A fragile heart
671 Words
Darkness faded slowly into blurred light.
The first thing Mira noticed was the steady sound of a heart monitor.
The second thing she noticed was Alexander.
He sat beside the hospital bed in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his usually perfect appearance slightly disordered. His jaw looked tense, dark eyes fixed on her as though he had been watching her for hours.
The moment she moved, he stood immediately.
“You’re awake.”
Mira blinked slowly. “That’s usually how consciousness works.”
Relief flickered across his face so quickly she almost missed it.
Almost.
“What happened?” she asked weakly.
“You fainted in my office.”
Fragments of memory rushed back instantly.
The phone call.
The test results.
Her heart.
Mira swallowed hard. “The doctor?”
Alexander’s expression hardened slightly. “He’s waiting outside.”
Fear curled tightly in her chest.
A few minutes later, the doctor entered carefully, carrying a tablet filled with scans.
St. Vincent Medical Center.
“Miss Ashford,” he began gently, “your tests revealed a cardiac condition.”
Mira’s stomach dropped.
The doctor explained that severe stress and exhaustion had worsened the issue over time. While treatable, the condition could become dangerous if ignored. She would need medication, regular monitoring, and significant lifestyle changes.
Stress reduction.
Rest.
Avoid emotional strain.
Mira almost laughed at the impossibility of that.
“You’re saying my heart is weak,” she summarized quietly.
“It’s fragile right now,” the doctor corrected carefully.
Fragile.
She hated that word instantly.
After the doctor left, silence filled the hospital room.
Mira stared down at the blanket covering her legs, unable to process everything properly.
Across from her, Alexander remained unusually quiet.
“You can say it,” she muttered finally.
His brows furrowed slightly. “Say what?”
“That this complicates your perfect contract marriage.”
Something cold flashed across his expression.
“That’s not my concern.”
“Really?” Mira looked up at him tiredly. “Because healthy fake wives are probably more convenient.”
Alexander stepped closer immediately.
“Stop talking like you’re disposable.”
The sharpness in his voice surprised her.
Mira blinked slowly. “You sound angry.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
His jaw tightened.
Because unlike most people, Alexander Knight never showed emotion carelessly. Yet lately, every time something happened to her, cracks appeared in his control.
“I told you to be careful,” he said quietly.
Mira frowned slightly. “You didn’t know I had a heart condition.”
“No,” he admitted. “But I knew you were pushing yourself too hard.”
Something about the way he said it made her chest ache unexpectedly.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
And that was far more dangerous.
Later that evening, Alexander insisted on taking her home personally despite her arguing she was perfectly capable of surviving alone.
“You’re extremely controlling,” Mira complained weakly as he adjusted the blanket around her shoulders in the car.
“You’re difficult.”
“That’s becoming your favorite word.”
“It’s accurate.”
She rolled her eyes, but secretly… the attention comforted her more than it should have.
By the time they arrived at her apartment, exhaustion had settled deeply into her body.
Alexander walked her upstairs without argument.
At her door, Mira turned toward him quietly.
“You don’t have to keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Acting like you care.”
For a second, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then his phone buzzed sharply.
Alexander glanced at the screen.
And suddenly, his expression darkened.
Mira frowned immediately. “What happened?”
Instead of answering, Alexander handed her the phone silently.
Mira looked down at the screen.
Then froze.
A photo had gone viral online only minutes ago.
Alexander Knight and Victoria Hale.
Together.
Laughing intimately outside a restaurant just hours earlier.
And according to the headline beneath it—
Billionaire Alexander Knight Secretly Reunites With Ex-Girlfriend Despite Engagement Rumors.
- Writer
