Orion covered his mouth, coughing violently into his fist before finally looking up. "Call me if anything happens. I'll be back soon."

He left the hospital ward. As for Lemira's situation, he didn't even have a plan.

Matthew watched him walk away. The man whose posture was normally so unshakeable and commanding now looked utterly broken.

Matthew rubbed his face in frustration. How had everything spiraled into such a disaster?

Orion's driver pulled up to the apartment building. Stepping out of the car, Orion looked up at the floor where Lemira lived. The windows were pitch black.

He pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over her contact for a long time before he finally initiated the call.

Those few seconds of ringing felt like an eternity to Orion.

When the line actually connected, his heart leaped into his throat, hammering against his ribs.

Neither of them said a word. The only sound filtering through the speaker was the faint, rhythmic draw of each other's breathing.

Lemira gripped her phone tightly. She waited in the agonizing silence, but no explanation came from the other side.

A sharp sting burned behind her eyes, and she couldn't suppress a sudden, harsh cough.

Hearing the painful rasp in her chest, Orion's heart ached. "If you're sick, why won't you go to the hospital?"

Lemira covered her mouth, her voice a brittle whisper. "Will a hospital fix everything?"

*Will it fix the betrayal?*

Orion fell silent for a heartbeat. "I'll send someone to pick you up."

"I'm not going."

Her tone was laced with unyielding stubbornness. Was he really too much of a coward to even see her himself?

Orion rubbed his throbbing temples. "Be reasonable."

"Since when do you have the right to give me orders?"

Lemira's voice flared with raw fury. When he still refused to offer a single word of explanation, she furiously tapped the red button, ending the call.

She yanked the heavy blankets over her head. The phone began to vibrate again, but she ignored it entirely.

Staring at the 'Call Failed' screen, Orion let out a heavy, defeated sigh.

He turned to his secretary. "Have Dr. Thorne sent up."

Julian Reed hesitated. "Are you not going up yourself, sir?"

A hollow, self-deprecating look crossed Orion's face. How could he possibly face her now?

He didn't have the courage.

Receiving no response, Julian took the hint and led the Everhart family doctor toward the elevators.

Orion looked down at his phone and texted her: *Open the door.*

Inside, Lemira heard the notification ping. She waited a moment, morbidly curious to see what excuse he would offer.

She grabbed the phone, only to see a blunt, three-word command: *Open the door.* Was he actually here?

At that exact moment, the sound of movement came from the hallway. Lemira sat up. Didn't Orion already know the passcode to her door?

Throwing a thick cardigan over her pajamas, she walked over and pulled the door open-only to find a doctor and

Julian standing in the hall.

She remembered seeing Julian once before.

Julian spoke with careful politeness. "Ms. Langston, Mr. Everhart sent his private physician to evaluate you."

A cold, mocking smile touched Lemira's lips. "And where is he?"

Julian hesitated. "Mr. Everhart is tied up with some business."

*Right.* Lemira instantly went to slam the door.

Business? She wasn't stupid enough to swallow a lie like that.

Julian's panicked voice filtered through the closing gap. "Ms. Langston, please just

let the doctor check on you first!"

"I'm not dying."

Lemira snapped back before

dissolving into another harsh fitt

coughing She stormed back to her bedroom, so furious she felt

lightheaded.

Realizing he wasn't getting in, Julian quickly dialed his boss. "Mr. Everhart, she

won't let us inside."

Orion exhaled slowly. "How did she look?"

"Not well, sir. Honestly, I think you need to come up here yourself."

Orion swallowed hard. "I'll give you the passcode."

"Sir, with all due respect, if Ms. Langston refuses to cooperate, forcing our way in won't help."

Julian knew exactly where the

bottleneck was. The moment Lemira had opened the door and seen him instead of Orion, a flicker of deep disappointment had crossed her eyes. She had tried to hide it but Julian hadn't missed it.

Sitting in the backseat of his car, Orion rolled down the window, staring up at the

dark sky.

After a moment of torturous hesitation, he called her again. The line went straight to voicemail. She was actively ignoring him.