I Woke Up From a Coma and Found Out My Fiancé Was Protecting My Killer Chapter 05
At the same moment, inside Willa’s house, Landon held her tight. He’d just barely talked her down. That was the only thing that mattered. But his whole body was still screaming.
“What exactly did Paige say to you? Willa, don’t ever pull something like that again.”
Her eyes were red-rimmed. Like she was actually drowning in guilt.
“She… didn’t say anything. Don’t blame her. It was our fault from the start.”
She didn’t say a word. But that silence told him everything he needed to know. And it stuck. It was Paige Bennett’s fault.
He grabbed his phone and fired off a barrage of pure rage.
[Paige, you went too far. Are you seriously trying to push Willa to her death? Isn’t she supposed to be your best friend?]
[When did you become this heartless?]
After he unloaded, he didn’t exit the chat. He stared at the screen, motionless. Waiting. Secretly hoping.
Minutes passed. For the first time ever, Paige—who always replied instantly—left him on read. Over three minutes. Nothing.
His brow furrowed. A sudden irritation scraped at him. Had he been too harsh? He added one more message.
[Willa’s okay now. I will marry you. Let’s just be good together.]
—
He sent it, shut off his phone, and didn’t look again.
Beside him, Willa bit her lip hard. All of this—everything she’d done—was to keep his eyes locked on her.
It happened five years ago. Paige brought her to meet Landon, and something just… clicked. She never stood a chance.
She didn’t feel guilty toward Paige. True love needed no justification. It didn’t matter who came first.
“Landon, what did she say?”
Landon snapped out of it. “She didn’t reply.”
He turned and pulled the aggrieved woman into his arms, kissing her hair softly. “Enough. Forget her.”
“I promise, even after Paige and I get married, you’ll still be the most important woman in my heart.”
Willa curled into his chest, her eyes full of smug triumph, and nodded sweetly. “I know.”
Late night.
He finally managed to soothe the frightened woman to sleep. Landon rubbed his temples, exhaustion pulling at him. He couldn’t sleep.
Something hung uneasily in his chest. A shapeless dread. Every time he shut his eyes, Paige’s disappointed stare burned behind his lids.
It irritated him. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t understand what she was throwing a tantrum about. And Willa hadn’t meant to hit her. Paige woke up, didn’t she? So why was she still angry?
—
He stepped onto the balcony and let the cool night wind hit his face.
He pressed his lips together, opened his phone, and braced himself. A
thread of hope. Still nothing. She hadn’t replied.
Landon’s jaw locked. The frustration sat so heavy in his chest that he
had to stop and breathe—once, twice, three times.
For some reason he couldn’t name, he didn’t want to walk back into
that bedroom. So he stood on the balcony all night, cigarette butts
piling up one after another.
Inside the bedroom, Willa, who should have been deep asleep,
opened her eyes. She stared at the man’s back. Bitterness surged.
After everything she’d done—why was he still thinking about that
woman?
She pinched her own neck until it turned red and snapped a photo.
Then she took a picture of his silhouette. She sent both to Paige.
[Paige, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Landon these next few days.
I’ll hand him back to you at the wedding.]
Her expression twisted. There was no way Paige could stay unfazed
after this.
Morning came. Landon was still awake. His shoulders were so stiff
he had to roll them just to move again. He called the wedding planner.
“How are the preparations coming?”
The planner hesitated for half a beat, then rushed out, “Everything’s
on track.”
The man grunted. “Use only the best. The most expensive. I want this
wedding to be one of a kind.” He hung up. Some of the weight lifted.
—
He went back inside, slipped into bed, pulled Willa into his arms, and shut his eyes.
Willa smirked. She snapped one more picture—the two of them tangled together—and sent it to Paige. Still no reply.
Willa didn’t care. No reply meant Paige was fuming. Spiraling. Probably crying all night. Just the thought smoothed the edges of her resentment.
Her eyes went cold. They came from the same high school. So why did everyone bully her and leave Paige alone? They were equals. So why did Paige get a man like Landon Cole? She refused to accept it. And that bitterness rotted into something warped.
The wedding day arrived fast. Landon didn’t sleep the night before. Excitement maybe. Or dread. A knife balanced over his heart.
Willa put on her bridesmaid dress and looped her arm through his as they got in the car. She studied his complicated expression. “Landon, if you don’t want to marry her, we could always—”
Elope. The word was halfway out. He cut her off. His lips pressed thin. “I’ll marry her. It’s the least I owe Paige.”
Willa’s words lodged in her throat. She nearly lost control of her expression, rage boiling just beneath the surface.
They arrived at The Grand Ballroom. Willa took in the lavish, romantic hall and ground her teeth so hard she nearly cracked them. All of this should have been hers.
Landon, on the other hand, finally exhaled. As if the more money he threw at it, the more it could erase the guilt. But he scanned the room.
—
No Paige.
He headed toward the bridal suite, but the wedding planner blocked his path. “Almost showtime, Mr. Cole. You’ll have your moment with her in just a bit. Adds to the drama, wouldn’t you say?”
He considered it. Nodded.
The wedding planner’s eyes flickered with contempt as they clutched the USB drive.
At noon. Landon stood at the end of the aisle. His palms were slick with sweat. It hit him then—he wanted this. He was nervous.
The emcee’s voice boomed. “And now, please welcome our beautiful bride—Paige Bennett!”
The lights cut out. A single spotlight hit the entrance. Click. The doors swung open. No one was there.
Before anyone could even blink, the projector screen lit up. Landon and Willa’s affair—right there, in full color, for the whole room to see.