Page 74 of A Sinner's Saint

“Like I said, we need to run some more tests to confirm this theory, Miss Taylor. But, yes, you experienced severe emotional stress, which in turn caused your heart to stop.”

I look at Vin. Thankful he hasn’t woken up. “He can’t know,” I whisper to Gio, who looks to the doctor.

“Broken heart syndrome?” he asks, waiting for Dr Hart to nod before turning back to me. “He’s going to hate himself more, but you can’t hide this from him.”

“Actually, I can. In case you missed the memo, we’re not together. I don’t need to tell him anything that concerns me,” I spit out, my voice rising with my panic.

Gio smirks, opens his mouth, and then shuts it again when his brother’s head lifts off the bed. “What’s wrong?” Vin asks me.

“Your brother’s an ass,” I tell him. “And I think you should both leave.”

Vin chuckles. “He is an ass, but he usually means well.” He looks from me to Gio. “What’d you do?” he questions his brother before focusing on Dr Hart. “Wait… Did you find something, Doc?”

“We’re keeping Miss Taylor overnight for observation. And we’ll schedule some appointments for her to come back and see me for further testing.”

“Why? What’s wrong with her heart?” Vin says.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s broken,” I tell him. His face drops, and I feel like a bitch.

“You need to rest, Miss Taylor, and avoid stressful situations.” The doctor shoots me a pointed glare before exiting the room.

“I’ll give you two some space. Gabe and Daisy are out in the waiting room. Daisy wants to see you,” Gio directs to Vin, who nods in return.

“Your brother is out of prison?” I ask.

“Yeah, he is,” Vin says. “What did Gio say that upset you?”

“Nothing,” I lie. “Why don’t you go home? Your family is worried about you. Go home.”

“Sure, I’ll go home,” Vin agrees, and I sigh in relief until he adds, “When you get released and can come home with me.”

“That’s never going to happen. I don’t know what you think is going on here. Butthis…” I gesture between us. “…isn’t a thing.” I give myself an internal high-five for having the strength to say those words out loud. I can’t allow myself to fall back into the Vin effect.

Broken heart syndrome. I knew I had a broken heart. I didn’t know it was an actual medical condition, though. And now that I have some sort of confirmation that the reason my heart stopped is because he left me, I don’t want to become reliant on him again. I might not actually survive the second time.

“I don’t care what is or isn’t going on between us, Cammi. I care about your heart and making sure it doesn’t stop. If I have to follow you around to make sure you’re okay, then I will,” he says.

I laugh. Where was this concern for me a year ago when I really needed him? Anger is building in my chest, quickly replacing the heartbreak. How dare he just waltz in like nothinghappened? Maybe Gio is right. I mean, he’s an all-powerful crime boss after all. Who am I to argue with him?

“You want to know what the doctor said, Vin?” I hiss, venom dripping from my voice.

Vin’s back goes straight, and his eyes connect with mine. Unwavering. “What did he say?”

“He thinks I have broken heart syndrome, a condition where your heart weakens under severe emotional stress. Do you want to know what happened to me that caused my heart to break, Vin? The one person I thought would always be there for meleft.The one person on this earth who I need—not just want butneed—left. He left, and I was fucking devastated. Beyond devastated. I needed him and he wasn’t there. So, yeah, my heart is quite literally broken. And I can only think of one person who’s responsible for that happening.”

By the time I’m finished yelling at him, my cheeks are wet and I feel like I’ve just let out a lot of stuff I was holding in. I’ve wanted to yell at him for so long. I’ve wanted to confront him, to shake some damn sense into him.

Vin’s face is pale, and his eyes are watery with unshed tears. “I… did… this?”

I’ve seen Vin scared. I’ve seen him angry. I’ve seen him happy. Now, he looks downright broken.

“It’s not your fault.” I try my best to backtrack, because some insane part of me still wants to protect him.

“It is. I stayed away so I wouldn’t hurt you, Cammi. I didn’t know that by doing that, I was hurting you more. I was killing you,” he says.

“You aren’t killing me.”

“I’ve weakened your heart. It’s my fault. I did this. Fuck!” Vin jumps up from his chair and starts pacing.

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