Paralyzed by His Lies

Chapter 1

I ran through the pouring rain, clutching a bottle of painkillers like my life depended on it. By the time I got to Alexander Quinn's door, I was soaked to the bone. I was about to knock,

But then I heard voices.

"Alex, seriously. You should've gone into acting. It's been what, five years since the accident? Five years stuck in a wheelchair?"

"And Lucy? Damn. She's still playing nurse, still hasn't figured out your legs work just fine."

"How many times have you made her do this? Running out in storms, bringing you meds? I lost count."

Then came Alexander's voice. Calm. Ice-cold.

"Ninety-eight."

The other guy hesitated. "You're kidding… Right? I mean, dude, she's the girl you basically raised. Doesn't this feel... wrong?"

"If she hadn't faked being sick the day Isabella left," Alexander said flatly, "I would've gone after her. I could've stopped her. But I didn't. So yeah, this is Lucy's punishment."

He paused.

"Ninety-nine times. That's when the game ends."

I stood frozen outside the door, my fingers clenched tight around the bottle, water dripping from my hair, mixing with something warm on my cheek.

I thought he kept me around because he cared.

I thought maybe, just maybe, I meant something to him.

Turns out, I was just a pawn. A walking reminder of the one time I messed up.

A punishment.

Well, fine.

You took care of me for five years. I'll repay the debt.

Ninety-nine times.

After that? I'm gone.

For good.

...

I stayed in the hotel lobby until the trembling in my hands finally stopped. Only when I could breathe without choking on tears did I head back to the private room.

The second I knocked, the room fell dead silent.

Laughter vanished. Smiles froze. Eyes flicked toward the door.

"Lucy, where the hell have you been?" someone snapped. "Alex is in pain. He's sweating all over."

"If you didn't want to take care of him, you should've said so," another voice added, laced with scorn. "If you hadn't insisted on nursing him yourself back then, maybe his legs would've actually recovered."

That voice, I recognized it. Lucas. Alexander's best friend. The same one I'd just heard laughing about me behind closed doors.

I didn't react. Didn't flinch. I just walked straight to Alexander.

He looked like he was in agony, brow furrowed, knuckles white on the armrests of his wheelchair, sweat glistening on his forehead.

But the sharp, bitter scent of alcohol gave him away.

Same performance. Same act. The ninety-ninth time, and I still remembered every single one.

And for five years, I hadn't seen through it. How pathetic.

"What are you standing there for?" Lucas barked. "Give him the damn meds!"

When I didn't move, he grabbed my wrist and shoved me aside like I was nothing.

I hit the ground hard, pain shooting through my knee, the same one I scraped earlier when someone knocked me down in the rain. But this pain? This was nothing.

It couldn't compare to the feeling of being broken from the inside out.

Alexander Quinn.

You faked being paralyzed for five years just to punish me.

And I loved you every single second of it.

"Lucas, that's enough." His voice cut through the room, sharp and commanding.

I looked up.

He was wheeling toward me, concern etched into every line of his face. He reached out to help me.

"Lucy, I'm sorry. He didn't mean it. He's just... upset."

I pulled away and forced a smile. A lie. Just like everything else.

"No, it's my fault. I took too long."

"You're hurt... you must be, "

"I'm fine." My voice came out soft, sweet, just the way he liked it. The way he expected it.

His shoulders relaxed. He bought it.

I handed the painkillers to Lucas. "Take care of him."

Then I turned and walked out.

He once told me he didn't want me to see him take medicine. Said it made me sad.

And if I was sad, he couldn't be happy either.

He had no idea that every single time I left the room, I'd close my eyes and beg, beg, the universe to make him better.

Even if it meant giving up my life in exchange.

I hadn't even reached the end of the hallway when laughter erupted behind the door again.

"Did you see her face? What a joke."

"Man, ninety-nine times and she still falls for it. Unbelievable."

"Next time I'll go harder. A scratch clearly isn't enough to teach her anything."

"And hey, Alex, you're buying tonight. I've got a little present coming for you."

There was a pause.

Then Alexander's voice. Cold. Detached. "Put it on my tab."

Their laughter followed me all the way down the hall. My shoes squished with every step, my clothes still soaked through from the rain, but I didn't feel any of it.

All I felt was the slow, deliberate death of my love for him.

By the time I got to the entrance, I saw her.

Tall. Elegant. Wrapped in a designer dress with not a hair out of place.

So this was the "gift" Lucas had promised.

"Excuse me," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You're in my way."

I stepped aside silently.

"I thought this was a five-star hotel. Can't believe they let people dressed like that in here. Gross."

For a second, I thought she might be her. Isabella.

But no. Isabella came from an old-money, academic family. She had class. Grace.

She would never say something like that in public.

Lucas had found a knockoff.

Perfect. Even the ghosts from the past weren't real anymore.

On the ride back to the Quinn mansion, I pulled out my phone.

For the first time in years, I dialed a number I'd sworn I'd never call.

My aunt answered on the second ring.