Before I could respond, Maria entered holding a small medical box.

‎"If you won’t tell me what happened," she said firmly, "at least let me clean your wounds."

‎Her tone left no room for refusal.

‎I didn’t argue.

‎She sat beside me on the bed, gently cleaning and bandaging my injuries with careful hands.

‎She didn’t ask questions.

‎But I could feel her worry.

‎After a while, she quietly left the room.

‎And I finally drifted into restless sleep.The next morning, I opened my eyes slowly.

The space beside me was neatly made.

‎No one had returned.

‎After breakfast, I used the home computer to request a day off.

‎Then I left the house and handled everything one by one—reporting my lost phone and bank card at the police station, visiting the bank, and going through the service center to block and replace my accounts.

‎I bought a new phone afterward.

‎Step by step, I re-downloaded my apps and logged in with my new number.

‎The only downside was that all my old records were gone.

‎But that didn’t matter.

‎I had always backed up my important documents to the cloud.

‎Everything essential was still intact.

‎Later, I opened my Status Updates.

‎And that was when I saw it.

‎Kendra had posted earlier that morning:

‎**"Don’t disturb them."**

‎Below the text was an image.

‎Alexander was sitting beside Lilian’s hospital bed.

‎His back was turned slightly, his attention fully on her as he quietly kept watch.

‎I stared at it for a long moment. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

‎No reaction followed.

‎Not anger.

‎Not sadness.

‎Just emptiness.

‎In the afternoon, I checked my work schedule.

‎Then I contacted my assistant.

‎"Move my business trip. I’ll be leaving today."

‎There was no hesitation in my voice.

‎No second thought.

‎I packed my things calmly at home.

‎And had my assistant bring my work materials directly to the airport.

Alexander’s POV

Inside the car, Alicia’s words kept echoing in my mind.

"Alexander, if you walk out that door today, it’s over between us."

I closed my eyes briefly.

If it weren’t for me, Lilian wouldn’t be in this condition.

I couldn’t ignore that.

And if Michael was right—if Lilian’s call had truly been a cry for help—I couldn’t simply turn my back on responsibility.

Once I made sure Lilian was stable... I would explain everything to Alicia.

She would understand.

At least, I hoped she would.

I drove faster than usual all the way to the hospital.

At the reception, I requested Lilian’s room number and headed straight there without delay.

Inside the room, Kendra and Lilian’s assistant were seated beside the bed.

"CEO Blackwood," I asked as I entered, "how is she?"

Kendra immediately stood up.

"CEO Blackwood, you’re finally here," she said quickly. "We tried calling, but your phone was off. Lilian is still unconscious. It’s a small relief that her face wasn’t damaged—if it had been, her career would have been destroyed. You don’t know how critical the situation was..."

I frowned.

"I heard she was burned in the fire. How severe is it?"

Kendra’s expression darkened.

"The doctors said around twenty-five percent burns—moderate, but still serious. When she was rescued... parts of her skin were already severely damaged."

She hesitated for a second before continuing.

"She was in so much pain... even unconscious, she was sweating. I couldn’t bear to watch."

Her words settled heavily in the air.

I exhaled slowly.

I couldn’t even imagine what she had gone through.

I pulled a chair closer and sat beside Lilian’s bed, looking down at her pale, unconscious face.

Worry settled quietly in my expression.

Kendra continued softly from behind me.

"The doctors are more worried about her mental state now. She was terrified right before she lost consciousness. That kind of trauma could worsen her recovery."

She paused.

"Ever since she came back, she’s been under a lot of pressure. I just wonder... if someone has been troubling her."

Silence followed.

The truth was that my mind wasn’t really there.

My gaze remained fixed on Lilian.

But somewhere in the back of my mind...

Alicia’s face flashed briefly.

"I’ll find the best doctor to treat her."

‎"CEO Blackwood..." Kendra hesitated. "If I may ask... why was your phone off?"

‎I lifted my gaze to her.

‎Kendra gave a faint, careful smile.

‎"I don’t mean to intrude," she continued, "but Lilian’s call record showed that she only tried to call you,it was shortly after she was trapped in the set. She must have been panicking... trying to reach you."

‎Her voice softened.

‎"If you had picked up then, and the set had been alerted in time, maybe she wouldn’t have been injured this badly."

‎I lowered my gaze.

‎"I couldn’t take the call at that moment," I said quietly. "I didn’t expect something like this to happen to Lilian."

‎Kendra exhaled softly.

‎"What a pity... things might have turned out differently."

‎I shifted the subject.

‎"Has the doctor said when she’ll wake up?"

‎"They can’t say for sure yet," Kendra replied. "They need to observe her. It could be tonight... or tomorrow morning."

‎She leaned in slightly.

‎"CEO Blackwood, you should stay with her. Before she lost consciousness, she kept calling your name. If she wakes up and sees you here, she won’t be scared. Only you can give her that sense of security."

‎I frowned slightly, remaining silent.

‎If I didn’t return tonight...

‎explaining things to Alicia would become even more difficult.

‎Seeing my hesitation, Kendra sighed and pressed on.

‎"Lilian has already suffered enough," she said. "The doctor said with burns this severe, even successful surgery might leave scars. You know what that means for a woman... especially a public figure."

‎Her voice lowered further.

‎"When she was trapped, before things got worse, she called you. That was her only chance of reaching someone she trusted."

‎A pause.

‎"If she had called anyone else... maybe things wouldn’t have escalated like this."

‎I didn’t respond.

‎Kendra continued anyway.

‎"But she didn’t. She only thought of you."

‎Her tone sharpened slightly.

‎"And now she’s the one paying the price."

‎Then she added softly,

‎"Today is her birthday."

‎I paused.

‎Kendra continued.

‎"She didn’t want to disturb you. All day, she kept checking her phone, hoping you might at least send a message."

‎Her expression turned faintly emotional.

‎"Who would’ve thought something like this would happen on her birthday?"

‎She shook her head slightly.

‎"Lilian is too understanding... sometimes, it’s almost painful."

‎Silence settled between us.

‎After a moment, I finally spoke.

‎"I’ll go make a call."

"Alright." Kendra replied, satisfaction clear in her tone.

‎I left the hospital room, the cool breeze brushing against my face.

‎Reaching the stairwell, I stopped and took a deep breath, pulling out my phone.

‎I had to call Alicia.

‎I had to stay tonight.

‎Lilian’s call had come at the worst possible time... and I had missed it.

Lilian’s distress call had been hung up by Alicia—could I blame Alicia for that?

‎No.

‎Her intention was simple; she didn’t want me to go to Lilian tonight. She didn’t know that Lilian had an emergency.

‎Could I blame Lilian?

‎No.

‎She trusted me enough to call in a moment of need.

‎In the end...

‎I could only blame myself.

‎I was the one carrying a responsibility I couldn’t escape....