Chapter 73
NOVA POV
It’s been two days since my panic attack—or should I say fainting episode—and I feel very okay.
Left to me, there’s nothing keeping me in this hospital bed, but my overprotective boyfriend had instructed—no, threatened—the doctor to place me on bed rest till he’s sure I’m fully okay.
When he finally left to attend to a work emergency that his team apparently couldn’t handle well, I decided to buy myself some time off the bed.
The first thing that hit me when I stood up was how quiet it was and it was not the regular silence, it’s the kind of quiet that hums in your ears after too much noise.
I looked around properly for the first time since waking up, and it’s obviously not the regular ward. It’s more of a bedroom like a luxury prison with sterile white sheets and the faint, crisp smell of disinfectant.
That’s my sign that Grant got me a private room.
At the far side was a full-length window overlooking the expressway, cars gliding past like tiny lights on a dark river. The buzz and chaos below never seemed to seep in here. It was soundproof and controlled and it’s typically his style exactly.
I was about to go sit when I heard muffled voices arguing. The sound was soft but it somehow carried that kind of restrained tension that doesn’t belong in a hospital or a private ward and that’s not just odd, it’s suspicious.
I moved closer to the door, curious despite myself. The argument wasn’t far; it was right in front of my door. That made sense because Grant told me explicitly that his men would stand guard right outside and not let anyone in till he’s back. So if I was hearing voices especially a feminine one, it meant someone was testing his rules.
I pressed my ear closer. One voice was definitely Ivin, his familiar tone was calm but strained, like someone trying not to punch a wall. The other was a woman’s, smooth but smug. And then another masculine voice joined, deeper, but I couldn’t make out the words through the heavy door.
What’s going on?
My curiosity won. I twisted the knob slowly and pushed the door open.
The moment it cracked, Ivin spun around like he’d been caught committing a crime. He rushed to my side and shut the door again but this time with him and me on the inside.
“You know your boss would kill you for this,” I muttered, glancing down at his hand still holding mine.
He dropped it instantly like I’d burned him.
“What’s with the argument p>
The door behind him was being pushed from the other side with soft knocks first, then impatient ones but Ivin had already locked it.
“Boss said you shouldn’t leave the bed,” he said, pointing at the bed like it was a commandment. “You’re not too strong yet p>
I rolled my eyes, resting my hands on my hips just to show I was still very much alive.
“You don’t know my body more than I do p>
The room tilted slightly, proving him right, and I sat down on the edge of the bed slowly. “What’s with the argument?” I asked again, this time pinning my gaze to his until he started shifting uncomfortably.
“It’s Lena and her mum,” he said finally, the words slipping out like he wished he could catch them back.
“Really? And you locked them outside? Why? What does that say about me p>
“Boss said not to let anyone in except a selected nurse and the doctor p>
“But she’s my friend. My bestie. And her mum.” I paused, trying to steady my fluttering heart, my brows pulling tight in confusion and anger.
“Boss said p>
“Tell your boss I said fuck him and his rules p>
I tried standing again, but he gently pressed my shoulders, pushing me back down.
“I need to open the door p>
“I’ll do that,” he said, voice low and cautious, like he was tiptoeing across a minefield.
He walked toward the door and reached for the handle, but before unlocking it, he looked back at me, his expression torn between obedience and survival.
“Lie down properly and cover up,” he said, then added after a beat, “please p>
Well, how could I resist if he asked nicely?
I did as he said, sliding back onto the bed, arranging the blanket over my legs. A few moments later, the door opened and in walked Lena.
She was thinner and paler, leaning heavily on a walker. Her skin had the fragile transparency of someone who’d seen too much pain in too little time. My breath caught seeing her like that.
“This is her p>
The voice cut through the air like a whip though it was more elegant and kind of smug but damn she sounded real expensive — and cold actually.
I looked up from Lena to see who it was and mother help me there she was.
Her hair was platinum blonde like Lena’s but glossier, cascading down her shoulders like she’d just stepped off a photoshoot. Her eyes were electric blue; it was sharp, intelligent, and terrifying. She looked like the kind of woman who never had to raise her voice to destroy someone.
My instinct was to shrink, to bow, to look away, but I couldn’t. I was frozen in her stare.
Now I was grateful I was lying down because if I were standing, I might’ve actually dropped to my knees and confessed every sin I’ve ever committed.
“Yes. She is Nova, and she’s my roommate,” Lena said in a non commital tone like she’s talking about something non significant.
Something inside me stuttered. Roommate? Not best friend, not sister from another mother like she calls me at times, just roommate p>
My smile wavered. Maybe it was the medication still fogging her brain, maybe she was still recovering. I decided to let it slide.
Lena rolled the walker closer and sat at the edge of my bed. I forced a smile at her before turning to meet the icy gaze of her mother again.
“Hello, Ms I left the question hanging, hoping one of them would fill in the blank. Neither did. The silence stretched long enough to feel heavy.
Lena kept fussing with a nonexistent stain on her gown, eyes downcast. Her mother’s stare stayed locked on me steadily evaluating, and openly hostile.
Deep down, my heart raced. Every instinct screamed that she knew. That somehow she’d found out about me and Grant. But how could she? Lena didn’t even know.
Still, I met her gaze with what I hoped looked like courage.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” she finally said, her voice smooth like silk with razors woven in.
“Really?” My mouth betrayed me, answering before my brain could stop it.
“Yes. Lena wouldn’t stop gushing about this friend that loves to read and stay indoors p>
Her tone was warm, but her eyes said liar. I smiled anyway, pretending I didn’t feel like prey.
“Lena is my best friend,” I blurted, the words tripping out before I could stop them. My mouth clearly hadn’t received the memo to stay quiet.
“Although she’s never mentioned you,” I added quickly, placing a hand on my chest in mock heartbreak. “And I’m hurt, ma’am p>
“Oh, darling, it’s all for a greater good,” she said sweetly, but even the word darling sounded like poison rolling off her tongue.
My chest tightened. The way she looked at me, it wasn’t curiosity or interest, it’s like she was calculating something… like It was calculation.
“So,” she said suddenly, tilting her head slightly, “how come you’re guarded by my husband’s trusted men p>
The question blindsided me. My brain went blank. Every muscle in my body froze. I could practically hear my heart stop.