For the past two nights, Ashley had only dreamed of returning to her usual routine. Snuggling in Lucian’s arms had felt like exactly that — a dream. But now she was here, and she was enjoying every bit of it.

Lucian’s smile hadn’t left his face, content to let her get as comfortable as she pleased. She had fully claimed him — arms wrapped around his torso, one leg hooked over his.

"Hehehe..." she giggled, tilting her head up at him.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes still red from crying, but the joy in them was unmistakable.

"Lucian," she said, shifting up slightly. "So — you like me?"

He nodded.

"Does that mean I’m your favorite?"

He nodded again.

"Goodness." She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. "So it’s like... love at first sight?"

Her smile faltered for a second as her brows pulled together. "Wait. How is it love at first sight if we only met days after the wedding?"

The claim and the timeline didn’t add up.

"I’d seen you before," he said simply. "I know you."

"Ohh..." Her lips formed a small O before she scooted closer, her face inches from his. "Which mission was that when you saw me?"

A look of quiet defeat crossed his face as he tilted his head. "It wasn’t a mission."

"Not a mission? Then where?"

Curiosity lit up her eyes as she stared at him. "I was never anywhere we could have crossed paths — not unless I was on an assignment."

"In an alley," he said, and she blinked several times. "In that particular winter."

Her brows rose as she turned the answer over, reaching back through her memory. Seeing that she was only searching through her adult years and coming up short, Lucian drew a quiet breath.

"That boy —"

A knock at the door cut him off.

Both of them looked toward the partition of the executive suite. A silhouette stood on the other side, and a moment later, Gustav appeared at the foot of the bed, composed as ever.

"Master. Madam." His voice was steady and calm. "Our people have been retrieved and are being escorted back to the neighborhood. No casualties reported."

Ashley and Lucian nodded.

"The aircraft is also ready," Gustav added. "Let me know when you’d like to leave the territory."

"Oh!" Ashley sat up sharply. "Right!"

She turned to Lucian, her expression shifting. "Right — I completely forgot about everything else!"

Lucian’s brows rose while Gustav’s furrowed.

"Lucian," she said, landing on the real question. "What actually happened? What kind of miracle was that?"

She had been so caught up in the emotion of it all — and then swept away entirely by Lucian’s confession — that she had somehow managed to forget she’d spent the entire morning fearing for his life.

"Ah," Lucian rocked his head slightly. He’d forgotten to explain it himself.

He thought for a moment, then looked at her. "Raka Jean."

"Huh?" She scrunched her nose, then gasped. "Raka? His pill actually worked that well?!"

She clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

She hadn’t been entirely sure about Raka, but she’d heard enough. That doctor had told Omen to find him, which meant that underneath all the aggravation, Raka was genuinely good at what he did. She had acted on hope — a last option before making a decision she knew would change Lucian’s life permanently.

"No," Lucian said. "The pill is working, but it’s not enough to wake a dead man."

"Then what happened?"

"He removed my oxygen."

Gustav and Ashley both stared at him.

Lucian had been on life support because his lungs weren’t functioning properly — the oxygen was keeping him breathing.

"Raka... removed your oxygen?" she repeated slowly. Lucian nodded.

"From what he told me, the oxygen was the reason I couldn’t fully regain consciousness — and why my heart kept fluctuating," Lucian explained. "It was drowning me."

Their mouths fell open.

That was the opposite of what was supposed to happen.

Lucian shrugged. "I woke up within minutes of them removing it. Nolan deserves credit too, for actually listening to Raka and allowing it."

He glanced between the two of them, reading their stunned expressions — expressions that mirrored how he’d felt hearing it himself.

"You trusted the doctors and respected their expertise," he said. "They weren’t doing anything wrong. They just didn’t catch the one thing Raka did."

He reached for Ashley’s hand and squeezed it, pulling her eyes to his. "Good thing you got the best diagnostician you could find. Otherwise, I’d be dead."

He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, holding her gaze.

"Thank you."

Ashley blinked. Her mouth opened, then closed. Her cheeks went red.

"Gosh," she fanned herself. "Why are you seducing me right now — wait, actually —"

She leaned toward him and searched his face. "What about your illness? The fibrosis? Do you still need a transplant?"

"I don’t know yet," Lucian glanced at the IV in his other hand. "Raka put me on this medication. I still need more tests."

He hadn’t had much time when he woke up. He’d absorbed what he could quickly — and on the way here, he’d pieced together what Ashley had been doing in his absence.

She had spent the entire night moving between Dominion’s key allies, securing deals one by one.

She had been prepared to wipe out the entire High Chamber.

And if he hadn’t shown up, she would have.

Ending the council wasn’t the problem in itself. What came after was — an endless war against everyone who had sworn loyalty to each other within it. He wouldn’t wish that on her.

"Master," Gustav said, apparently remembering he was still in the room, "does that mean Doctor Wesley’s diagnosis was wrong?"

Lucian considered it. "Not necessarily. With the test results I had, any doctor would have reached the same conclusion — specialists included. But there’s a possibility it’s something else entirely."

He looked between Gustav and Ashley. "And most likely... something treatable."

Silence settled over the room.

Then Ashley launched herself at him, arms wrapping tight around him.

"Really?" she breathed. "Lucian — you’re not dying? You’re not, right? I knew it. I knew you weren’t going to die. You can’t."

Lucian smiled quietly and held her, one hand moving in slow circles against her back. He looked up at Gustav over her shoulder.

Gustav exhaled — a long, relieved breath — and bowed his head. "That’s..." He steadied his voice. "That’s a relief, Master."

Lucian hummed, his gaze dropping back to his wife. "It is, Gustav."