Page 49 of Bound By Thorns

Somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind, I had known it, but hearing it confirmed, laid out in such brutal terms, was gut-wrenching.

“Thank you, Doctor,” I managed to choke out to Dr. Sander who was oblivious to my world obliterating.

She gave me a reassuring smile and stood, signaling the end of our conversation. “She’ll be in recovery soon, and you can see her then. Just remember, she might not be ready to talk about everything right away.”

As she left, I sat back, overwhelmed by a torrent of guilt and realization. The room felt stifling, too small, as if the walls were inching closer with each passing second. I needed air. I needed to think.

Stumbling out of the room, I found my way to a quiet corner of the hospital. My words, my actions, hammered at me, everything echoing the brutality of what she had endured.

The truth stung—I had been so wrapped up in my own suffering that I had failed to see hers, even when she was right there in front of me.

I hadn’t just hurt Kaylan, I had destroyed her.

Hell, the things I had said and done. I just hoped I hadn’t done an irreversible amount of damage to us. I wanted to be there for her. So I vowed tobeanything for her. Anything.

TWENTY

Logan

It was an unnerving moment of clarity. The weight of what I’d learned pressed down on me like a mountain. Remorse, rage, fear, a deadly cocktail for my personal hell.

I couldn’t even begin to understand how she’d been through so much and was still standing. I had been in Ravenrock for a little over a month, while she’d been enduring hell for three months, all the while treating beasts who tormented her.

Whore.

That word echoed in my mind—a cruel label I had thrown at her in my spite. Multiple times. My heart squeezed with regret as I remembered.

‘Do you want me to fuck you? Fuck him out of your system?’

How had I let myself hurt her so deeply? In those moments that should have been just ours, I dragged her through her worst memories.

‘You sewedmeup, yet you went back and fuckedhim.’

I was yanked from these tormenting thoughts by a gentle touch on my shoulder. “Mr. Blackthorn, she’s awake now,” a voice whispered. I followed numbly.

Peering through the small window of her door, I saw her lying there, her arm across her chest, her gaze empty. She looked so fragile, so breakable.

You broke her, Logan.

The realization stung. I had shattered her with my cruel words, with my actions.

This was unforgivable, wasn’t it?

Opening the door, Kaylan’s head turned slowly to face me. Her eyes were red, her whole body shaking as she caught sight of me.

What have I done?

“Kaylan—”

“No,” she yelped, using as much strength she could muster.

“Baby, please—”

“Leave,”her face crumpled before me.

I clenched my jaw, and bit my trembling lip. This was about her, her pain, not mine.

“I’m here for you,” I said, moving towards her slowly, each step deliberate.

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