BY CONTRACT: His to own

Chapter21

The car screeched to a halt in front of the hospital. Damien jumped out first, slamming the door behind him, his expression sharp with urgency. Ava barely had time to unbuckle her seatbelt before she was out too, her heart racing in her chest, her breath ragged with fear.

Her legs moved on instinct running past the front desk, past nurses who called after her, until she reached the floor she knew her sister had been kept on.

Room 307.

She burst through the door.

Empty.

The bed was neatly made now, the IV stood still there, the sheets untouched. No blood. No sign of a struggle.

Just… gone.

Ava’s legs gave out and she sank to her knees beside the bed, her hands trembling. “No. No, no, no…” she whispered, eyes darting around the room. Her mind couldn’t comprehend it. How could this happen? How could she be awake one minute and missing the next?

Damien came in seconds later, followed by a nurse and a hospital guard.

“We’ve searched the floor,” the nurse said breathlessly, “but no one has seen her leave. Cameras show no exit.”

“Then she’s still here,” Damien said through clenched teeth, his voice a low growl.

Ava was barely listening. Her eyes locked on the half-open bathroom door across the room. Something inside her pulled. A strange, aching instinct.

She got up slowly and approached the door.

“Wait,” Damien said, stepping forward.

But Ava didn’t stop. Her hand reached out and gently pushed the door open.

Inside, in the corner of the small, sterile bathroom, sat a girl.

Curled up.

Shivering.

Sobbing.

Ava’s heart shattered at the sight.

“ Lily….” she whispered.

Lily lifted her head, her eyes puffy and red. “Ava?” Her voice cracked, her hands trembling as she reached out.

Ava rushed to her, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around her little sister. “I’m here, I’m here… oh my God, I’m so sorry…”

“I-I thought you left me,” Anna cried, her words broken between sobs. “I woke up and you weren’t here and I got scared. I didn’t know what was happening, I just hid…”

Ava rocked her back and forth like she used to when they were younger. “You’re okay now. I’m here. You’re safe.”

Outside the bathroom, Damien stood frozen for a moment, then silently stepped away, giving them privacy.

Ava held her sister tightly, tears running down her cheeks.

It took a long time before Lily calmed, her breathing slowing.

Then she looked up and asked, her voice small, “Who brought me here?”

Ava smiled through her tears. ” Your teacher.”

Lily blinked. “ Who was that handsome man that was here? Is he nice?”

Ava paused.

Her mind flashed to the smirk on Damien’s face… the way he touched her… teased her… and then vanished upstairs last night as none of it mattered.

Her chest tightened.

She didn’t answer the question directly.

Instead, she whispered, “He’s complicated.”

Suddenly, Lily’s head fell on Ava’s shoulder.

Ava froze.

“Lily?” she said softly, her voice barely a whisper.

Lily’s head slumped to the side.

“Lily!”

The name tore from Ava’s throat as she jumped up from the chair. Her sister’s face had lost all color, her lips trembling slightly before her eyes rolled back and her body collapsed into the sheets.

“Lily!” Ava screamed, gripping her sister’s shoulders and shaking her. “Lily, please! Wake up! What’s wrong?!”

Her heart pounded violently in her chest, her throat tightening with panic. She stumbled back, her voice cracking as she yelled, “Nurse! Someone help!”

The door burst open almost immediately. A nurse ran in, followed by a doctor in a white coat. Ava was quickly ushered aside as the team surrounded the bed.

“She just fainted!” Ava cried, her hands shaking. “She was fine, she was just talking to me! What’s happening?!”

“Miss, please step back,” the nurse said, her voice steady but urgent.

The doctor placed the stethoscope against Lily’s chest, eyes narrowing with focus. “Her vitals are dropping. Bring in the oxygen. Now!”

Another nurse rushed in with a portable oxygen tank and mask. Within seconds, the clear mask was pressed over Lily’s mouth and nose, the hiss of oxygen filling the room as the doctor adjusted the flow.

Ava stood frozen, watching with wide, tear-filled eyes. The beeping from the monitors echoed in her ears, and all she could do was press her hands together and silently plead.

“Please,” she whispered to no one in particular. “Please let her be okay.”

After what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally looked up.

“She’s stable for now,” she said, her voice calm but firm. “But her condition is still delicate. The emotional stress and exhaustion are affecting her more than we anticipated.”

Ava moved closer, her eyes darting from the oxygen mask to the doctor. “But she was getting better. She was awake. She was smiling…”

“I understand,” the doctor said gently. “And that’s a good sign. But she’s not strong enough to go home yet. Her vitals are unstable. We need to keep monitoring her, run some more tests, and make sure she doesn’t relapse.”

Ava's knees nearly buckled. She caught the edge of the chair and sank into it, nodding slowly, her lips pressed together tightly to stop them from trembling. The relief of seeing her sister awake had only lasted a few minutes and now it was being ripped away again.

Ava sat frozen, Lily’s hand limp in hers, her mind a whirlwind of panic and helplessness. The hiss of oxygen filled the room, an eerie reminder of how fragile her little sister’s life truly was.

She couldn’t stop shaking.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, firm, grounding.

She looked up and saw Damien standing behind her. His expression wasn’t cold this time. His dark brows were drawn together, and there was something different in his eyes… something that looked like concern.

Ava didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. Her lips parted, but no words came out only a sharp breath as fresh tears filled her eyes.

Damien crouched beside her chair, slowly placing a hand on her arm. “She’s going to be okay,” he said, voice low, steady. “They’re doing everything they can.”

Ava looked at him, her chest heaving. “You don’t know that,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You don’t know anything, Damien. One moment she was talking to me and the next… she just..” Her voice cracked. “She just fainted.”

He said nothing at first, but his hand didn’t move from her arm. He waited, letting her words sink in.

Then softly, “I do know what it’s like… to be terrified of losing someone.”

Ava stared at him, surprised by the rawness in his voice. There was something vulnerable in the way he looked at Lily, something she didn’t expect from him. Damien Valen, the man who always seemed untouchable, unreadable, and in control looked deeply unsettled.

“I thought she was getting better,” Ava murmured.

Damien moved closer, kneeling now in front of her. “She is fighting, Ava. But she’s still healing. That kind of strength doesn’t come back overnight.”

Ava finally broke. She leaned forward and pressed her face against his hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, just quiet, helpless pain.

Without a word, Damien wrapped his arms around her.

The gesture stunned her. It wasn’t rough or forced. It was warm, steady, and real.

Ava didn’t resist. She let herself fall into his chest, clutching the front of his blazer as she cried. The scent of him filled her nose, but she wasn’t thinking about that now. All she could feel was his strength wrapped around her like a shield, anchoring her to something when everything else felt like it was falling apart.

“I can’t lose her, Damien,” she whispered. “She’s all I have.”

“You’re not going to lose her,” he said firmly against her hair.

Those words shouldn’t have made her feel anything, not from him but they did. And it scared her.

She pulled back slowly, wiping her tears. “You don’t have to do this.”

Damien’s eyes locked onto hers. “I do.”

And for the first time since she had met him, Ava couldn’t tell if he was speaking from duty… or something else entirely.

The silence that followed was thick. Lily’s breathing through the oxygen mask was the only sound in the room.

“I’ll stay with you,” Damien said, rising to his feet. “As long as it takes.”

Ava nodded slowly, her throat too tight to speak. She looked at her sister again, the girl she’d fought so hard for, the girl she had signed away her freedom to protect.

Damien walked to the door, paused, then glanced back at her.

“I’ll get you some coffee,” he said. “I’ll be back.”

As he stepped out, Ava exhaled shakily and reached for Lily’s hand again.

She whispered softly, “Please stay with me, Lily. Just hold on for me…”