Chapter 74 Seventy Four

Chapter 74 Seventy Four
Mira remained where she was, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at Salvatore again.

Because if she did, she was afraid he would see everything she had spent the last hour trying so desperately to hide.

Doctor Romano finished securing the clean bandage around Salvatore’s shoulder before gently pulling the blanket over him. He took a step back, studying his patient with the practiced eyes of a man who had spent decades patching up wounds far too dangerous to belong outside a battlefield.

“He needs complete rest,” Doctor Romano said firmly. “No moving around. No meetings. No work. No unnecessary stress.”

Antonio gave a dry laugh. “Good luck convincing him of that.”

“ shut the fuck up Anton,” Salvatore said, his voice rough from exhaustion. Doctor Romano shook his head in defeat before beginning to pack away his instruments.

Only then did his attention shift to Mira. “You should clean yourself up too, Miss Voss.”

The words made her lower her eyes. She hadn’t looked at herself properly since they’d arrived.

Now she did. The emerald gown she’d spent an hour complaining about no longer looked elegant.

Dark patches of dried blood stained the silk from her waist to her sleeves. Her fingers were coated with it, dried crimson filling the tiny lines of her palms.

Salvatore’s blood. There was so much of it. A painful knot tightened inside her chest. She remembered pressing her hands against his shoulder in the car, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

She remembered how warm it had been.

Too much blood. Far too much.

“You should go,” Salvatore said quietly. She lifted her head. His eyes were already on her. “You need to freshen up.”

“I’m fine,” Mira said.

He looked at her stained dress before meeting her eyes again. “No,” he said softly. “You’re covered in my blood.”

She shut eyes painfully swallowing hard

” Go take a shower Mira .”

She didn’t move. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Antonio watched the silent exchange before the corner of his mouth twitched.

“She doesn’t want to leave you.”

Mira immediately turned toward him. “I never said that,” she said.

“You didn’t have to.” Antonio folded his arms. “Your face said enough.”

“It did not,” Mira said quickly.

“It did.”

She opened her mouth to argue again, then stopped herself. “I just…” she began before sighing heavily. “I just want to make sure he doesn’t pass out again.”

Doctor Romano offered her a reassuring smile. “He won’t.”

She looked at him. “I’ve stabilized him,” he continued. “His blood pressure is coming back up. The worst is over.”

She wanted to believe him. She really did. But the image of Salvatore collapsing onto the floor refused to leave her mind.

It replayed over and over again.His eyes closing.

His body going limp.The panic that had filled the room.The fear she’d felt… Fear she’d never expected to feel. 

Salvatore watched her quietly before speaking again.
“You’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
His voice was softer now. “Go and get some rest.”

She stared at him for several seconds. Then, almost reluctantly, she nodded. “…Fine,” she said.

She turned toward the door.Her hand settled around the brass handle.

For reasons she couldn’t explain… She looked back.

Salvatore was still watching her. The moment their eyes met, the faintest smile touched his lips.

A strange ache spread quietly through her chest.

She looked away before he could notice and stepped out of the room. The hallway outside was silent. The mansion that was usually filled with quiet activity now felt almost abandoned.

Servants stood respectfully against the walls as she walked past, lowering their heads the moment they saw her.Mira hardly saw any of them. Her thoughts were too loud. Every step echoed through the corridor until she finally reached her bedroom.

She slipped inside. The door closed behind her with a soft click. Silence swallowed the room. For several long moments, she simply stood there.

Not moving. Not thinking. Just breathing.

Then… Her eyes drifted downward.

Her hands. They were still stained with dried blood.

His blood.A slow tremble ran through her fingers.
Without warning, everything she’d been holding back crashed into her all at once.

She saw him falling again. Saw Antonio catching him before his head struck the floor. Heard Doctor Romano shouting orders. Heard herself begging him not to die.

Heard herself crying. Her knees gave out beneath her. She slid helplessly down the door until she was sitting on the floor, pulling her knees tightly against her chest.

A shaky breath escaped her. Then another.

“…What’s wrong with me?” she whispered.

Her voice sounded foreign. Small and broken  She covered her face with trembling hands.

“What is wrong with me?” Tears spilled through her fingers before she could stop them.

She had spent weeks telling herself exactly who Salvatore Corvin was.

A murderer. A criminal. A dangerous man who belonged behind bars. She had promised herself she would expose him.

Destroy him. Bring him down.

So why… Why had watching him bleed felt like someone was tearing her heart apart? Why had she been unable to breathe when Doctor Romano said his blood pressure was dropping?

Why had she held his hand like letting go would somehow mean losing him forever? A sob escaped before she could swallow it. She shook her head violently and wiped furiously at the tears running down her face.

“I don’t care about him.” The words sounded empty.

She said them again louder.“I don’t care for him” 

Still… She couldn’t convince herself. Because the truth kept forcing its way back. The relief she’d felt when his fingers squeezed hers. The way her heart had started beating again when he’d opened his eyes. The ridiculous smile that had appeared on his face despite everything.

She buried her face against her knees.“I hate this…” She didn’t know how long she sat there. Minutes.

Maybe longer. Time had stopped making sense.

The sudden vibration of her phone shattered the silence.

She flinched. For a second, she simply stared at herb clutch lying beside the bed before reaching for it.

The screen lit up.

Matthew Calling. He still uses the same old number.  Then another notification caught her attention.

18 Missed Calls Her eyes widened.

“Eighteen?” She hadn’t heard a single one.

Not one vibration. Not one ringtone. Everything that had happened with Salvatore had completely erased the outside world.

The phone continued vibrating in her hand.

Matthew was calling again. She stared at his name for several long seconds before finally answering.

“…Matthew,” she said quietly.

The relief in his voice was immediate. “Mira.” He exhaled shakily. “Thank God.”

“I’ve been trying to reach you for almost two hours,” he said. “I thought…”His voice trailed off.

She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t hear my phone.”

“Were you crying?” Matthew asked gently.

Mira quickly wiped at her face with the back of her hand. “No,” she said.

Matthew was quiet for a moment.

“You’ve always been a terrible liar,” he said softly. “I know what your voice sounds like when you’ve been crying.”

She leaned her head back against the door and closed her eyes. “It’s been…” she whispered. “It’s been a really long night.”

“I know.” His voice softened even more. “I was worried sick.”

There was another pause. Then he asked the question that had clearly been weighing on him since he’d left the ballroom.

“Just answer me honestly, Mira,” Matthew said quietly. “…Is he alive?”