Chapter 14 Days later , two diagnosis reports arrived at Whitmore Manor . Tessa happened to sign for the delivery . Curious , she settled onto the sofa and tore open the first envelope - hers . The words leapt out : No abnormalities detected . Clinical Notes : [ Mild tachycardia . Maintain healthy stress levels and regular exercise . ] She was healthy . Perfectly fine . It was impossible . Tessa scanned the page again and again . The hospital misdiagnosed me . Then who was sick ? Aria ? Had their files been switched ? Her fingers trembled as she ripped open Aria's report . Significant shadowing in left breast tissue , indicative of a mass with suspected metastasis . Clinical Diagnosis : [ Stage II breast cancer . Long - term pharmaceutical intervention advised . ] Tessa's grip tightened , crushing the paper . Her mind raced . Chapter 14 Her entire hold over the Whitmore family hinged on being the sick one . If they learned Aria was ill the affection lavished on her would vanish , redirected to its rightful target . No. They must never know . She bolted upstairs to her room . She needed to shred these papers . Now . Only then would she feel safe . Downstairs , Owen had just stepped through the door when the housekeeper rushed over . " Owen , Tessa locked herself in her room after getting a package this morning . She hasn't eaten all day . " The woman wrung her hands . " She needs nourishment , especially being so frail . " Owen's face darkened . He took the stairs two at a time . Her bedroom door wasn't locked . He knocked sharply . " Tessa ? It's Owen . I'm coming in . " He pushed the door open . What he saw stopped him cold . Tessa whirled around , panic stark on her face . His gaze dropped . Torn paper littered her hands and the floor . " Tessa ," Owen's voice turned dangerously quiet . " What are you Chapter 14 holding ? " " N - Nothing ." Tessa instinctively hid her hand behind her back . " Tessa , is that the hospital report ? Why did you tear it up ? Let your second brother take a look . " Owen spoke as he stepped forward . " Owen , don't look . It's still cancer . I'm already devastated - why make me face it all over again ? " Tessa tried to mask the panic in her eyes , tears streaming down her face like a pear blossom in the rain . She spun around and ran into the bathroom , locking the door . " Tessa , open the door! " The sound of a toilet flushing came , and after a moment , Tessa emerged . Thay " Where's the report ? " Owen asked , frowning when he saw her empty hands . " I flushed it , " she choked out , biting her lip . " I don't want to see it again . I can't accept this , Owen . I'm so scared . " Looking at her trembling , terrified expression , Owen's heart ached . He reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace . " Don't be afraid . I won't let anything happen to you . I'll cure you . Have I ever lied to you ? " Chapter 14 Tessa nodded through her tears , but inside she was calculating . Her illness was fake . Sooner or later , the Whitmore family would realize something was off . She had to drive Aria out before that happened . Downstairs , Aria was changing her shoes when Zoe approached . " Aria , a package arrived for you today , but Miss Tessa opened it . " Aria's hands stilled for a moment before she simply nodded and went back to putting on her shoes . When she went upstairs , she saw Owen holding Tessa , comforting her gently . That kind of warmth she'd never had . Aria let out a cold , humorless smile and silently entered her own room . Once , she would have felt hurt . ' Now ? Not my problem ! She had only one goal before the end of her life - make something of herself . She had already failed once . She wouldn't fail Jasper again . So her days were spent either in class or poring over the books Jasper had given her . Chapter 14 The countdown was down to fifteen days . In the past few days , she'd gone out of her way to avoid running into Tessa . Life had been peaceful , leaving her plenty of time to study . ' Can't fight her ? Then avoid her , she wondered . At the bus stop , the drizzle suddenly turned into a torrential downpour , with no sign of letting up . Aria frowned - she hadn't brought an umbrella . Usually , she kept one in her bag and the weather stayed clear . Today , she'd left it at home and here came the storm .