Chapter 12 The First Almost
Coralyn
The morning light felt like a physical weight pressing against my eyelids. I tried to shift, but my body felt like it was made of lead and soaked in ice. Every muscle aches, a lingering reminder of the way I had thrashed against the water the day before. My throat was raw, stinging with every breath, and my head throbbed with a dull, rhythmic beat.
I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me. I sank back into the pillows, a small groan escaping my lips.
"Don't try to move yet."
The voice was deep and steady. I opened my eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness of the suite. Orion was sitting in a chair pulled up right next to the bed. He wasn't wearing a suit today. He was in a simple black hoodie, his hair messy as if he had been running his fingers through it all night. He looked tired, but his eyes were sharp and focused on me.
"Orion?" My voice came out as a pathetic croak.
"You have a fever," he said, reaching out. He placed the back of his hand against my forehead. His skin was cool, and for a second, I leaned into the touch without thinking. He lingered there for a heartbeat longer than necessary before pulling back. "It’s not surprising. The shock, the cold water, the stress... your body is shutting down to recover."
"I have to get up," I mumbled, though I didn't move an inch. "I'm supposed to be on vacation. I'm wasting time."
"You're resting," he corrected me. It wasn't a suggestion; it was an order. "Zilla is in the other room. She’s been worried sick about you. She wanted to come in here the moment the sun came up, but I told her to let you sleep."
As if on cue, the door creaked open. A small, curly head peeked through the gap. Zilla’s big eyes found me, and they immediately filled with light.
"Cora! You’re awake!" she chirped, though she kept her voice low as she hurried to the bedside. She was carrying a small, plastic tray with a bowl of steaming oatmeal and a glass of orange juice. "I helped Daddy make breakfast. Well, I picked the spoon."
I managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Zilla. It looks delicious."
"You have to eat it all so you can get strong," she insisted, placing the tray on the nightstand. She climbed onto the edge of the bed, being careful not to jostle me. "Daddy said a bad man pushed you. Is the bad man gone?"
I glanced at Orion. His expression darkened for a split second before he masked it with a calm smile for his daughter.
"The bad man is being handled, Zilla," Orion said quietly. "He won't be bothering Coralyn anymore. I promise."
Zilla nodded, satisfied with that answer. She reached out and patted my hand. "Good. Because Cora is part of our team now. Right, Daddy?"
Orion’s gaze shifted to mine. The air in the room suddenly felt thick, charged with an energy that had nothing to do with my fever. "Right," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "She’s part of the team."
For the next hour, they took care of me. It was a sensation I wasn't used to. Growing up with my mother, I was always the caregiver. I was the one cleaning up messes, hiding the pills, and making sure the rent was paid. No one had ever sat by my bed and made sure I ate my oatmeal.
Zilla eventually got distracted by her cartoons in the living room, leaving Orion and me alone in the quiet of the bedroom. He stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the snowy Paris landscape.
"I called Phillip this morning," he said, his back to me. "Kade is in the holding cell. He’s screaming about lawyers and his mother, but nobody is listening. He’ll stay there until I decide what to do with him."
"Orion, you're taking a big risk," I said, my voice sounding a bit stronger. "If your mother finds out..."
"My mother is the reason Kade is the way he is," Orion turned around, his arms crossed over his chest. "She enabled him. She let him think the world owed him everything while I worked to build something of my own. I'm done playing by her rules, Coralyn. When he put his hands on you, he crossed a line that can't be uncrossed."
He walked back to the bed and sat on the edge. He was close now—close enough that I could smell the faint scent of cedar and mint on him.
"Why do you care so much?" I asked, my heart beginning to race for a reason that had nothing to do with my illness. "I'm just a girl you met on a plane. I'm a workaholic from New York with a messy life. Why go to all this trouble?"
Orion reached out, his thumb brushing against my cheek. The touch was electric. "I told Kade yesterday that I liked you more than I planned. That was an understatement."
He leaned in closer. My breath hitched. I could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes. The space between us was shrinking, and the tension was so tight it felt like it might snap. I felt like a moth drawn to a flame, knowing I might get burned but unable to turn away.
I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to forget about the pool, Kade, and my mother. I wanted to just be here, in this moment, with this man who made me feel safe for the first time in my life.
His gaze dropped to my lips. His hand moved to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair.
"Cora..." he whispered.
Just as his lips were about to touch mine, a loud thud came from the living room, followed by Zilla’s giggling.
"Daddy! The cartoon man fell off the cliff!" she shouted.
The spell was broken. Orion pulled back, a frustrated but amused smile tugging at his lips. He cleared his throat and stood up, smoothing out his hoodie.
"I should... I should check on her," he said, though he didn't move immediately. He looked at me one last time, his eyes burning with a promise that we weren't finished. "Rest, Coralyn. That’s an order."
I watched him walk out, my heart still hammering against my ribs. I was sick, exhausted, and hunted by my past, but as I lay back against the pillows, I realized I wasn't nearly as afraid as I should have been.
The butterflies in my stomach were louder than the warnings in my head. I had come to Paris to escape my life, but I was starting to realize that the real adventure was just beginning and it was much more dangerous, and much more beautiful, than a simple vacation.
\~~~
Orion
Watching Coralyn sleep was the only thing keeping my temper in check.
She looked so fragile in the middle of that massive bed. Her skin was pale, and the dark circles under her eyes told the story of a woman who had spent her whole life running on fumes. I hated that I was the reason she was in this state. If I hadn't brought her into my world, Kade wouldn't have targeted her.
I stepped out into the living room, where Zilla was sprawled on the rug.
"Is Cora okay?" Zilla asked, looking up from her show.
"She’s sleeping, Peanut. She needs a lot of rest," I said, sitting on the sofa behind her.
"I like her, Daddy," Zilla said matter-of-factly. "She’s not like the other ladies who try to give me candy so you’ll talk to them. She actually listens when I talk about my drawings."
I felt a pang in my chest. Zilla was more perceptive than I gave her credit for. She knew that most women saw her as an obstacle or a tool to get to me. But Coralyn had looked at Zilla like she was a person. A person worth knowing.
"I like her too," I admitted softly.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a string of missed calls from my mother. I ignored them. I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to fix the mess Kade had made of Merrick Enterprise. She wanted me to swallow my pride and save the family name while she continued to worship her favorite son.
She didn't know that her favorite son was currently sitting in a concrete room because he tried to kill the woman I was falling for.
I thought back to the moment by the bed. I had been seconds away from kissing her. The tension between us was like a physical cord, pulling us together. I had spent years being careful, building my tech company, raising my daughter, and avoiding drama. But with Coralyn, I didn't want to be careful. I wanted to be reckless.
I wanted to show her that she didn't have to be the strong one all the time.
The Enforcer in me wanted to go down to that cell and finish what I started at the pool. But the father in me knew I had to stay here. I had to be the man Zilla needed, and the man Coralyn deserved.
I spent the afternoon working from my laptop while Zilla played quietly. Every few minutes, I would get up to check on Coralyn. I brought her fresh water, adjusted her blankets, and checked her temperature. Each time I touched her, that spark returned, making my hands shake.
By evening, her fever had finally started to break. She woke up more alert, her eyes clearer.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed again.
"Better," she said, her voice more like her own. "Hungry."
"I'll have the kitchen send up some soup," I said. "And then, we’re going to talk."
"About what?" she asked warily.
"About us," I said firmly. "And about what happens when we leave this resort. Because I'm not letting you go back to New York alone, Coralyn. Not with Kade out there, and not when I've finally found someone worth holding onto."
She looked at me, stunned. The silence between us was comfortable this time, filled with the weight of everything we hadn't said yet.
I knew the storm was coming. I knew my mother wouldn't stay silent for long, and I knew Kade was a wounded animal who would strike back the moment he had the chance. But as I looked at Coralyn, I knew I would burn the whole world down before I let anything happen to her.
I was done being the "clean" brother. If they wanted a monster, I would give them one. But for her? For her, I would be whatever she needed.