Mia’s mind raced. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

"I... I’m the caregiver who was hired to look after you tonight."

"Mia Kane, I’m a police officer. A disguise this clumsy is laughably easy for me to see through."

Mia flushed crimson. She had forgotten that Adrian Preston was a professional.

She snatched off her mask irritably.

"It’s me. So what? I just came to see if you were dead yet."

She deliberately put on a fierce expression.

"Since you’re not dead, I’ll be going..."

Mia quickly scurried to the door. Just as her hand touched the doorknob, it fell off.

The door was broken. She was trapped.

"Is anyone out there? Open the door! Help..."

But no matter how much Mia shouted, there was no response from outside.

Furious, she kicked the door hard, only to end up with a throbbing toe.

She winced in pain, tears welling in her eyes.

Seeing this, Adrian forgot all about his IV drip. He ripped the needle out and hurried over.

"Are you okay? Did you break anything?"

"Stay away from me!"

She was furious and shoved him with all her might, but Adrian was built like a brick wall. Even with a high fever, he was a hundred times stronger than her.

He swept her up into his arms, carried her to the bed, and gently took off her shoe and sock to carefully examine her toes.

It was clearly red and swollen, but thankfully, the bone wasn’t injured. It wouldn’t require a hospital stay.

"Be more careful."

Adrian applied some medicinal balm and massaged it gently, and the swelling and bruising quickly subsided.

He knelt on one knee, his expression tender, his movements incredibly careful, as if terrified of hurting her.

’And this was the same man who had nearly starved her to death in that villa.’

’She thought about her narrow escape from death, how she’d nearly been violated, and the ultimate irony: the one who saved her was Chase Lockwood.’

’It had always been Chase Lockwood who owed her; she could have gotten her revenge with a clear conscience. But now he was her savior. How was she supposed to face him in the future?’

Resentful and bitter, she had no idea how to act around Adrian, the root of all this suffering.

"There. You should be able to walk on it after resting a bit."

"Get someone to open this door. I want to leave."

"We’ll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Adrian Preston, are you doing this on purpose to mess with me?"

she demanded, her voice full of anger. A sense of grievance washed over her, and her eyes turned red.

Adrian was instantly at a loss.

Theo Thorne had told him that Mia Kane might sneak over tonight, but he hadn’t believed it.

He never expected her to actually show up. The door had been Theo’s doing, too; Adrian hadn’t ordered it.

But in Mia’s eyes, it made no difference whether he had done it himself.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have played games with you. I’ll get Theo to open the door."

Adrian’s voice was soft. He then made a call.

Soon, the door was opened from the outside.

Mia left immediately without a backward glance.

Theo Thorne instantly grew anxious. "Adrian, it was so hard to get you this chance, why did you let her leave? If you two had just spent the night alone together, wouldn’t everything have been resolved?"

"She cried."

He gazed at the doorway, his voice so faint it seemed the wind might carry it away.

’The moment she cries, I lose all my defenses. Whatever she says, goes.’

"Adrian, how are you ever going to get a wife acting like this?"

Theo stomped his foot in frustration and quickly ran out after her.

Adrian sat on the edge of the bed, a forlorn expression on his face.

He had always been a man of principle and method. When he wanted to do something, he would press forward relentlessly, regardless of victory or defeat.

But when it came to Mia Kane, he was constantly hesitating, regretting, and panicking, paralyzed by the fear of losing her.

...

By the time Theo Thorne ran out, Mia Kane was already getting into a taxi.

He frantically threw himself in front of the car.

"Sister-in-law, can you please just hear me out? If you still want to leave after that, I’ll have nothing more to say."

Mia was annoyed. "What do you want to say!"

"Sister-in-law, aren’t you curious how Adrian got hurt?"

"I don’t care..."

"Second Miss was injured. If the cut had been any deeper, it could have severed a major artery, and she would have died. He didn’t know you were innocent; at the time, all the evidence pointed to you. Second Miss was determined to make you pay. On one side was his sister, on the other, his wife. He was caught in the middle, torn."

"He didn’t want his sister to feel wronged, but he didn’t want to punish you either. So he paid a blade for a blade. And because he was taking the blame for you, he punished himself with two stabs. Adrian is just that honest. He could have just made a small cut, but no, he had to stab himself deep enough to see bone. That was the only way to appease Second Miss’s anger and ensure she wouldn’t cause trouble for you again, sister-in-law."

"He left himself covered in blood, but he didn’t want you to know, afraid you’d blame yourself and worry, so he didn’t go back to see you. He never imagined those bastards would take advantage of the situation to bully you, sister-in-law. Adrian didn’t know about any of that..."

"Adrian was busy taking care of Second Miss and managing the corporation. He was waiting until his wounds were mostly healed to come find you. When he heard you were in trouble, he started coming to the hospital even more often, neglecting his own health. That’s why his wounds kept getting worse."

As Mia Kane listened, her brows knitted together, and her fists clenched silently.

Her nails dug deep into her palms.

"He... never told me."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Adrian has always been a man of action, not words. That’s just his personality. He’s not like this in front of us, you know. But when he’s with you, sister-in-law, he clams up like a mute and can’t say a thing."

Mia pursed her lips. "That’s just him being stupid. I was the one Shannon Preston framed, and he’s the one who rushes to stab himself twice. Is he an idiot?"

"Sister-in-law, it was his sister who was hurt, but he also wanted to protect his wife. In a moment of crisis, who can think clearly? Sister-in-law, Adrian isn’t a god. He can’t solve a case with a single glance. He’s a man, a man of flesh and blood."

That last sentence struck Mia’s heart like a heavy blow.

’Adrian Preston... a man of flesh and blood.’

"Sister-in-law..."

Mia cut off Theo’s unspoken words. "I know what you’re trying to say. Adrian feels wronged, and so do I. He likes to keep things bottled up and torture himself, but that’s his business. Let’s just say we’re even. Driver, let’s go."

Theo Thorne sighed. He still hadn’t managed to convince her to stay.

For a moment, he didn’t know how he was going to face Adrian.

He trudged back slowly.

Adrian wasn’t surprised to see him return alone.

"You should go home and rest. I’ll be fine on my own."

"Adrian..."

"That’s an order."

He needed to be alone.

Theo had no choice but to leave.

Adrian didn’t ask for the IV to be reconnected. Unable to sleep, he stood alone on the balcony, the light in his eyes flickering.

Time ticked by, second by second, and the night grew as thick as ink.

Just then, the door creaked open.

"When are they going to fix this busted door? It makes me feel so unsafe."

Hearing that voice, Adrian froze. He wondered if he was hallucinating; otherwise, how could he be hearing Mia Kane’s voice?

"You’re out on the balcony in the wind? No wonder you’re not getting better. Are you doing this on purpose? Get back in here and lie down, now!"

Mia said angrily, marching right up to him and grabbing his hand to drag him back to bed.

But Adrian twisted his hand to grip hers tightly, pulling her into his arms with a sudden jolt.

"Is it really you?"

He looked down at her, his eyes filled with disbelief and a burgeoning joy.