Luna's POV
The days crawled by, and with only a week left until the end of the contract, I felt a strange mix of relief and dread. Relief because this nightmare was almost over. Dread because a part of me still clung to the faint hope that Alexander might show me something—anything—to prove he cared.
I didn't expect him to acknowledge my birthday. I hadn't even mentioned it to him, and there was no reason for him to know. Yet, when Helen knocked on my door that morning, her usual reserved expression softened with a hint of warmth.
"Good morning, miss. Mr. Cole requests your presence downstairs," she said, handing me a simple yet elegant dress.
Confused, I frowned. "Did he say why?"
"No," she replied, but her lips twitched into the slightest smile. "Just that you should dress for an outing."
When I stepped into the grand foyer, Alexander was waiting. He stood near the door, impeccably dressed as always, his presence commanding even in silence.
"Happy birthday, Luna," he said, his voice surprisingly soft.
I blinked, stunned. "How did you—"
"I have my ways," he interrupted, his tone neutral but his eyes giving nothing away. "We're going out."
"For what?" I asked cautiously.
"You'll see," he said, gesturing toward the car waiting outside.
The outing was… unexpected. Alexander had taken me to a secluded botanical garden outside the city, a place filled with lush greenery and vibrant flowers. It was breathtaking, and for the first time in weeks, I felt a flicker of something other than despair.
As we strolled through the winding paths, he was quiet but attentive, pointing out rare plants and letting me linger to admire them. It wasn't the grand gesture I had imagined, but it felt personal in a way I didn't expect from him.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked finally, breaking the silence.
He glanced at me, his expression unreadable. "Because it's your birthday," he said simply.
But there was something in his tone—something deeper—that made my chest tighten.
On the way back, the mood shifted. The car ride was quiet, but a comfortable kind of quiet. For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn't feel like a prisoner in his world.
And then it happened.
It was so sudden I barely registered it. A truck swerved into our lane, the screech of tires deafening as our driver tried to veer out of the way. The impact came with a force that knocked the breath from my lungs, and everything went black.
Alexander's POV
The hospital smelled sterile and cold, the fluorescent lights too bright against the pale walls. I sat in the waiting area, my hands clenched into fists, my mind racing.
Luna was in surgery. Critical condition, the doctors had said. The words replayed in my head like a broken record, each one slicing through me like a knife.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Mr. Cole," Helen said softly, approaching me with her usual calm demeanor, though her eyes betrayed her worry. "I've contacted her emergency contact, as you instructed."
I barely nodded, my focus entirely on the closed doors that separated me from Luna.
When the sound of hurried footsteps reached my ears, I looked up to see Ava. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with panic as she rushed toward me.
"Alexander," she said breathlessly. "What happened? Where is she?"
"There was an accident," I said, my voice clipped. "She's in surgery."
Ava's eyes filled with tears, and she sank into the chair beside me. "How could this happen? She was with you."
The accusation in her tone stung, but I said nothing. She wasn't wrong.
"This is your fault," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You dragged her into your world, and now—"
"I know," I interrupted sharply, my voice low but firm. "I know."
Ava stared at me, her expression a mix of anger and grief. "She's all I have left, Alexander. If anything happens to her…"
"She'll make it," I said, though the words felt hollow. I had no control over this, no power to fix what had happened. And it terrified me.
For the first time in years, I felt completely helpless.
Luna's POV
I drifted in and out of consciousness, my body heavy and unresponsive. Voices echoed faintly around me, some familiar, some not.
"Luna… please…"
The voice was low and strained, filled with an emotion I couldn't quite place.
Was that… Alexander?
I wanted to respond, to open my eyes and tell him I was still here. But the darkness pulled me back under, and I was powerless to fight it .
Alexander's POV
I had never felt fear like this before. It clawed at me, relentless and unyielding, as I sat in that cold, sterile hospital chair, waiting for news.
Luna was still in surgery, and every second that passed felt like a lifetime. Ava sat silently beside me now, her earlier anger replaced with quiet worry. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her knuckles white.
The door to the waiting area opened, and a doctor stepped out. His scrubs were stained, his face etched with exhaustion. My heart stopped as he approached us.
"Mr. Cole?" he asked.
I stood immediately. "Yes. How is she?"
"The surgery was successful," he said, his voice calm and measured. "But Luna sustained significant injuries—head trauma, fractured ribs, and internal bleeding. She's stable for now, but the next 24 hours are critical."
Relief and dread washed over me simultaneously. She was alive, but the fight wasn't over.
"Can I see her?" I asked, my voice harsher than I intended.
The doctor hesitated. "She's in the ICU. Only immediate family can visit at this time."
"She doesn't have family," Ava interjected, her voice trembling. "She has us."
The doctor nodded reluctantly. "One of you can go in for a few minutes. She won't be conscious."
Without thinking, I stepped forward. Ava shot me a sharp look, but she didn't protest. I didn't give her a chance to.
The ICU was eerily quiet, the rhythmic beeping of machines the only sound. I hesitated at the doorway to her room, my chest tightening at the sight of her.
Luna lay pale and motionless, her face marred by cuts and bruises, a bandage wrapped around her head. Tubes and wires connected her to the machines that monitored her fragile state.
I approached her slowly, my footsteps heavy.
"Goddamn it, Luna," I whispered, my voice breaking. I sank into the chair beside her bed, my hands shaking as I reached for hers. Her fingers were cold, too cold.
"You weren't supposed to get hurt," I said, my voice hoarse. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
For a moment, I let my mask slip, the carefully constructed walls I'd built around myself crumbling in the face of her vulnerability.
"You drive me insane," I admitted, my grip on her hand tightening. "You make me feel things I don't want to feel. And I thought… I thought if I kept my distance, if I treated this like a transaction, it would protect both of us."
The words spilled out, raw and unfiltered, as if saying them to her unconscious form would make them any less true.
"But it didn't work," I continued, my voice barely above a whisper. "Because now I'm sitting here, terrified I'll lose you, and I don't know how to fix this."
Her chest rose and fell steadily, the only sign that she was still with me.
"You have to fight, Luna," I said, my tone firm but desperate. "Because I'm not ready to let you go. Not now. Not ever."
I stayed there for what felt like hours, holding her hand and watching her fragile form. I didn't know if she could hear me, but I needed her to know that I wasn't going anywhere.
No matter how much I had tried to deny it, the truth was clear.
Luna wasn't just part of a contract. She wasn't just a passing presence in my life.
She was everything.
Luna's POV
The darkness was all-consuming, but somewhere in the void, I heard a voice.
It was faint at first, like a whisper carried on the wind. But as I focused, it became clearer.
"…not ready to let you go. Not now. Not ever."
The voice was deep and familiar, filled with an emotion I didn't recognize.
Alexander.
I wanted to reach for him, to tell him I could hear him. But my body felt heavy, my mind trapped in a fog.
Still, his voice was an anchor, pulling me toward the surface.
And for the first time in days, I felt a glimmer of hope.