Chapter 4

Nora 's POV

Never in my life did I think I would wake up to the realization that someone had thrown me off a six-story building… and I was still somehow alive.

Sharp pain slammed into me the moment I opened my eyes, and I winced instantly, squeezing them shut again.

“Okay… nope,” I whispered weakly. “This is not a normal headache.”

When I finally forced my eyes open again, the room came into focus.

My brows pulled together.

Where the hell am I?

I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. My head throbbed violently, sending a sharp wave of pain through my skull, and I hissed softly before collapsing back onto the pillow.

“…Is anyone here?” I croaked, my voice barely cooperating.

The door flew open like whoever was outside had been waiting for my dramatic return to consciousness.

A guy rushed in.

Blonde hair, slightly messy and tattoos crawling up his arms, completely shirtless.

He was clearly younger than me…couldn't be older than twenty five”

And I had never… not once in my thirty eight years on this earth looked at a younger man and felt anything other than indifference.

So I could not explain what was happening to me right now.

He was annoyingly, offensively… hot.

I was literally just waking up from the dead and I know this is the worst thing to think right now but…

I was fucking horny just by the mere sight of this stranger.

He stopped dead the moment he saw me awake.

“Oh my God,” he said, almost laughing in relief. “You’re finally awake.”

I immediately pushed myself back on the bed, wincing.

“Who are you?” I snapped. “And why do you look like a rejected biker gang

leader?”

He blinked.

Then smiled like I was the funny one here.

“Wow,” he said, dragging a chair closer.

“Okay. You’re alive and already disrespectful. I like that.”

“I don’t care what you like,” I shot back. “What am I doing here? How did I get here? And who the hell are you?”

He raised both hands slightly.

“Slow down. Too many questions.”

“Answer them,” I said through clenched teeth.

He exhaled and leaned back in the chair.

“Fine,” he said. “I saved your life.”

I stared at him.

“You apparently tried to commit suicide. Fell off a building. I found you, rushed you to the hospital, and you’ve been in a coma for three weeks.”

I blinked slowly.

“…I’m sorry, what?”

I shook my head immediately.

“No,” I said firmly. “That’s not what happened.”

He tilted his head slightly.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly tight.

“My husband pushed me,” I said slowly, each word heavier than the last. “Off a balcony, because of his mistress, my best friend”

His smile faded a little at that..

“That’s not what he told the press,” he said calmly, leaning back in the chair like he had nowhere urgent to be. “And it’s a little weird you’re still calling him your husband.”

I frowned instantly.

“What are you talking about?” My voice came out sharper now, panic threading through it. “He tried to kill me”

The guy raised a brow.

“He’s married,” he corrected simply. “And currently on his honeymoon with his wife.”

My whole body went cold.

“What?” I whispered.

A hollow laugh escaped me, sounding broken even to my own ears.

“He left me to die,” I whispered, anger cracking through my shock. “He betrayed me after five years of marriage… a sexless marriage… no child… nothing to show for all my IVF treatments.”

My hands started shaking.

“My father is going to kill me,” I added, almost to myself now. “I’m going to lose everything…”

The guy frowned slightly.

“Okay, you’re not making sense,” he said.

“I’ve been living a fake life,” I said bitterly. “All of it. Because I was trying to build the perfect marriage… the perfect man… so I could take over my father’s empire.”

My laugh broke halfway.

“And he gave me a five-year ultimatum,” I continued, voice cracking now. “A husband or I lose everything.”

“Typical Gerald Lennox , he doesn't ever change”

My head snapped up.

“What did you just say?”

I pushed myself further up, ignoring the pain flaring through my skull..

“How do you know my father?” I demanded. “Who are you?”

“I know everything about you Genevieve Lennox ”

Every nerve in my body went on high alert

How does he know that?

My eyes darted to the side table. The vase was right there enough to do damage.

I grabbed it immediately and pointed it at him with both hands.

“I know what you are,” I warned. “You’re a kidnapper. You want money? Fine. Let me go right now, and I’ll make sure my father doesn’t come after you.”

He stared at me and burst into laughter.

“And you think a kidnapper has the patience to nurse a dying woman back to life?”

“Everyone knows my father…but nobody knows me,” I snapped.

“I grew up in isolation because of my illness. I was supposed to make my first public appearance this year as CEO. So how the fuck do you know who I am?”

A slow smirk spread across his face.

"I'll tell you everything," he said, leaning back in his chair, "but first I want to make you an offer."

I stared at him and let out a short, disbelieving laugh because the audacity was almost impressive.

"Are you insane? I don’t even know who you are. What makes you think I’d accept any offer from you?"

"Because you're in deep shit right now and I'm the only one who can help you," he said simply.

My brows tightened. "Oh really?"

"The man who tried to kill you is alive, free, and currently living as though you never existed. Don’t you want him to pay for what he did to you?"

That landed harder than I wanted it to, for a moment I was silent, then I straightened slightly, forcing my voice to stay cold.

"If you have no intention of telling me who you are, then forget your offer."

He studied me for a long moment before leaning back in his chair again, crossing his arms.

"Fine," he said at last. "Since you're so interested," he continued, his gaze locked on mine, "I'll introduce myself properly."

"My name is Norman Walter, CEO of Monarch Technology”