"No, we can’t go to the hospital. If we go, people are going to see the state I’m in and they will start talking," Fiona said. Her words earned her a frown from Tracie she couldn’t see.


    "What are you talking about?" Tracie asked, her voice sharp with disbelief. "You’re about to die, and you’re worried about what people will say about you?" She let out a dryugh, oneced with frustration. "Guess what? No matter what you do, people are still going to talk about you. That’s just how the world works."


    She leaned closer, her tone taking on an edge of harshness she hadn’t intended. "Even if you die here right now, they’ll still talk. So, really, it makes no sense to waste your energy worrying about it." Tracie’s gaze softened slightly as she spoke, but she held her firm stance, hoping her words would break through the wall of despair Fiona had built around herself.


    Fiona was about to resist once more but Tracie didn’t let her. She used all the strength she could muster and lifted Fiona off the bed as thetter winced in pain.


    Although Tracie and Fiona weren’t close, she felt pity for the woman. No woman should be mistreated in such a way by her husband just because she refused to give him some money. Hearing their conversation from earlier already gave Tracie a clue about what their rtionship was all about.


    But she waited till they arrived at the hospital before she could gather her thoughts.


    Out of an act of chivalry and care, Tracie draped her jacket over Fiona’s face as they entered the hospital. She wanted to shield Fiona from prying eyes and judgmental stares, ensuring that her dignity remained intact despite the state she was in.


    The doctor insisted on removing the jacket but a re from Tracie indirectly told him not to until they’d gotten to the hospital room where she will be treated.


    Outside Fiona’s hospital room, Tracie was trying to gather her thoughts and wonder the kind of marriage Fiona was in.


    Since her husband, Marcus, was requesting money from Fiona, could it be that he was poor? Tracie couldn’t help but wonder now.


    Her mind suddenly shed back to once upon a time she’d seen Fiona going to the hospital. She’d touched her and thetter seemed to be in pain for a fleeting moment.


    "If she’s in an abusive marriage, why doesn’t she just get a divorce? Could there be something more to this?" She thought out loud, her index finger tapping on her chin. "Since I was the first person she called, that only means she trusts me. Hopefully, she can finally tell me what she saw the night that Arabe was killed."


    Although Fiona’s injuries from her abusive husband looked severe and would undoubtedly take a long time to heal, the physical scars were only part of the battle. She also needed therapy to confront her traumas before she could even begin to feel normal again.


    Tracie sighed while rubbing her chin in frustration.


    It was always from one thing to the other, and now this.


    She received a phone call and the caller was Ezekiel, her elder brother.


    "Xavier told me you went to mourwood because of Fiona. Is she finally ready to talk?" He asked immediately.


    Tracie couldn’t help but sigh one more time.


    "There’s a little situation over here, but she’s not going to talk about that anytime soon," she replied.


    "And why is that?"


    Tracie went on to exin to him what had happened and Ezekiel was shocked.


    "That wasn’t expected at all."


    "It wasn’t. I’m going to call you back when she wakes up," Tracie said. After exchanging a few words with Ezekiel, she hung up on the call.


    Tracie frowned when she checked the time on the phone. It was already 10pm, making it three hours since she brought Fiona to the hospital.


    "The doctor did say she would wake up soon. Could she be awake by now?" She mumbled under her breath.


    Tracie stood up and gently pushed the door open in case Fiona was still sleeping.


    Shockingly, the woman’s eyes were wide open, staring at the seeing like she was trying to make out the material used in furnishing the wood. It was terrifying because Tracie didn’t expect her to be awake at all.


    When Fiona heard the door opening, she tore her gaze from the ceiling to look at Tracie.


    "You’re awake...Do you need me to get anything for you?" She asked as she stepped inside.


    Fiona gently shook her head.


    "It’s already 10pm so you should eat dinner."


    Fiona merely stared at her.


    "I don’t know what happened to you and your husband, but if this is the way he treats you, why don’t you leave the marriage? It’s that simple." Tracie clipped her mouth shut when she realized what she’d just said. She wasn’t supposed to say that to someone who was just waking up after being beaten by her <i>loving</i> husband.


    "It’s not that simple," Fiona replied.