Torn

Orion’s POV

Mason stood in the middle of the hallway, his broad frame blocking my path, as if daring me to make the first move. His dark eyes, filled with contempt, met mine, and a slow smirk spread across his face.

“Well, well,” he drawled, his voice dripping with mockery. “If it isn’t the great Orion Miller. Here to play the devoted pitiful husband again?”

I took a step closer, my fists tightening at my sides. “What the hell is going on in that dumb head of yours?” I growled.

He crossed his arms, his posture annoyingly casual and mocking. “Ava needed someone to support her. Someone to help her fight. Clearly, that someone wasn’t you. I just did what a man who truly loves her would do.”

My blood boiled at his words. I knew he was trying to get under my skin, and it was working. Every second that smirk lingered on his face was another second I had to fight the urge to slam my fist into it.

“I warned you to stay the hell away from Ava but you wouldn't listen. Don’t blame me when I make you pay with your blood. Now, get out of my way, Mason,” I said coldly.

He didn’t move. Instead, he took a deliberate step closer, his tone hardening. “You don’t get to order me around, Orion. Not when you’ve already thrown her away.”

My jaw clenched, the muscles in my neck tightening. “You don’t know anything about me or my marriage to Ava.”

“Oh, I know enough,” he shot back, his voice rising. “I know that while you were off playing hero for Chloe, sweet Ava was falling apart. And did you show up for her? Not at all. Just like always.”

Before I could stop myself, my fist flew. The satisfying crack of my knuckles against his jaw echoed down the hallway, and Mason staggered back.

“You don’t get to call her that,” I snarled.

The hospital security moved closer, trying to get the bystanders out of the way and also get us to leave the building.

Mason recovered quickly, wiping a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. His smirk was gone, replaced by a deadly glare. “That's all you’ve got?”

And then he lunged.

His shoulder rammed into my chest, driving me back against the wall. Pain exploded through my ribs, but I didn’t let it slow me down. I shoved him off and threw another punch, this one landing squarely on his cheekbone.

Mason countered with a hard right hook that clipped my jaw, sending stars shooting across my vision. The impact only fueled my rage.

We were a blur of fists and fury, each hit harder than the last. My knuckles split against his face, and his elbow caught me in the side, but neither of us stopped. Blood smeared across my skin, his or mine, I didn’t know anymore.

“Sir, please this is a hospital. You both can't fight here,” a security staff yelled trying to pry us off each other.

“You’re a goddamn coward,” Mason spat, ignoring the man's outburst while slamming me into the opposite wall. “You don’t deserve her.”

The words cut deeper than any punch, and I roared, using every ounce of strength to break free. I grabbed him by the collar, slamming him into the ground.

“You don’t know what I could do for her!” I shouted, pinning him down. “You don’t know what I can sacrifice!”

Mason struggled beneath me, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. “What have you done so far?” he hissed, his voice laced with venom. “All I can think of is how you’ve destroyed her.”

I raised my fist, ready to end this once and for all—

“Stop!”

Ava’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

I froze, my fist hovering mid-air, my chest heaving. Slowly, I turned my head to see her standing a few feet away, her face pale, her eyes wide with a mix of anger and disbelief.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” she demanded, stepping closer.

“Ava—” I started, but she held up a hand, silencing me.

“I don’t want to hear it, Orion,” she snapped. “Not from you.”

Her gaze shifted to Mason, who was pulling himself to his feet, wincing as he wiped blood from his face. She went closer to him, placing a hand around his waist to support him.

“And you,” she said, her voice softer but no less sharp. “What are you even doing here? I told you to go home and rest so your wound can heal. This isn’t your fight.”

Mason looked at her, his expression softening. “It is my fight when you’re involved, Ava.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes flashing with something I couldn’t quite place. Guilt? Gratitude?

I staggered to my feet, the adrenaline from the fight beginning to wear off. Seeing her next to him, holding him in a way that she has never held me, made me realize just how bad the situation is.

I just wish she could hold me too. “Ava, listen to me—”

“No, Orion,” she interrupted, her voice trembling. “You’ve already made your choice.”

Her words hit like a dagger, but I didn’t look away. “I made the wrong choice,” I admitted again, my voice low but firm. “But I’m trying to fix it. Please just listen.”

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “Fix it? You can’t just fix this, Orion. You don’t get to break me and then decide when it’s convenient to put me back together.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but she kept going, her voice rising with every word.

“You chose Chloe, the person who took a bullet for you. And I get it. I really do. But now I’m choosing the person who took a bullet for my sister.”

The weight of her words crashed down on me, stealing the breath from my lungs. Mason took a bullet for Holly and I went full berserk on him?

I felt like a complete fool.

Mason stood behind her, his eyes locked on mine, his expression unreadable but I saw it. The sly smirk that stuck to his lips.

Ava stepped back, her gaze hard and unyielding. “I’m done, Orion,” she said quietly. “This is where it ends. Let's go and get you all cleaned up,” she said to Mason.

And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving me standing in the hallway, battered, bleeding, and utterly alone.

The echoes of her footsteps faded, and a patient's voice broke the silence.

“You really are a coward,” he said, his tone devoid of any understanding. Just pity.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.

Because deep down, I knew he was right.