The Tyrannical Wolf King's Contract Bride-Chapter 49: Breaking Down in the Hospital

Lila’s POV

I forced a smile and nodded, taking a seat on the sofa across from him.

He turned to the cabinet behind him, apparently to get something.

"To give you a more direct understanding of what we might be facing, I’m going to show you a set of case studies using brain CT scans. Certain neurological abnormalities leave unique traces on the images..."

As he spoke, an LCD screen in the corner of the office lit up.

"This is a cross-section of a normal brain... and this is the abnormal discharge area in a patient with a neurosis..."

His voice echoed in my ears, but it grew more and more distant, more and more distorted. The black-and-white images on the screen were no longer cross-sections of a brain. They began to twist and spin, morphing into countless shattered faces.

My parents’ faces.

They were reaching out to me, their mouths seeming to form words I couldn’t hear.

"...Miss Thorne? Are you all right? You look very pale."

Dr. Evans’s voice faded in and out, like the sound of bubbles rising from the depths of the ocean.

"...Your heart rate seems a bit fast. Is the air conditioning too cold? I’ll call a nurse in to check your blood pressure..."

I wanted to answer him, to say I was fine, but my throat felt like it was blocked by something, unable to make a sound. My vision started to blur, and the walls around me seemed to come alive, pressing in on me.

The smell of disinfectant was so strong it was nauseating.

"...Quick! Call the emergency response team! Prepare adrenaline!"

I heard him shouting, his voice filled with terror.

No...

Don’t...

I wanted to stand up, to escape this place, but my body felt nailed to the sofa, completely immobile. My heart was pounding relentlessly, as if it would burst from my chest.

Just then, the closed office door was suddenly slammed open from the outside.

SLAM—!

The massive sound was particularly jarring in the silent hallway.

Dr. Evans whipped his head around in astonishment. "Who are you? How did you get in here? Security! Where’s security?"

I didn’t have the strength to turn my head, but I could see a blurry figure silhouetted against the light from the hallway as he rushed into the office.

He strode to my side and knelt, his hands gripping my limp body on the sofa. His voice trembled violently, laced with a panic and pain I had never heard from him before:

"Lila! Look at me! It’s me! It’s me!"

I struggled to open my heavy eyelids. Through my blurry vision, I saw a familiar face.

Caleb.

’How could it be him?’

’He’s not... he shouldn’t be here...’

————

My consciousness was like seaweed submerged in the deep ocean, drifting slowly with the undercurrent.

When I finally opened my eyes, I wasn’t met with the harsh, sterile white ceiling of a hospital, but the familiar sight of my own room—my bedroom on the second floor of Moon Hidden Villa. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn tight, allowing only a few faint slivers of morning light to peek through. The air was filled with a faint lily fragrance that was my own, mixed with the crisp scent of pine drifting in from outside. That was Jasper’s scent. The scent of safety.

I wiggled my fingers, feeling the soft, warm silk of the comforter. My head was heavy, and a dull, boneless ache settled deep in my limbs, as if I had just finished a long marathon.

"Lila?"

A low, anxious voice sounded from the bedside.

I turned my head and saw Jasper sitting on the edge of the bed. He wasn’t wearing his usual immaculate suit jacket, just a dark shirt with the collar slightly open and the cuffs rolled up, revealing his well-defined forearms. One of his hands held mine tightly, while the other raked restlessly through his hair. His eyes, usually as sharp as golden rays, were now bloodshot and filled with regret and self-blame.

"You’re awake..." His voice was hoarse, holding the slight tremor of someone who’d just survived a catastrophe. "How do you feel? Does your head hurt? Is your chest still tight?"

He leaned down, carefully stroking my pale cheek with the pad of his thumb, the heartache in his eyes nearly overflowing. "I’m sorry, Lila. I’m so sorry... I’m an idiot."

I was a little dazed, my throat painfully dry. "Jasper? How... how did I get back here?"

"It’s my fault." He cut me off, his tone filled with self-loathing. "I shouldn’t have let you go alone. I thought the church’s hospital was safe enough, that my guards were reliable enough, but I forgot... I forgot what that place means to you. It’s where your parents died. It’s where your nightmares began. I can’t believe I let you face those memories alone. I’m such an idiot."

He lowered his head, pressing his forehead gently against the back of my hand. For a moment, his tall frame seemed to deflate. "I should have gone with you. Even if it alerted Derek, even if it tipped our hand, I should have been by your side. I shouldn’t have left you alone..."

Seeing him so full of self-reproach, the lingering discomfort from my terror miraculously faded. I squeezed his hand in return. I didn’t have much strength, but I used all I could muster.

"Jasper," I called softly. "Look at me."

He slowly raised his head, his golden eyes filled with guilt.

"This isn’t your fault." I tried my best to keep my voice steady. "You were doing it for my own good, to avoid tipping our hand, to protect me. Besides..." I gave a wry smile. "Even I didn’t expect to have such a strong reaction. I’m wondering if it’s an effect of the seal."

I looked at him and said earnestly, "Do you remember? The first time we... you said it seemed like my Werewolf powers were about to awaken, but the interruption caused a backlash."

"Your instability... it’s perfectly understandable." He looked at me, his eyes filled with heartache and helplessness. In the end, he just pulled me into a tight embrace, holding me with enough force to fuse me into his very bones.

After a moment, I pushed him away slightly as a wave of questions flooded my mind. I grabbed his arm and asked urgently, "Jasper, how did you get me back here? Did something happen? Did I press the communicator?"

’If there was a scene at the hospital, wouldn’t that mean we exposed our location and intentions to the enemy?’

Jasper shook his head, his expression growing deep and complex. "No. Things... took an unexpected turn."

"An unexpected turn?" I was even more confused. "What do you mean?"

He looked at me, seeming to weigh his words, before finally speaking. "Someone else was the one who found you in trouble."

I froze as fragments of memory began to surface.

I remembered the figure silhouetted against the light, rushing in. I remembered the trembling voice calling my name. I remembered the face that was at once familiar and yet a stranger’s.

"Caleb?" I murmured to myself, my heart filled with shock and confusion. "That’s right, I remember now. What was he doing there?"

Jasper said coldly, "According to my guards, they saw him carry you out of the hospital like a madman. So they intercepted him and brought you back to Moon Hidden Villa."

"And... then what? Where is he now?" I asked urgently.