With Dillon’s comfort, Rosalind reluctantly began to heal, and day by day, with his help, their bond grew. He brought her all kinds of treats and made her eat, even when she didn’t feel like it. Rosalind started to gain weight before she knew it all under Dillon’s dedicated and charming care. 

Impatient to stretch her legs, Rosalind stepped out of her room just as Dillon walked up from the elevator, holding a big bunch of roses. He sniffed at the Blowers as he waltzed over. 

“Dillon,” she snapped, clearly ticked off, “where’ve you been? 1 got picked on.” 

Dillon managed to hide his annoyance, pulling off a shocked and worried face. “What? Who gave you a hard time? The flowers in your room were looking sad, so I went out to get you these. I was gone for a hot sec, did Freddy show up to bug you?” 

“It was that girl we adopted Rosalind said, her eyes welling up. “We took her in from the orphanage and gave her a life she could only dream of And now she’s backstabbed us. She hit me, made me kneel and say sorry… and not just me, my parents too. She was out of control; she even brought some goons who roughed up my folks. I could’ve been hurt if they hadn’t shielded me. 

Inside, Dillon was thinking they’d got what was coming to them, but of course, he didn’t show it Outside, he was revenge personified. “That’s messed up, it really is. Don’t you worry, Rosalind. I’m here now, and I’ve got your back.” 

Rosalind cozied up in Dillon’s arms with a self–satisfied smirk. She had dug up some dirt on Dillon in secret, turned out he was the rich heir to the big–deal Patterson family in Woodan—a way better catch than Freddy. All she wanted was a VIP ticket to the high–society life, and with her own family in a bit of hot water, she was ready to kick Freddy to the curb. Once Dillon was eating out of her hand, she’d make sure Naomi and that Shawn guy would have to grovel at her feet. 

Dillon kept his poker face while watching Rosalind. Zoey had called it; Rosalind was just a gold–digger, ready to step over anybody to climb to the top. A fake photo and a few lies about himself were all it took for her to cling to him. A sly look crossed his face as he remembered the nasty stuff the Edwards family had pulled. While out getting flowers, he had already hit up Naomi to send a special “surprise” to the Edwards family. 

Dillon played the comforting boyfriend while Freddy watched them from afar, his face unreadable. Freddy didn’t see that Zoey had already snapped a bunch of pies of Dillon and Rosalind getting cozy, Dillon’s face out of shot on purpose. 

Those photos got sent to a local tabloid quickly, with an extra of Freddy standing there looking all jealous. 

“Rosalind, your sister’s really crossed the line. Remember you wanted that login! Got it for you. Now you can get into the writer’s dashboard,” Freddy said. 

“Seriously?” Rosalind lit up. She dragged Dillon back to her hospital room, powered up her laptop, and hit the Sky Animation website. Logged into the writer’s dashboard, she was all grins asking him for the password. 

Dillon railed off a bunch of numbers and Rosalind keyed them in. It worked like a charm. 

Meanwhile, Naomi in Spring Villa got an alent. The corners of her mouth turned up just a bit. Everything was playing out like she planned. She bet Rosalind would post those pre–scheduled chapters from the draft box without a second thought. 

The password she told Dillon to give Rosalind? That was all Naomi’s scheming. Shawn had told her to stay locked up all day back at the villa, giving 

her the perfect chance to lay this trap. If Rosalind wanted fame and praise, Naomi was about to make sure she got a mouthful. 

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SIND GIFT 

Naomi took a sip of the warm milk Carla brought her, tasting how special it was compared to the regular stuff. Carla said Shawn had gone out of his way to treat her to it, telling her not to let Shawn’s kindness go to waste. 

Thinking about Shawn took her back to that hospital room and how he’d stepped in and shielded her without a second thought. 

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