Chapter 10 – The Orsini Offer
1577 Words
The café was quiet.
Too quiet.
Ametrine knew something was wrong the moment she walked in.
She had chosen this small place for a quick coffee before returning to the hospital. It was usually filled with students and office workers.
Tonight it was nearly empty.
Only one man sat at a corner table.
He wore a charcoal suit and polished black shoes. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes followed her the moment she entered.
Ametrine’s instincts sharpened.
Danger.
She ordered a coffee and turned toward the door.
“Doctor Ambrose.”
The man’s voice stopped her mid-step.
Her stomach dropped.
She slowly turned around.
“I think you’re mistaken.”
The man smiled politely.
“Please sit.”
“I’m not interested.”
“But the Orsini family is very interested in you.”
Her blood ran cold.
Several nearby customers suddenly stood and left.
Too quickly.
Too deliberately.
They had cleared the room.
Ametrine walked slowly to the table.
“Five minutes,” she said quietly.
The man gestured to the chair.
“Thank you.”
She sat.
“What do you want?”
The man placed a folder on the table.
Inside were photographs.
Her childhood home.
Her grandmother.
Lyra.
Ametrine’s heart clenched.
The man watched her reaction carefully.
“You’ve done well hiding for so many years.”
“What do you want?” she repeated.
“Your skills.”
He leaned forward slightly.
“Our employer believes your surgical abilities are… extraordinary.”
“You mean Marco Orsini.”
A small smile.
“You’re well informed.”
“I know enough to refuse.”
“Perhaps you should listen first.”
He slid another document toward her.
A contract.
Numbers filled the page.
Millions.
More money than most hospitals would ever offer.
“For one surgery,” he said calmly.
Ametrine didn’t even glance at the amount.
“No.”
The man sighed.
“You didn’t even consider it.”
“I don’t work for criminals.”
He chuckled softly.
“Everyone works for someone.”
“Not me.”
His expression darkened slightly.
“You will.”
Ametrine stood.
“Conversation over.”
But the man spoke again.
“You plan to operate on the Sterling matriarch.”
She froze.
“So?” she asked carefully.
“That surgery must not happen.”
Her pulse spiked.
“Why?”
“That information is above my authority.”
“Then tell Marco Orsini I’m not interested in his orders.”
The man leaned back calmly.
“You misunderstand.”
His voice turned cold.
“This was not a request.”
Ametrine met his gaze without fear.
“I don’t take threats well.”
He smiled again.
“We expected that.”
Then he quietly added—
“Your daughter is beautiful.”
The air between them turned deadly still.
Ametrine’s eyes hardened.
“If you touch her—”
“We won’t.”
He raised his hands slightly.
“As long as you cooperate.”
Her voice dropped dangerously low.
“You picked the wrong person to threaten.”
The man stood.
“I’ll give you twenty-four hours.”
He walked toward the door.
“After that, the Orsini family will assume your answer is final.”
The door closed behind him.
Ametrine remained standing in the empty café.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Not from fear.
From anger.
Later that night, she returned to the hospital.
Zyair was waiting outside the surgical wing.
The moment he saw her face, he knew something had happened.
“Ametrine.”
She walked straight into his arms.
For the first time since he met her—
She needed comfort.
Zyair wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“What happened?”
Her voice was quiet.
“The Orsini family found me.”
His body went rigid.
“What did they say?”
“They want me to stop the surgery.”
“And?”
She looked up at him.
Her eyes burned with determination.
“I told them no.”
Zyair studied her face.
“You realize what that means.”
“Yes.”
“They’ll come after you.”
“I know.”
A tense silence passed between them.
Then Zyair gently touched her cheek.
“Then they’ll have to deal with me too.”
Ametrine’s heart softened.
“You don’t even know how dangerous they are.”
Zyair’s eyes darkened.
“I do.”
His voice lowered.
“And they have no idea how dangerous you are.”
For a moment they simply looked at each other.
The tension between them thickened.
Stronger than before.
Zyair brushed his thumb across her cheek.
“You’re incredible.”
Ametrine’s breath caught slightly.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it keeps being true.”
Slowly, he leaned closer.
Their foreheads touched.
The world around them seemed to disappear.
And in that quiet moment—
The bond between them grew deeper than either of them expected.
But both of them knew something else.
War with the Orsini family had just begun.
The hospital corridor had grown quiet.
Night shifts had begun, and only the faint hum of machines and distant footsteps echoed through the surgical wing.
Ametrine and Zyair still stood near the large observation window overlooking the intensive care unit where his grandmother lay.
Soft blue lights illuminated the room beyond the glass.
Ametrine watched the steady rhythm of the heart monitor.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Life suspended between hope and silence.
Zyair stood beside her, hands resting against the railing, his gaze fixed on the same scene.
“My grandmother used to run this entire hospital,” he said quietly.
Ametrine glanced at him.
“She built it from nothing.”
His voice carried quiet admiration.
“When my grandfather died, everyone expected the Sterling empire to collapse. But she took control of everything.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“She was terrifying.”
Ametrine couldn’t help smiling.
“Terrifying?”
“She fired three board members in a single meeting once.”
“Efficient.”
Zyair chuckled softly.
“She would like you.”
Ametrine’s expression softened.
“I hope I get the chance to meet her properly.”
“You will.”
His voice held certainty.
“You’re going to save her.”
She looked back at the monitors.
“I’m going to try.”
The distinction mattered to her.
Surgery was never a guarantee.
Even the best surgeons respected the uncertainty of the human body.
Zyair watched her carefully.
“You’re not afraid.”
“I’m always afraid.”
That answer surprised him.
“But fear keeps surgeons careful,” she added quietly.
He nodded slowly.
“Then I trust your fear.”
Silence settled between them again.
Outside the window, his grandmother remained motionless beneath the soft glow of the ICU lights.
After a moment Zyair spoke again.
“You know what scares me?”
“What?”
“That you’ll disappear again after this.”
Her breath caught.
“Why would you think that?”
He turned toward her.
“Because that’s what you’ve done your whole life.”
Ametrine didn’t deny it.
“You vanished from the medical world,” he continued.
“No one knew where you went.”
She looked down at her hands.
“I had reasons.”
“I believe you.”
His voice softened.
“But I don’t want you to disappear.”
The honesty in his words made her chest tighten.
“You might change your mind when you know everything about me.”
“I doubt it.”
Zyair gently reached for her hand.
His fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Steady.
Comforting.
“You saved me when we were kids,” he said.
“You didn’t have to.”
“You were in trouble.”
“So were you.”
A small laugh escaped her.
“That’s true.”
He lifted her hand slightly, studying the faint scars along her fingers—tiny marks from years of surgical training and childhood adventures in the jungle.
“These hands…” he murmured.
“They’re extraordinary.”
Heat crept into Ametrine’s cheeks.
“They’re just hands.”
“No.”
He shook his head slowly.
“They save lives.”
His gaze lifted to meet hers.
“And right now they’re holding mine together.”
The words struck deeper than he realized.
Ametrine looked away quickly, blinking back unexpected emotion.
Zyair noticed.
He gently pulled her into a quiet embrace.
Not passionate.
Not urgent.
Just warm.
Safe.
For a moment she allowed herself to rest there, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Outside the glass window, the heart monitor continued its quiet rhythm.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
But neither of them noticed the small camera mounted in the far corner of the hallway.
Its lens focused directly on them.
Miles away, in a dark office tower across the city, Marco Orsini watched the surveillance feed.
His fingers tapped slowly against the desk.
“So,” he murmured.
“The Sterling heir has fallen for her.”
One of his men stood nearby.
“Should we intervene?”
Marco’s lips curved into a thin smile.
“Not yet.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“Love makes people predictable.”
His eyes lingered on the screen showing Ametrine and Zyair standing together.
“Let them get closer.”
The smile slowly darkened.
“It will make the betrayal much more painful.”
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