Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 997

Agnes walked over and snatched the bottle from Jared's hand with more force than she intended. "Jared, do you really have to keep doing this to yourself?"

"Agnes, since you've washed your hands of our relationship, don't come meddling in my affairs. You have no right, no say in this."

"Even if we can't be together, you need to pull yourself together and live a decent life."

"I'll do as I please. I don't consider this wasting away. It's just a drink, mind your own business."

Agnes slammed the bottle down on the table and walked over to the nightstand, yanking open the drawer.

Inside was a pile of sleeping pills.

She held them up to him. "And what about these, Jared? How many do you take every night?"

Jared walked over and snatched the pills back. "That's my business."

Undeterred, Agnes emptied the drawer of all its contents and tossed them into the trash. She then proceeded to raid the liquor cabinet, intent on taking every last bottle with her.

As she was leaving the room, Jared, hollow-eyed and notably thinner than before, pleaded with her, "Leave me one bottle, Agnes, please. Insomnia is torture."

His eyes were deep, like bottomless voids, but the pain and helplessness in them were more than Agnes could bear.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep, then I'll go," Agnes offered, her resolve firm.

As Jared disappeared into the bathroom, Agnes sat on the couch in a daze, her gaze unintentionally fixating on the blurred silhouette behind the frosted glass door.

It wasn't that she didn't miss the old times, their shared history at Century Entertainment. But her life was fraught with complications. She couldn't just ignore Ryder. She had to balance the relationships between them.

Agnes recalled something Alyssa once said to her. Alyssa had put it bluntly: "If you're with Jared, Ryder will hurt. If you're with Ryder, Jared will hurt. So let them both hurt."

Now she fully grasped the bittersweet sentiment behind Alyssa's words. Yes, they would both hurt. But maybe it wouldn't be the kind of pain that leads to despair.

She had been entangled with these brothers for far too long; continuing on this path could lead to an inevitable showdown. The very thought was anathema to Agnes.

After a while, Jared emerged from the bathroom. Agnes's eyes unintentionally met his form. He hadn't bothered with pajamas. Bare-chested, he walked out, a white towel slung low around his hips, droplets from his damp hair trailing down his chest.