Chapter 119 A Needed Company

Chapter 119 A Needed Company
The sound of retching echoed again in the tiled bathroom, sharp and relentless.
Seraphina crouched beside Joye, one hand holding her hair back while the other moved slowly along her back in steady circles. Joye leaned over the sink, her body trembling as another wave hit her, and Seraphina’s chest tightened at the sight.
“Easy… easy,” she murmured, her voice low and soothing, though worry crept into every word.
Joye finally pulled back, her breathing uneven, her face pale and damp with sweat. She rested her weight against the edge of the sink and shut her eyes briefly as if gathering herself.
Seraphina studied her carefully. “How are you feeling?”
Joye let out a weak, humorless breath. “Like I’m falling apart.” She swallowed, her hand instinctively drifting to her stomach. “I need to go to the hospital.”
Seraphina’s gaze flickered, her mind already racing through possibilities and risks. A hospital meant exposure. Strangers. Questions. Eyes that might recognize something they shouldn’t. After everything that had happened, trust was a luxury she could no longer afford.
But Joye didn’t look like someone who could wait. She’s been weak all day and Seraphina has been coming in to check on her every now and then.
“Please,” Joye added, her voice softer now, almost pleading. “I need professional care.”
Seraphina exhaled slowly, her resistance weakening under the weight of that tone. She straightened slightly, brushing a strand of hair away from Joye’s face.
“Alright,” she said at last. “Go get dressed.”
Relief reflected across Joye’s tired features, and she nodded faintly.
Seraphina rose to her feet, hoping she knew what she was doing.
~
Joye leaned back in the passenger seat as Seraphina drove, her head turned toward the window, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. The city lights passed in blurred streaks across her face, but she didn’t seem to register any of it.
Seraphina glanced at her through the rearview mirror, her fingers tightening slightly on the steering wheel.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked gently.
Joye didn’t turn. It took a moment before she eventually spoke. “It feels like my life is collapsing right in front of me.”
Seraphina’s chest dipped at the honesty in her tone.
“Well… don’t think like that,” she replied, though her voice lacked the firmness she intended to convey. “You can still have a good life. There’s still hope.”
Joye let out a weak chuckle, the sound almost breaking halfway through. “That sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me.”
Seraphina went silent.
The words struck deeper than Joye probably intended.
Because she was right.
Her grip on the wheel tightened slightly as her thoughts drifted—uninvited, but impossible to ignore.
A life where Julian survived.
Where everything somehow… reset.
Where their marriage wasn’t built on contracts and chaos, but something real. Her, him, and Phoenix. A life where he left behind the darkness that followed him everywhere, and they built an actual family.
She swallowed.
That was the life she wanted.
Her father’s vault still remained untouched. The journal—still unopened. Julian’s situation had seemed to shift all her previous priorities.
The irony of it all still amazed her.
She forced the thoughts away, inhaling quietly.
“What was Vincent like to you?” She suddenly asked.
Joye turned her head immediately, surprise flickering across her face as though she hadn’t expected the question at all.
Seraphina glanced at her briefly before returning her eyes to the road. “What?” she added lightly. “Maybe talking about him will make you feel better.”
Joye didn’t respond right away.
For a few seconds, there was only the hum of the car and the distant sounds of the road.
Then she spoke.
“Vincent was…” She paused, her voice catching slightly before she continued. “He was a god. To me, he was everything I thought a man should be. And maybe a little more than.”
Her eyes grew distant again, but this time they weren’t empty—they were full of memory.
“He loved me like I wasn’t just… someone who worked in the house. Like I mattered. Like I was more.” Her lips trembled faintly. “He made me feel important.”
Seraphina inhaled quietly, blinking back the sting rising behind her eyes.
“And he was beautiful,” Joye added with a faint, broken smile.
Tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.
Seraphina’s throat tightened.
She remembered Vincent too well.
His loyalty to Julian had been unwavering, almost frightening in its intensity. He had once told her he had no secrets when it came to Julian… and yet, he had kept Joye hidden.
Seraphina understood now.
Love had made him choose differently.
Joye’s voice broke through her thoughts again.
“I wanted to tell him everything,” she whispered. “About my brother… about working with Balto… everything.” She shook her head slowly, regret etched into every line of her face. “But I was scared. I thought if I told him, he would stop loving me.”
Her tears fell more freely now.
“And now… I’ll never get the chance.”
The car felt heavier with every word.
Joye wiped at her face weakly before adding, “I just… I just hope Julian lives.”
Seraphina’s breath hitched slightly.
“So Vincent’s death won’t be for nothing.”
Seraphina swallowed hard, her eyes fixed ahead, her vision blurring for a second before she forced it clear.
~
Seraphina sat beside Joye in the consultation room of the hospital, her posture composed, her expression carefully neutral despite the tension coiling inside her. 
She had waited through the drip Joye collected earlier to restore her body’s vitality, and now, they were here for the result of the test the doctor did on her.
Joye sat across from the doctor, her hands resting lightly on her lap, her fingers intertwined as though holding herself together.
The doctor flipped through the results, his expression thoughtful.
Then he looked up.
“Are you her sister?” he asked, his gaze settling on Seraphina.
Seraphina didn’t hesitate to lie. “Yes.”
Joye turned to her immediately, surprise flashing across her face, but she said nothing.
The doctor nodded. “Good. Then I can speak freely in your presence then.”
Seraphina gave a small nod, her hand instinctively reaching for Joye’s under the table.
The doctor adjusted his glasses slightly. “She’s pregnant.”
Joye sighed. “We knew already.”
Seraphina felt her fingers tighten around hers.
The doctor looked between them both. “You’re aware you are carrying twins?” he asked, expecting indifference.
But Joye’s sudden gasp said otherwise. Her free hand flew to her mouth.
Seraphina’s chest swelled with emotion she didn’t expect—shock, relief, and warmth breaking through everything else. A small smile found its way to her lips despite the heaviness of everything surrounding them.
“That’s…good news. We didn’t know she’s carrying twins.” Seraphina declared.
“Oh, she is.” Doctor Noah smiled, then— “However,” he continued, his tone turning more serious, “her body is quite weak. This makes the pregnancy a high-risk one.”
Joye’s chest heaved. Seraphina’s gaze moved to Joye- then back to the doctor. 
“She’ll need proper care,” he added. “Consistent monitoring. Nutrition. Rest. No stress if possible.”
Joye’s eyes filled again with unshed tears. She didn’t know how to feel about her situation. She felt utterly helpless and she wasn’t even sure that Julian would order for her release. That was even if he lived.
And she wasn’t sure if she could fully trust Seraphina to save her- not when she had aided a mission that was about kidnapping Sera’s kid before.
As if Seraphina could hear ther thoughts, she patted her lap soothingly. “You will be safe, Joye.”
But even as Seraphina said that, she couldn’t dismiss the feeling of paranoia that they were being watched.