Chapter 109: Chapter 109; What are they hiding?
Alina’s POV
"Davon..." I repeated, testing the weight of it on my tongue.
The man offered a warm, lazy smile from his hospital bed. "That’s my name. And what might your name be, beautiful?"
"Alina," I replied softly.
"Alina," Davon murmured, his thick accent rolling over the syllables. His smile widened. "What a beautiful name for an absolutely beautiful lady."
A faint, polite smile touched my lips, but I quickly shook it off to focus on the reality of the situation. "Thank you. Truly... thank you for saving my life out there."
"Don’t mention it," Davon said smoothly, holding my gaze. "I would do it over and over again if I had to." He leaned back slightly against his pillows and flashed me a quick, confident wink.
My smile remained small and guarded. I glanced toward the hospital room door, realizing how late it was getting. "I should probably head out now, but I will definitely come back later to see how you are healing."
Davon waved his hand dismissively, his expression completely relaxed. "You really don’t need to come back here, sweetheart. I’m perfectly fine."
"If you say so," I murmured, stepping back toward the exit. "Thank you again, Davon."
With a final nod, I slipped out of the room and left the hospital behind. Standing on the busy city sidewalk, I thought about heading to the bakery, but my clothes were ruined and my mind was entirely too scattered to focus on inventory or spreadsheets. Deciding it was best to just go home, I flagged down a passing cab and watched the city streets blur past the window.
The moment I unlocked the front door of the estate and stepped into the foyer, the air inside felt instantly thick with tension.
A few feet away in the main living space, Sammy and Lucian were huddled close together, engaged in a deeply serious, hushed conversation. But the very second Sammy’s eyes landed on me, his chest went rigid and his eyes widened in absolute panic.
He instantly grabbed a heavy bag sitting on the desk, scrambling to hide it behind his frame. "A-Alina!" Sammy stuttered, his voice jumping an octave as a guilty sweat broke out on his forehead. "You’re... you’re back early."
Sammy’s sudden outburst caused Lucian to violently whip his head around. The moment Lucian’s gaze locked onto me, his face drained of color, his jaw dropping in pure shock.
I froze by the doorway, my eyes darting between the two of them. A cold knot of suspicion tightened in my gut. Why the hell were they acting so incredibly guilty and suspicious?
"I’ll... I’ll just go take this inside," Sammy rushed out, clutching the bag tightly against his side as he practically sprinted out of the room, avoiding my gaze entirely.
Lucian didn’t even watch him go. He lunged forward, closing the distance between us in a matter of seconds. He grabbed my shoulders, his hands trembling slightly as his eyes frantically scanned my body. "Alina, what’s the matter? Are you okay?"
He suddenly stopped, his eyes locking onto my face as his breath hitched in pure horror. "My God... there is blood stained all over your face. What happened?!"
"I got into an accident, Lucian," I explained, my voice exhausted.
"Goodness, where are you hurt?!" he cried out, his hands moving down to check my arms, his voice laced with terror. "Where are you injured, Alina? Tell me!"
"I’m not injured," I reassured him softly, placing my hands over his wrists to calm his frantic movements. "I wasn’t hurt at all. Someone really nice jumped right in front of the car and saved me."
Lucian let out a massive, ragged sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping as he rested his forehead against mine for a brief second. "Thank the Goddess... I’m so relieved you’re okay."
I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, my suspicion returning full force. "Lucian... what exactly was going on in here before I walked clumsily through that door? What was inside that bag Sammy rushed away?"
Lucian’s eyes flickered, his expression instantly smoothing out into a carefully blank mask. "It’s nothing, Alina. Don’t worry about it." He gently brushed a stray hair from my cheek, his tone turning sweet and coaxing. "You need to go wash up and take a long rest. You must have been completely frightened by the accident."
I nodded slowly, but I wasn’t fully convinced by his deflection at all.
I turned around and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, shutting the door tightly behind me. I stripped off my soiled clothes and stepped into the steaming shower. As the hot water began to wash the dried blood from my skin, a wave of heavy, intrusive thoughts crashed into my mind.
Images of Lucian and my brother flashed behind my closed eyelids. Why did they always act so incredibly guilty around me? Why did they always share those dark, secretive glances? They never told me a single thing about the true nature of their business. I gripped the shower tiles, letting out a frustrated breath. Maybe I am just overthinking it, I tried to tell myself, desperately wanting to believe my own lie. It’s just stress from the accident.
I turned off the water, wrapped myself in a plush towel, and walked back into the bedroom.
Lucian was already inside, sitting patiently on the edge of the mattress. The moment he saw me walk out, he gestured to a steaming plate resting on the nightstand. "I made some food for you."
A genuine smile broke across my face, the heavy suspicion melting away for a moment. I walked over, sat down cross-legged on the bed, and pulled the plate onto my lap, taking a comforting bite.
"By the way," I mumbled between bites, looking up at him. "I completely lost my phone today. It must have dropped on the pavement while I was trying to help the man into the car."
Lucian smiled gently, leaning forward to kiss my temple. "It’s no problem at all, beautiful. I will get a brand new one delivered for you first thing tomorrow." He paused, his expression turning thoughtful. "The man who saved you... how is he doing? I really should go visit him at the hospital and personally thank him for his bravery."
I shook my head, swallowing my food. "I don’t think that will be necessary, honestly. He seems pretty okay, and the doctor said he’s going to make a quick recovery."
Lucian nodded slowly, leaning his back against the bedpost. "Did you happen to catch his name? The one who saved you?"
"Yes," I replied casually, taking a sip of water. "His name is Davon."
The second the name left my lips, Lucian’s entire body went completely rigid. The color vanished from his face, his eyes widening in a mix of pure shock and mounting fury.
I blinked, caught off guard by his violent shift in energy. "He seems to be a foreigner, too," I added quickly, watching him closely. "He has a really strong, distinct accent."
A dark, dangerous growl rattled deep inside Lucian’s chest. His hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, his jaw ticking violently as his eyes flashed with venom.
"Davon..." Lucian hissed, absolute malice and bitter annoyance laced heavily into his tone.
