Claim Me Captain! I'm Addicted to You!-Chapter 424: Run Away (3)

Vicky’s POV

We finally arrived at the location Oliver punched into the GPS, and the moment I saw the place... my face automatically folded into a frown.

A towering, solid gate. Concrete walls high enough to keep giants out. Barbed wire lined the top like we were entering a high-security research lab where people get experimented on while fully conscious.

I slowed down, staring at the structure.

What in the name of all suspicious facilities is this place?

Before I could ask, Oliver reached over and honked the horn—on my side, because apparently he was now the captain of my driver’s seat.

A guard stepped out and knocked on the window. "Card, please."

Oliver casually handed him a pink card.

A pink card!

Sir, what aesthetic prison is this?

"You may come in," the guard said, stepping aside.

My eyebrows were practically touching my hairline as I followed a winding path inside. People were walking around the garden—some in scrubs, some in casual clothes, some talking to nurses.

It didn’t look like a prison anymore. But it didn’t look like a resort either.

"Is this a hospital or something?" I asked while driving slowly, scanning every corner like I was expecting a zombie to pop out.

"Sort of," Oliver said, vagueness level: maximum. He pointed toward an old-looking building ahead that’s more like an old house. "Park over there."

So I did... and barely shifted the gear to park when Ollie practically hopped out of the car like an excited puppy. His arm sling didn’t stop him at all.

I sighed, turned off the engine, and stepped out—only to see him at the back of his SUV, waving me over urgently.

The moment I reached him, he handed me... a bouquet.

Another one. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Same flowers as earlier.

And then, because apparently the first surprise wasn’t enough, a giant white teddy bear.

I blinked at him. "Oliver... are we visiting a child?"

He didn’t answer. Instead, he scanned the area and called a nearby nurse. "I’m sorry, can you help me with this?"

"Of course, Attorney Morris," the nurse said with a smile, immediately grabbing the boxes of food stacked in Ollie’s trunk.

Attorney Morris.

Food boxes.

Flowers.

A teddy bear.

A facility with a garden and nurses.

My heart thumped once, hard and curious.

Oliver slung the basket onto his good arm and gave me a small smile—soft, nervous, excited.

Then he nodded toward the pathway.

A silent follow me.

And I did... even though my stomach was flipping and my chest felt too tight with anticipation.

Because whatever this place was, whatever surprise he was planning, I already knew it meant something. Something big. Something personal. Something Ollie had been carrying alone for a long time.

And he was finally letting me in.

"When did you even buy all that food?" I asked, eyeing the mountain of containers as we stepped inside the building.

"I ordered everything yesterday," Ollie said, completely unfazed. "Picked it all up while you were still finishing your lunch."

I stopped walking for half a second.

Of course he did.

This man planned a mystery road trip, smuggled half my wardrobe into his car, and now apparently catered a whole event, behind my back, while smiling like it was nothing.

Before I could comment, an older woman in a lab coat gasped, "Oliver!" and practically waddled over to hug him.

He hugged her back with the arm that wasn’t in a sling. "I’m not late, am I?"

"Late?" she laughed. "The guest of honor can’t be late. You’re perfectly on time; they’re still setting up in the back." She eyed his sling. "What happened to your arm, dear?"

"Occupational hazard," Oliver said casually, like he didn’t almost die a week ago. "It’s healing. The sling is just... a reminder to behave."

Her eyes twinkled before shifting to me. "And who is this lovely lady?"

I offered my hand, smiling politely. "Hi, I’m Vicky Knight—"

"She’s my girlfriend," Oliver said.

I choked on my own saliva.

My head snapped toward him so fast I probably needed a chiropractor.

Girlfriend???

So he’s out here introducing me like we’re a whole official item—while I’m still mentally processing the kiss in the parking lot?! And we haven’t had that ’talk’ that we agreed to have later on.

He gave me a small, innocent, too innocent smile, as if that could soften the bomb he just dropped.

Then he turned back to me. "Vicky, this is Dr. Miller. She owns the place."

Dr. Miller shook my hand warmly. "It’s so nice to finally meet the woman he talks about."

My heart skipped.

He talks about me? Often? To doctors???

I cleared my throat. "And... what exactly is this place? Because all I’ve seen so far are gates, guards, and people in scrubs, and honestly I’m one weird hallway away from assuming we’re visiting the secret lab of Area 51."

Dr. Miller laughed. "Oh my. So he still hasn’t told you?"

Ollie pressed his lips tight and inhaled, the way he does when he’s bracing himself. "Dr. Miller is the head psychiatrist here. She used to be my doctor... and my sisters’ doctor." He paused, meeting my eyes with a softness I wasn’t prepared for. "This is a mental health facility. And there’s someone I want you to meet."

My chest tightened, not from fear, but from the weight of trust sitting between us.

Dr. Miller seemed to read our silence and gently took the fruit basket from Oliver. "They’re already in the backyard. I’ll take this ahead."

Once she left, Ollie placed his hand on the small of my back—warm, steady, grounding, and guided me forward.

"Come on," he murmured, voice soft and full of something that made my heart jump into my throat. "This part... it’s important."

The moment we stepped into the backyard, I froze.

Tables. Chairs. Streamers. Balloons. A full party setup. Nurses are moving around. Staff are bringing out trays of food. It looked like a celebration in the middle of a quiet garden.

And then I noticed them, two familiar figures.

Oliver’s sisters.

I’d seen them a few times before, whenever they visited him in the city. Today, they were dressed up, standing beside a woman in a wheelchair. A patient. Someone who clearly belonged to the facility.

Before I could fully process it, Dr. Miller clapped her hands. "Oliver is here! Let’s get this party started!"

********

Thank you for the Golden Ticket!

Edna_R2679