Chapter {4}

{NYRA}

Three hours later.

I woke miserably to the sterile antiseptic that sent a sharp, uninviting scent to my nostrils.

My eyes fluttered open to the soft beep of a machine monitor. Each sound was a reminder I was alive, though my body felt mercilessly heavy.

A translucent IV line snaked from my arm to a hanging bag of fluid. Bandages wrapped around my bloodied, stained head, pressing against the pain that stabbed like broken glass shards.

My memory blurred, fragments clawing at me, trying to recall something tragic.

I blinked slowly, adjusting to the sterile light, and felt the weight of healing… of survival.

“What happened?” I muttered, scanning through my environment like a lost, confused cub searching for its mother.

The white sheets lay under me, soft and warm, but the air was cold, humming with fluorescent light.

“You’re safe now.”

The words floated in the sterile air. For a heartbeat, I thought I was hallucinating.

I lifted my weak head slowly, meeting the man who had been locked up in the back of my mind like a prisoner.

Jayden.

I blinked twice, staring at him like I had just seen a ghost.

A dashing figure appeared before me in a long, white, flowing coat.

Maybe an angel, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“Impossible. How…? When did you…?”

He smiled, cutting in between my words. “I came in two days ago, Nyra.”

“I’m happy to see you again. You’re still as gorgeous as ever.”

Was he kidding me? I was a complete shadow of myself… a mockery.

I never imagined I would see Jayden again. It had been seven long years since Zarina and I last heard of him.

And now he appeared before me, looking all handsome and manlier.

Growth and time had carved him into something striking.

My lips parted to respond when the TV screen flashed a bold headline:

“Billionaire Heiress, Ms Nyra Harassed by a Drunk VIP Guest in Exclusive Lounge… identity still unknown.”

That’s not what happened.

That bastard had tipped those hungry bartenders, not to mention his name, but mine.

He had someone blur out his face.

“What happened to you? Who was that man? Did he do all these to you?” Jayden’s voice pressed, heavy with concern.

“First of… how did I get here? And what’re you… doing here… dressed in a white coat?” I cut in.

“You were brought in yesterday night, past nine,” he replied.

“One of the cleaners found you lying lifelessly on the cold ground, barely breathing.”

“He suspected you were in danger because you took so long inside the room. But I’m sorry… he couldn’t say the culprit’s name.”

I heaved a sigh of relief after Jayden told me what happened.

Gratitude swelled in me for whoever that cleaner was. Without his help, I could have been dead.

“Nyra, what were you doing there alone? Draven shouldn’t have let you go all by yourself.”

He paused, his deep blue eyes narrowing.

“Where is he?”

The way he looked at me… it was like he could see everything I was trying to hide.

He continued.

“Two weeks ago, I got a text from her… Zarina, about your wedding. By the way, I just wanna tell you— congratulations, Nyra.”

He flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

His teeth were perfect, but something behind them felt cold.

Maybe I saw it wrong. Or it could be the medications messing with my brain.

Just then, the door swung wide open, revealing Zarina running toward me, circling me in her arms.

Her soft blonde strands of hair fell over me like a comforting veil, muffling the sterile hum of machines.

“I warned you not to go there, Nyra. You’re so stubborn. You don’t listen to anyone but yourself,” she bristled, checking me out like I had just stepped out of a time‑healing machine.

“He did this to you… Draven? That asshole will pay dearly.”

“No… Zar.” I gave her a pleading eye not to drag this further. Jayden was here, listening to our conversation. It felt embarrassing.

“Don’t try to defend him this time. I shouldn’t have let you go there alone. Anything could have happened; you could have been dead.”

“What about the cops? Was he apprehended?”

I shook my head. “No! His name wasn’t disclosed. Besides, I was told they found me lying unconscious on the floor… naked.”

I dragged that last part slowly and quietly.

“He was too fast for me. I couldn’t escape in time.”

I held my bandaged head, flickering back to the memory.

At last, it was over… for a while.

We heard a sudden cough from behind. Jayden was standing there, unintentionally eavesdropping on our conversation.

Gosh. It felt embarrassing.

Their eyes found each other, lingering longer than expected. Zarina hadn’t seen Jayden since he vanished… no calls, no messages, just silence.

“Hi, Zarina… It’s good to see you again.”

“Yeah… same… Jay,” she replied.

Her eyes met mine for a second.

For a moment, I saw a flicker of pain and sadness that felt like a lost treasure kept in a golden chest, hidden inside a deep cave.

Jayden was cool, but it still couldn’t conceal the glint of buried affection that escaped his pretty eyes.

I had always felt they kept secrets tucked away in the deep shallows… secrets the world should never know. Not even me.

But what was it?