Now he was tossing it to someone else like it was nothing.

Maybe it really was nothing anymore.

Still...

"Adam, I'm on an IV right now."

"You're perfectly fine. What do you need an IV for? Don't you dare throw a tantrum right now, or I swear you'll regret it."

Fine. One last thing. Consider it repayment for the day you saved me.

I didn't wait for the drip to finish. I asked the nurse to pull the needle, walked back out into the storm, took a cab home, grabbed the gown, and delivered it to him without stopping to catch my breath.

Adam said, "Valerie's waiting for you at the entrance. She wants to say thank you. Be gracious about it."

I gave a quiet "mm" and hung up.

But what Valerie gave me wasn't a thank-you. It was a slap across the face.

I never saw it coming. My head snapped sideways, my body spinning half a turn, and the gown slipped from my hands onto the ground.

Valerie burst into tears instantly, her voice trembling with wounded innocence. "I told you, if you didn't want to bring it, you could've just said so. Why did you have to throw the dress on the ground?"

I've never been good at reading between the lines. I had no idea what she was playing at.

But Adam seemed to understand perfectly. He strode out of the hotel in seconds.

Valerie turned on him immediately. "Adam, is this what you meant when you said she'd behave? That she wouldn't give me trouble?"

Adam glanced at the gown crumpled on the ground, and just like that, he'd made up his mind.

Another slap landed on my face. "I've spoiled you rotten, haven't I? Apologize to Valerie. Now."

I laughed. The kind of laugh that comes when fury burns past its own limit. "Adam, do you even hear yourself? Did you bother to ask where the handprint on my left cheek came from?"

Valerie didn't even try to hide it. She tugged at Adam's sleeve, blinking up at him. "I hit her. Are you going to be mad at me, Adam? I just lost my temper when she threw the dress on the ground. I couldn't help myself."

"You know how I am. I've always had a bad temper."

Adam pulled her against him by the waist. "I'm not mad. She deserved it."

Valerie flashed me a triumphant little smile.

I smiled too. Tears spilled down my cheeks, but I smiled. I'm the fool here.

But even a fool only had to endure three more days of this. Three days, and I would vanish from their world for good.

Adam, I hope you don't end up the same way as the man who ruined my mother.