Chapter 33: A Great Actor

"Atticus! Don't die!" Daphne lamented as her hands tenderly cradled his face, willing him to open his eyes, but he remained unconscious. She cursed herself for not treating him more kindly when she had the chance. Now it could be too late for her to make amends. Why was she so stubborn and cold to him? 

"What happened? Why is he suddenly coughing up blood?" 

'Because he's a dramatic little shithead,' Jonah thought, internally rolling his eyes at Atticus's performance. If Daphne knew that Atticus was faking it, those fingers that were gently stroking his cheek would be wrapped around his neck. 

The morally right thing to do would be to let Daphne know Atticus was faking it, but what was life without a little risk? Jonah was morbidly curious to see how far Atticus was willing to go. 

More importantly, if the queen found out about this, Atticus would be first in her line of fire. Not Jonah. It wouldn't hurt him to watch the show.