Chapter 5

Zenith’s POV

Helton James buttoned his lapel with a smooth, practiced motion and strode toward the door. His movements were always so composed, so deliberate, as if the world bent to his command without question.

I hurried to follow him, my heels clicking softly against the marble floor. “Where are you going?” I asked.

He barely glanced at me as he pressed the elevator button. “You wanted to see your mother, didn’t you?”

I blinked and nodded. “Yes, but—”

My brows furrowed. “You’re coming with me? Don’t you have work?”

I cast a glance back at his secretary, who immediately looked away, pretending not to eavesdrop.

Helton James smirked as the elevator doors slid open. “You know,” he mused, stepping inside and waiting for me to follow, “there’s something my late mother used to say. Family always comes first.”

I hesitated before stepping in, keeping a careful distance from him.

That word sat uncomfortably in my chest. Everyone knew the Blake family scandal—how Andrey Blake, one of the richest men in Alderidge, had cheated on his wife and brought home a pregnant mistress. Dexter’s mother. Decades ago, yes—but the story still lingered.

I gave Helton James a sideways glance, unsure how to respond. As if sensing my thoughts, he continued, “Not that it helped her much. After all, her choice in men was just as bad as yours.”

My lips twitched. “Well, I’m marrying you now, aren’t I?”

He turned his head, giving me a look that made me feel positively stupid. “Who said I was a good choice?” he murmured.

I grinned. “Do you know how to cook?” I asked, remembering his remarks from the birthday party.

He raised a brow, clearly surprised. “Of course I do. I’m not incompetent.”

“Do you manage your money well?”

He scoffed. “Would I be a billionaire if I didn’t?”

“That doesn’t make you a good man,” I shot back.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “No, it doesn’t.”

I huffed, crossing my arms. “Well, on the bright side, you’re only going to be my husband for one year, right? So it doesn’t really matter if you’re a good man.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw him tilt his head slightly, his gaze lingering on me a moment longer than necessary. Then he exhaled quietly, almost amused. “Right.”

The next few hours felt like a storm. Helton James talked little; he acted. His presence alone moved things faster than I could have ever imagined.

The medical fees? Paid immediately. The transfer to the most elite hospital in the city? Handled without a single complication.

When the new surgeon arrived, he greeted me with a professional nod and calm reassurance. “Rest assured, Mrs. Blake. I will do my very best for your mother.”

I exhaled slowly, my chest loosening for the first time in what felt like ages. The relief was overwhelming.

Then, as the surgeon disappeared behind the doors of the operating room, my mind wandered. Memories—sharp, painful, familiar—cracked open.

I remembered my father. The accident. The moment he never made it out alive.

Roel Luiz had been a foreigner, a tourist visiting Velhaven City when he met my mother thirteen years ago. In just a year, they had married. He was the best father I could have ever asked for. I had been so lucky—so incredibly lucky.

When I was six, Zia Francia had adopted me after years in an orphanage I barely remembered. Those memories had grown hazy over time, like a bad dream long forgotten.

But Mom and Dad… they were my reality. My safe haven.

And now—

Now I was alone. For the first time in my life after six, neither of them was beside me. The reality hit hard. I was twenty-five. Not a child. Not young anymore. More than an adult.

But I didn’t feel like one. I still felt small. Still felt like a little girl, reaching out for her mother’s hand. Please be okay, Mom.

I didn’t think I’d survive if she wasn’t. I tried to push the thought away, but it settled in my chest like a weight I couldn’t shake.

Then—a deep voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

“She’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

I blinked and glanced to my side. Helton James was sitting next to me, his expression solemn for the first time.

I exhaled slowly, straightening my back. “Let’s sign the contract tonight,” I said, my voice quieter than I intended. “We can hold an official wedding later.”

After all, I owed him that—after he had just paid all the bills.

Not to mention that this surgeon would probably charge more than just fifty-eight thousand. He nodded, gaze still fixed ahead. “Alright. That works for me.”

“You should leave,” I murmured. “I’ll come to your office by the evening.”

He raised a brow. “Trying to get rid of me?”

I sighed. “I just need time to request a few shifts off tomorrow… and a couple of extra days from college. I also need to call my manager and let her know I won’t be covering my usual shifts.”

I hesitated before adding, “I should probably quit, but… I’m used to being independent. Besides, I still have other debts to pay off.”

Helton James leaned back slightly. “I assumed those debts would be cleared once we’re married.”

“They will be,” I admitted. “But still.”

I trailed off, biting my hip. I didn’t mention the real reason I’d been obsessed with clearing those debts myself.

Because I knew.

I knew that the original loan—the principal amount—had been paid years ago. But the interest kept increasing. And the stress that came with it… that’s what killed Roel.

A sixty-three-year-old man under that kind of pressure? I clenched my fists. Had I not been born with a heart condition… Had I not needed that transplant… Would he have had to work so hard? Wouldn’t he still be alive?

I swallowed the guilt lodged in my throat.

“Earth to Zenith.”

I snapped out of my daze as Helton James snapped his fingers in front of me. I blinked. “What?”

He frowned. “I’ll send the driver to pick you up by seven in the evening.”

I nodded absentmindedly, watching as he got up. But then—he paused. Turned around. Before I could react, he reached for my hand.

I frowned, staring at him in confusion—until I felt it.

A light tug. My breath caught in my throat. He had taken my engagement ring. Dexter’s ring. Holding it between his fingers, Helton James smirked. “I’ll be taking this now.”

I stared at him, stunned.

“You don’t have any use for it, I’m sure,” he murmured, eyes glinting with something dangerous.

And then—he did something that made my heart nearly leap out of my chest. He bent down and kissed the inside of my wrist.

Right over my pulse. Right over the spot where my heart beat the loudest. I could faintly hear the whispers from the waiting room, but I was still frozen in place, my mind struggling to process what had just happened.

“See you tonight, Malishka.”

I swallowed hard, my face warming. “A…alright,” I stammered, completely flustered.

And just like that—he turned and walked away. Leaving me with a racing pulse and an empty ring finger.

I couldn’t help but glance down at my wrist one last time, still tingling from the ghost of his touch, and when he lifted his head, he smirked down at me.