"Raka’s a doctor, and he’s also an incredibly good diagnostician. If he asked that question, then it means he noticed something. Though he could also be wrong. I heard he switched specialties and has been losing his mind lately over some crazy research."

"Oh..." Ashley slowly nodded, studying Julius before glancing toward the entrance Lucian had taken.

She didn’t want to dwell too much on what Julius said, but it gave her an excuse. An excuse that wouldn’t make Lucian feel like he had failed to provide the normalcy they wanted so badly.

Forcing a smile, Ashley smacked her lips together and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Maybe he’s just exhausted," she said while glancing at Julius. "But I’ll go check on him."

Julius nodded. "I’ll watch the kids."

With that, Ashley walked off to follow Lucian.

Her brisk walk soon turned into a jog as she carried the bottle of water with her, assuming Lucian had gone to the restroom. Naturally, she headed in that direction, only to pause when she spotted a familiar figure walking elsewhere instead.

"Lucian?" she murmured, tilting her head with knitted brows. "Where is he going?"

Not thinking too much about it, Ashley followed him with a faint smile. Her jog turned into long strides as she closed the distance between them until she reached a quieter hallway with no people around.

The moment Ashley rounded the corner, she froze.

The smile on her face stiffened at the sight before her.

Lucian had one hand pressed against the wall beside him, his back slightly hunched.

"Lu... cian?" she called softly, only for her gaze to fall downward.

Red droplets splattered between his feet.

For a second, Ashley’s heart slammed violently against her chest as her breath caught. Her mind went completely blank while she stood rooted in place, eyes widened in horror.

Meanwhile, Lucian stared down at his other palm, his senses dulled enough that he hadn’t even noticed her presence behind him.

He blinked as his vision cleared slightly before touching his upper lip.

His nose was bleeding.

But before he could say anything, a harsh cough tore from his throat.

Lucian quickly covered his mouth, trying to muffle the violent coughing fit.

This time, it wasn’t just tiny specks of blood staining his palm.

When the coughing finally stopped, he found himself gasping desperately for air.

The fit had been painful, but somehow, it briefly calmed the chaos inside his body.

Then a voice came from behind him.

"Lucian." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Lucian froze instantly.

Even from a distance, he would recognize that voice anywhere.

Slowly, he turned around and found Ashley staring at him with pale skin and a blank expression filled with utter shock.

"It’s not—"

He pushed himself off the wall, trying to explain. Trying to downplay everything she had just seen.

But the second he reached toward her and took a single step forward, his vision violently zoomed in and out.

His pupils constricted.

Before he even realized what was happening, the world tilted sideways. His body began collapsing toward the floor.

No, he whispered inwardly as darkness swallowed his consciousness once more.

Why... now?

But before Lucian could hit the ground, a pair of trembling hands caught him.

Forcing himself to stay awake, he lifted his gaze slightly and saw Ashley’s tear-filled eyes staring back at him.

And somehow, seeing that hurt him more than the pain tearing through his body.

"So... sorry," he whispered weakly.

Then everything went black.

As for Ashley, she held onto him with trembling arms while her mind remained completely blank.

Blood smeared across her hands and clothes from his chin and palms.

"Lucian?" her shaky voice cracked, lips trembling violently. "Lucian!"

She tried shaking him awake before finally freezing as she fully registered the blood covering him.

Her breathing stopped. Her complexion drained of color.

"He—" she stammered, clutching him tighter. "Help!!"

A scream ripped from her throat as her surroundings blurred.

"Help! Somebody help!"

People said that whenever someone became too happy, something bad would happen afterward. Ashley never wanted to believe that saying because bad things had always happened in her life, regardless.

There were only a handful of times she could genuinely say she was happy.

Yet those few moments were exactly why she started believing the saying might carry some truth.

The first time was when she thought she had finally escaped the Di Carpios. When she believed Marshall had finally lost interest in her—only for Scott to shatter that illusion with one grand entrance, reminding her that another life had been dragged into the burden she carried.

The second time Ashley had truly felt happy was during the amusement park trip Lucian arranged for her and Primo.

She didn’t fully believe the saying back then either, though it lingered at the back of her mind.

But she ignored it.

Until Khan—disguised as a janitor—stabbed her with that powerful sedative.

And from there, their simple family outing spiraled into a full-blown abduction nightmare.

That time, she and Lucian promised each other that nothing like that would ever happen again. That they would be able to give Primo the gift of happiness without constantly fearing disaster afterward.

The days leading up to today made Ashley believe they were finally succeeding.

That even she could feel happiness without waiting for tragedy to follow.

That she could simply enjoy the moment and preserve it in her memory. A memory she, Lucian, and Primo could treasure forever.

But every single time... reality struck her down again.

And this time, reality came in this form.

*****

Ashley had no idea what happened after Lucian collapsed into her arms.

Everything became a blur.

All she remembered was screaming for help before Red suddenly appeared, rushing toward them.

What happened afterward?

She couldn’t remember anymore.

But what she could remember was the fear settling deep into her chest. A fear unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

And along with it came helplessness.

A feeling she had spent her entire life forcing herself to suppress—yet somehow, it still managed to grip her heart completely.

Before she knew it, she found herself no longer outside an emergency room...

...but sitting inside an office instead.

Doctor Wesley’s office.

Ashley sat frozen on the couch, her expression completely blank. Lucian’s dried blood still stained her hands and clothes.

And out of everything Doctor Wesley had said, only his next words finally pierced through the numbness consuming her.

"I’m... sorry, Madam."

Slowly, Ashley lifted her wide, empty eyes toward the doctor. Her brows barely moved, her mind unable to comprehend what he was saying.

"Huh?"

Doctor Wesley pressed his lips into a thin line before looking at her apologetically.

"I’m sorry," he repeated quietly. "But... there’s nothing more we can do."

Those words mercilessly shattered the protective walls around Ashley’s world... and nothing could ever fix it.

— End of Volume 2 —