Chapter 63

Chapter 63
Alicia

The door closed behind Nathan, and I swear the air in Damon’s room didn’t move for a full five seconds. Damon’s hand was still warm in mine, still trembling slightly even though he would never admit it. I squeezed once before letting go, because if I didn’t get out of that room, I was going to scream or cry or throw something, and none of those options would help him right now. He watched me with that quiet understanding he always seemed to have when I was two seconds from breaking. He didn’t stop me when I whispered that I just needed a minute. He didn’t reach for me or ask if I was okay. He just nodded, eyes soft, because he knew I wasn’t.

The hallway outside was too bright. Too clean. Too calm for the storm inside my chest. Nurses rolled carts past me, doctors discussed charts, a patient laughed down the hall, and none of them had any idea that my world had just tipped sideways. I pressed my back against the wall and let out a shaky breath that barely left my lungs. Nathan’s smile flashed in my mind, that gentle, almost polite threat wrapped in sweetness. I hated that it worked. I hated that it made me feel small for even a second.

I closed my eyes but all I saw was Damon’s face when Nathan brought up the contract. The hurt in his expression. The guilt he didn’t even try to hide. I didn’t want to blame him, but I couldn’t pretend the words didn’t burrow somewhere deep. My father’s voice echoed in my memory, the day everything fell apart. He had tried so hard to stay calm for me, telling me they would rebuild, they would survive, these things happened in business. But I had seen the fear in his eyes. Now Nathan had taken that fear and turned it into a weapon.

I pushed off the wall and paced slowly down the hallway, arms wrapped around myself. A nurse gave me a kind smile as she passed. I tried to return it but the expression barely lifted. My head felt too full, too loud. Damon had been honest, or at least he tried. He never hid behind excuses. He never pretended he was blameless. But the truth still hurt. I hated that. I hated that Nathan got exactly what he wanted.

I stopped near the end of the hallway where the big windows overlooked the parking lot. The sun had started to set, turning the sky a soft orange. I leaned my forehead against the cold glass and inhaled slowly. Damon was in that room fighting pain and fear and everything Nathan had dug up, and I was out here trying not to fall apart. I didn’t want him to think I was running. I just needed to breathe without him watching me crumble.

Footsteps approached softly behind me. For a moment I tensed, afraid it was Nathan again. But when I turned, it was a nurse pushing an empty wheelchair. She stopped beside me.

“You should sit down,” she said gently.

“You look like you’ve been standing on the edge of something.” I let out a weak laugh. “You have no idea.” She gave me a sympathetic look. “He’s lucky you’re here.” I blinked. “Damon?” She nodded. “Some athletes, they don’t have anyone visiting. They deal with their injuries alone. Your guy… he keeps looking at the door every time someone walks by, like he’s trying to make sure you didn’t disappear.”

My throat tightened. “Thank you,” I whispered. She smiled and pushed the wheelchair away, leaving me with that one simple truth. Damon wanted me there. Damon trusted me there. Damon believed I wouldn’t leave just because the past was painful. I needed to be stronger than the fear twisting inside me.

I turned and walked back toward his room slowly, rehearsing the words I wanted to say. That I wasn’t angry. That I wasn’t leaving. That Nathan didn’t get to decide how I saw Damon. But before I reached the door, someone else stepped out of another room ahead of me. Marcus.

He looked exhausted, the kind of exhausted that came from guilt more than fatigue. His shoulders were tense, his expression unreadable. When he saw me, he straightened immediately. “Alicia.” I nodded awkwardly. “Are you checking on him?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. But I… wanted to give him space. After earlier.” He didn’t say what earlier was, but I knew. The betrayal that wasn’t really a betrayal but still left wounds on both sides. I nodded slowly.

“He… he doesn’t hate you.” Marcus gave a humorless smile. “Maybe not. But I should have told him about my daughter sooner.” His voice cracked slightly. “Nathan used her against me. I didn’t have a choice.”

I stepped closer. “You’re here now. That matters.” Marcus swallowed hard. “I’m trying to fix it. I swear I am.” “He knows,” I said softly. “He’s hurt. But he knows.” Marcus exhaled shakily. “Good. Because I’m not letting that man near Damon again. Or you.” His gaze shifted toward Damon’s door, then back to me. “Be careful. Nathan’s playing a long game. And he plays dirty.” “I know,” I whispered. The memory of Nathan’s smile made my stomach tighten again. “But I’m not running.” Marcus gave me a small, approving nod. “Then he won’t win.”

He walked away and I stood there for a moment, letting the hallway settle around me again. Nurses passed, the intercom buzzed, footsteps echoed. Normal sounds for a normal place. But nothing about today was normal.

I finally pushed the door open gently. Damon looked up immediately, tension easing from his shoulders when he saw me. His voice was soft. “You okay?” I sat beside him and took his hand. “I’m here.” His eyes closed briefly like he was absorbing the words. “Good.”

For a moment neither of us spoke. I rested my head on the edge of his bed. His thumb brushed over my knuckles, slow and careful. I could hear the faint hum of the machines, the distant sounds of the hospital. The world felt smaller here, quieter, safer.

I lifted my head. “Damon… what Nathan said, it hurt. But I’m not angry at you. I just needed a moment.” He opened his eyes, studying my face like he wasn’t sure he deserved the softness in my voice. “I didn’t want you to carry something that isn’t your fault.” “I’m carrying you,” I whispered. “Not blame.”

His jaw trembled just slightly before he caught himself. “I won’t let him touch you.” “I know.” “I mean it, Alicia.” “I know.”

He let out a long breath and rested his forehead against my hand. “I’m scared for the first time in a long time,” he admitted. Hearing him say that cracked something open in me. I leaned closer. “We’ll face it together.” His fingers threaded through mine. “Promise?” “Promise.”

A quiet knock sounded at the door. A nurse peeked in politely. “Alicia, there’s a call for you at the front desk. They said it’s urgent.” My heart thudded. “Who is it?” The nurse shook her head. “They didn’t say.”

Damon frowned. “Are you expecting someone?” “No.”

I stood slowly, chest tightening with a strange, sharp unease. The nurse waited, holding the door open. The hallway behind her suddenly looked much darker than before.