To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 303

“Let me go!”

As they struggled, Chuck’s knee pressed hard against Elara’s stomach.

A jolt of pain shocked her, making her mind go blank for a second.

But as soon as she regained her senses, she slapped him across the face, her hand cracking loudly in the tense air.

“So you quit medicine just to stoop to this? Is this what you’ve become—someone without a shred of decency or conscience?”

Chuck froze, his grip loosening.

Elara glared at him, chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. Despite the anxiety twisting inside her, she refused to back down.

“How does a guy who used to rescue stray animals turn into a person like this? Your change breaks my heart, Chuck.”

“My change? You think I became this because of nothing? If I’m like this, it’s all because of you!” Chuck’s anger was still burning, but his eyes had cleared a little.

At least he wasn’t lunging at her anymore.

Elara’s stomach ached so badly she could barely breathe. She gingerly tried to turn onto her side, but Chuck didn’t bark at her or stop her.

She curled up defensively, still glaring at him.

“Because of me? Was it my idea for you to take bribes from Nanette Winters and stab me in the back? Did I force you to sell your soul and throw away your ethics? There’s a monster inside you, Chuck. Don’t pin it all on me. Even if it wasn’t me, you’d have found someone else to betray. I didn’t destroy you when I had the chance, and now you repay me by setting me up?”

Her last words seemed to hit a nerve. Chuck’s face twisted as he shouted, “You sent me off to that tiny clinic in the middle of nowhere. Then you hired people to pose as patients and scam me. I lost every penny I had—couldn’t even afford a place to stay in Kingston City anymore! Yesterday some thug showed up and told me if I didn’t pay up, loan sharks would come after me. You call that a favor?!”

Elara stared at him, completely bewildered.

“Listen to me. First of all, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Second, Brian gave you a hard time before, but lately he’s been too busy with his own mess to care about you. As for our old feud—I let that go a long time ago. Why would I bother coming after you now? If you’d stop to think rationally, you’d realize something doesn’t add up here.”

Fighting panic, Elara grabbed his hands and forced her voice to stay steady. “I’m trying to save you from going over the edge! Some things, once you do them, there’s no going back—like taking Nanette’s money. Right now, you haven’t crossed a line you can’t uncross. Leave Kingston City. Start over somewhere new. You can still be a doctor. You can still help lost animals. You haven’t lost everything yet.”

Chuck’s arm shook, but slowly, mercifully, the knife dropped to his side.

Elara was pale, sweat beading on her brow, but she kept talking, desperate to calm him before things spiraled again.

Moments later, Summer burst in with a team of police officers.

She was safe.

“That guy hurt your stomach?” Summer asked.

Elara nodded, exhausted.