Obedience No More He's the One I Deserved novel Chapter 216

"I don't love him anymore. If you do, then you figure out how to keep him close. I'll even wish you both the best, that you grow old together and have kids early."

Sydney's gaze shook as she stared at the young woman in front of her. The seriousness etched on Dawn's face stunned her for a moment.

So she doesn't love him anymore.

What a pathetic joke.

The thought nearly dragged a laugh out of her.

This same girl once followed Austin everywhere like a lost shadow. He had always kept himself stiff and proper, declaring over and over that he was nothing more than her uncle.

But now Dawn had a ring on her finger, and the man who was supposed to marry Sydney had tossed her aside like she was worthless. He was even planning to elope with the woman he once swore was only family.

A bitter smile pulled at Sydney's mouth, but when her head lifted again, her eyes burned with pure venom and rage.

"How can you stand there and claim it doesn't matter?"

Her voice sliced through the silence like a blade across glass.

"He cares about you more than anyone else. You need to admit it. If something happened to you, he would come running."

Austin hadn't answered a single one of her calls in days. Her mind screamed with only one truth.

She had to find him. She had to force the words out of him. She needed to hear why.

Her face twitched as her fury spiraled out of control. She clutched the baseball bat tighter, her knuckles pale, and stepped toward Dawn with a heavy tread. Her throat rasped as the words spilled out raw. "Do you even realize I've always been jealous of you?"

Her eyes glistened with a wild fever. "Yes, I set you up before. I won't deny it. But even when I tried to tear you down, Austin never stayed angry at you. At most he scolded you, then it was over. Tell me now, just how deep do you run in his heart?"

Dawn's face didn't shift. Not a single ripple crossed her calm surface. Those words carried no power over her anymore.

A wound was still a wound. No matter how small or large, pain was still pain.

In seconds Sydney stood face to face with her. Her eyes brimmed with poison as she spat out the words.

"You're the woman he loves most. That means you must die!"

The bat came crashing down with deadly force.

Before Dawn could move, a strong hand shot out and seized it in midair. The sound of wood slamming against flesh cracked through the room.

Dawn's head snapped sideways in shock. Ethan stood beside her, his face carved sharp, his eyes narrowed and locked on Sydney with a gaze so cold it could freeze stone.

"Trying to get yourself killed?" His voice was low but thunderous.

Dawn's breath seized. She grabbed his hand, fear thick in her voice. "Your hand! Is it alright?"

When she wrenched the bat away, she saw an angry welt marked the center of his palm all the way to the base of his thumb. The red line stood out viciously.

Her eyes burned with tears as she whispered, "I could have dodged the bat. She was trying to break bones. You shouldn't have—"

"It's nothing."

Ethan pulled her into his chest, his voice calm, his touch steady. "It's only red. It'll fade in a bit."

As if. Sydney had meant to kill. The wound would not vanish that quickly.

Her silence hardened into something sharp. And she turned around.

Sydney hung there like she had gone vacant. Her head was bowed, trembling but silent.

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