[BL] CRAVING HIM: Addicted to His Voice-Chapter 238: Between Crying and Loving You

~Zayn’s POV~

My eyes snapped up, meeting Karl’s terrified gaze across the office. He had been frozen by the desk since Evric started shaking, but at my roar, he finally sprang into action. "Karl!" I yelled, tightening my grip on Evric. "We need the car—now!"

Within minutes, Evric was rushed out of the office and transported to the nearest hospital emergency room.

The next few hours were a blur of fluorescent lights, IV drips, and monitors. After stabilizing him, a brisk, middle-aged doctor came to speak to us. I was sitting beside his bed, holding his hand, though he was still unconscious.

"He’s stable now," the doctor said, looking directly at me. "The diagnosis is simple: exhaustion and acute stress. He hasn’t been eating or sleeping properly for days, possibly even weeks. His blood sugar was dangerously low, his electrolytes depleted, and his cortisol levels were significantly elevated."

She crossed her arms, her gaze firm. "I’ve started him on a saline drip with essential vitamins to stabilize his levels, but the truth is— his body is shutting down. No matter the stress at work or the emotional turmoil he’s experiencing, he cannot continue starving himself and running on zero sleep. If this keeps up, it won’t just be a fainting spell, he could face serious, long-term health consequences. You need to make sure he eats proper meals and gets at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep."

Hearing the clinical details of his breakdown didn’t soften my heart, it only fueled the cold, controlled anger I had been holding back.

Evric finally woke up a few hours later, stirring weakly. His eyes blinked open, hazy and confused, before focusing on my face.

"Zayn..." he murmured.

"Don’t speak," I commanded, my voice flat and controlled, stripped of any warmth. Just stay silent—I don’t want to hear a single word from you.

After another hour of careful observation, the doctor confirmed that he was well enough to leave. We collected his discharge papers, which included strict instructions for proper diet and adequate rest.

We left the hospital late that evening. The sky was dark. I helped Evric settle into the back seat, while Karl left separately, and his driver drove us home.

Getting to Evric’s house, I was fighting a brutal internal battle to keep my temper. I decided to spend the night. I couldn’t risk leaving him alone in this state.

I immediately asked the maid to prepare something light and highly nutritious. Once the food was ready, I had her bring the tray upstairs and set it down on the table in the room before she quietly left.

I turned to Evric, who was sitting weakly on the edge of the bed. "Come and eat, Evric," I said, my voice heavy with exhaustion.

Evric didn’t move. He immediately dissolved into tears, shaking his head and covering his face with his hands. He started rambling, begging for forgiveness, repeating the same tortured apologies he’d given me in the shower.

That was the last of my control. The weeping, the self-pity broke the dam of my patience. I roared, the sound echoing through the large room.

"Will you stop crying already?!" I shouted, walking toward him. "Stand up and come and eat! Now!"

Evric did stand up, but instead of walking to the table, he rushed to me. He stood in front of me and tried to kiss me, his lips damp and searching. I turned my head sharply, not allowing the contact.

"I won’t!" he sobbed, the tears flowing faster. "I won’t sleep or eat until you forgive me!"

That was it. The final, fatal mistake. He was using his own health as a bargaining chip, and it pushed me past the point of return.

I looked down at him, my voice cold and sharp, fueled by days of agonizing worry and the doctor’s stern warning.

"Fine," I spat, my words cutting through the air. "Since you’ve chosen to kill yourself, then so be it. Once you’re gone, I can easily marry someone else—a beautiful woman or man who’s mature, strong, man enough to handle life without falling apart like you."

Evric looked at me, his eyes wide in disbelief, the tears freezing on his cheeks.

I didn’t stop. "If I’d known you weren’t strong enough to be a real man, only strong enough in bed but too weak to handle life, I never would’ve chosen to be with you."

"Are you for real?" he whispered, the hurt in his eyes devastating.

I roared back, not caring if the entire staff heard me. "Yes, Evric, I won’t have chosen you! I want a real man, not a boy!"

I took two steps back, then spun to face him, letting every sharp, unfiltered thought spill out. "I want a man who thinks before he acts, who considers other people’s feelings, not just his own. I want a man who eats properly, sleeps properly, and stays healthy even when life gets hard! I don’t want a boy who can’t stop crying just to look pitiful! I hate it, Evric! It’s infuriating!"

I stared him down. "I do not want to date someone who looks like this right now."

Evric pressed a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle a sob that threatened to escape.

"Yes," I continued, my words deliberately cruel and chilling. "Because right now, you look ugly as hell, and I can’t stand it. You’d better eat, sleep, and take care of yourself, or you’ll lose me forever. So stop crying and get your ass to that table and eat your food."

The words hung in the air, a raw, unforgivable demand. Evric stared at me for one long, painful moment, his face a mess of shame and shock. Then, he quickly wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand, his posture straightening instantly. He walked over to the table and, without looking at me again, sat down and started eating the broth.

I watched him, my body shaking with pent-up rage and relief. But at least it worked. I had forced him to eat, and that mattered more than any fight we could have had.

Evric ate like a starving man, yet tears streamed down his face the entire time. Hiccuping sobs shook his frail frame, forcing him to pause every few bites to catch his breath. His nose ran, his eyes were red and swollen, the raw evidence of someone who had cried themselves nearly empty. He looked utterly defeated, broken to his very core.

When he was done, he shuffled to the closet, pulled out his nightwear, and went into the bathroom to shower.

When he emerged, dressed in soft silk pajamas, he was pale but clean.

"Come here and use your drugs," I instructed, gesturing to the prescription bag I had brought up from the hospital.

Evric immediately turned toward me, his movements compliant and subdued. He took the prescribed pills and swallowed them quickly with water, then retreated.

He didn’t look at me again. He climbed into his side of the bed, curled up tightly, and turned his back to me. Within minutes, the fatigue and the medication took effect, and his breathing deepened into the steady rhythm of sleep.

I lay on my side, staring at the back of his head. The tension slowly bled out of my body, and the rage melted into a familiar, painful tenderness. I watched him for a long time.

Even from behind, I could imagine the lines of shame and worry smoothing away in sleep. His face, though still marked by faint puffiness from his crying, seemed angelic in my mind’s eye, like the beautiful, spoiled boy I had fallen completely in love with. He was pitiful, yet he was mine.

A soft, sad smile touched my lips.

Suddenly, Evric stirred. Driven by a deep, subconscious need for comfort, he uncurled, rolled onto his side, and burrowed back against me. His arm draped over my waist, and he tucked his head under my chin, burying his face in my neck.

I didn’t move, holding my breath, waiting to see if he would wake up. But he was deeply asleep. I smiled then, a genuine, private smile, and carefully pulled him closer, enveloping him in my arms.

"I hope you learn from everything you’re going through now," I whispered into the darkness, pressing a light kiss to the top of his hair. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

I was completely exhausted, yet the closer Evric pressed against me, the more I could feel the hard, aching length of his cock against my thigh. A dark, private chuckle escaped me. It had been over a month, the longest he had ever gone without sex since we met, and this was only the beginning of his penance. With that bitter, strangely satisfying thought, I finally let myself drift into sleep.

In the morning...