She took a step back—then another.
Without a single word, she turned around and walked toward the door.
The moment her back faced him—
Something inside Alexander collapsed.
His face drained of color. His chest caved in with a sudden, terrifying drop, panic flashing across his features as the fury evaporated, replaced by pure, naked heartbreak.
“Mia—wait,” he called out.
His voice cracked, plunging from rage into raw desperation in a single breath.
He shoved the blanket off his legs and swung them over the side of the bed, trying to stand and stop her, but his strength failed him. His feet tangled in the sheets.
He stumbled.
And fell hard onto his knees.
The crash echoed violently through the room.
Mia froze mid-step.
She spun around instantly, fear flaring across her face. Rushing back to him, she dropped to her knees and grabbed his shoulders, her hands careful as she helped him up.
“Alexander—” she breathed, panic unmistakable now.
She guided him back onto the bed, easing him up inch by inch until he was seated properly, his back supported by the pillows. She lingered just long enough to make sure he was steady.
Then she stepped back.
She said nothing at all.
Just like she had come—she left.
Silent. Distant.
Alexander sat there, unmoving, watching her retreating figure disappear through the doorway. His face was hollow, eyes empty, devastation etched into every rigid line of his body.
As Mia stepped into the hallway, Magnus entered from the opposite direction and caught sight of her walking away. Hisgaze followed her for a second before he turned back toward the room.
Inside, Alexander sat quietly.
Magnus raised an eyebrow slowly.
“You look like you just lost your entire inheritance,” he remarked dryly.
“Get out,” Alexander said coldly, turning his face away.
Magnus didn’t move.
Instead, he walked in, pulled out a chair, and sat down casually, leaning back as he studied Alexander with a sharp, assessing gaze—like a man examining a rare specimen that needed his head examined.
***
Mia’s day dragged by painfully.
Every minute felt stretched thin, like time itself had decided to move against her. The ticking of the clock scraped at her nerves, each second louder than the last. She tried to work, tried to focus—but her thoughts kept slipping, betraying her again and again to Alexander.
