4. PRETTY BOY AND REHABILITATION
1300 Words
Fanny Rose POV
Life in the hospital was meant to be traumatic; it had every reason and tendency to break me. Not until I met Steffan, my personal doctor and therapist. He was young, rich, ridiculously handsome, and completely unable to hide his interest in me. What more could a girl ask for?
“You should focus on recovery,” he told me while examining my injury.
“You should focus on acting less nervous around me,” I replied smoothly.
That caught him off guard. Over the next few days, he kept finding excuses to visit my room. Bria noticed immediately.
“That doctor wants you badly,” she whispered dramatically after he left.
“I know,” I replied, smiling devilishly.
“You’re too calm about it,” she replied, staring at me suspiciously.
“Because I know exactly what I’m doing,” I answered lazily. “Have you seen me? Who wouldn’t fall head over heels for such a goddess?”
Steffan fascinated me because he listened carefully whenever I spoke. Most people were only drawn to my confidence, but he had a strategy. One evening, he sat beside my bed as I angrily analyzed my team’s recent performance and how they had fallen flat in the semifinals because I was injured.
“You know,” he interrupted softly, “people stop talking when you speak.”
“That’s because I’m usually right,” I replied, pouting.
He laughed before shaking his head. “No. It’s deeper than that. You make people believe you.”
For the first time in days, I stayed quiet. Then he added, “You should try sports journalism during recovery.”
Bria nearly screamed when he later paid our apartment debt and offered to fund a better place for us.
“Fanny,” she whispered aggressively after he left, “this man is insane.”
“No, he’s invested,” I corrected, sipping the coffee she made for me.
Sports journalism came naturally after that. The first time I appeared during an interview session, players who normally acted arrogantly suddenly sat straighter while answering my questions. I controlled conversations effortlessly. I understood pressure, strategy, and people.
Coach Kyle eventually laughed during one broadcast. “Honestly, I might just retire and leave everything to Fanny.”
Recovery became faster afterward. Maybe because for the first time since arriving in the city, I no longer felt like I was surviving; I was ruling. And the funny thing was, everybody allowed it.
………….
One evening, my phone buzzed softly while Steffan adjusted the blankets over my legs carefully.
I glanced at the screen before freezing slightly. It’s Jane. I hadn’t seen that name in months. Steffan noticed immediately. “You, okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied calmly before answering the call. “Jane?”
“Fanny...” Her voice sounded strangely emotional. “Oh my God, you actually picked.”
I leaned back against the hospital bed slowly. “What happened?”
There was a brief silence before she sighed. “Your stepmother is sick. Very sick, actually. She’s been in and out of treatment for weeks now.”
My expression barely changed. “And?” I asked quietly.
“And your dad is stressed out,” Jane continued carefully. “Things are getting messy at home. Your stepbrother has already started siphoning money from some of your dad’s business accounts.”
That finally made me frown slightly. “He’s stealing already?”
“I think he’s planning to run away with part of the money if things get worse,” Jane admitted softly. “That’s why I’m calling.”
I stayed silent while staring at the ceiling. “Fanny...” Jane continued carefully, “You can come back now. Fred dropped the case months ago.”
My eyes narrowed slightly. “What?”
“Yeah, he survived completely,” she explained quickly. “He recovered fully and decided not to continue the case.”
A bitter smile touched my lips. Funny, I spent months surviving like a fugitive only to discover the nightmare had already ended quietly behind me.
“Please come home,” Jane begged softly. “Your dad needs you now. The reason you ran away in the first place doesn’t even exist anymore.”
I exhaled slowly before speaking carefully. “Jane, I don’t mean to sound rude... but I’m not returning.”
The line became quiet. “All through my stay here, nobody cared whether I was alive or dead,” I continued calmly. “When I disappeared from town, my father and his wife didn’t even notice until months later. Nobody called. Nobody searched.”
Jane sounded guilty afterward. “Fanny...”
“I care about my father,” I interrupted quietly. “But I care very little about his inheritance.”
“So you’re just going to let your stepbrother steal everything?”
“If my father allows it, then that’s his decision,” I answered smoothly. “The only reason I’ll ever return is if they try taking his property illegally or manipulate him out of what belongs to him.”
Jane stayed silent for a few seconds before laughing weakly. “You really changed.”
“No,” I corrected softly while staring out the hospital window. “I just stopped begging people to choose me.”
Another silence followed, then Jane sighed quietly. “Well... I genuinely hope life treats you better over there.”
“It already does.”
“I’m happy for you,” she murmured sincerely. “Have a good life, Fanny.”
“You too, Jane.” I sighed softly in relief as the call ended. For a few seconds, I simply stared at the blank screen in my hands.
Steffan finally walked closer before sitting carefully beside the bed. “Everything alright?”
I locked the phone before giving him a faint smile. “Don’t mind it. Just an old acquaintance from my hometown.”
He studied my expression quietly like he knew there was more behind the answer, but thankfully, he didn’t push further.
Instead, he gently took my hand and squeezed it once. And strangely enough, that felt far more comforting than going home ever could.
The following months became a blur of survival and hustle. How exactly was a small girl like me supposed to survive in such a city without funding from family? Thankfully, Bria managed my skincare business while the hockey girls remained extremely helpful.
I grabbed every business opportunity I could handle; baked snacks, sports accessories, online skincare products, and anything else that kept money flowing. Slowly, people around town began to know me. And Steffan threw in chunks of cash here and there, more than enough to keep Bria and me thriving.
Almost seventy percent of those who bought from me kept returning while bringing more customers with them. As the businesses expanded, everything became too much for me alone, but Bria used the ice hockey girls to manage the routine. She became my closest companion in this new town.
Steffan remained beside me throughout the healing process until I was fully back on my feet. I loved it here; my career found shape, my businesses thrived, and the ghosts of my old life slowly began to fade.
…………
Months later, after finishing another draining round of interviews with players and coaches, I returned to my apartment and pushed the door open.
“Bria, are you home? You should have heard the nonsense that the captain was saying after the match, and Coach…”
The rest of my sentence died instantly. My pulse jumped as a glass lay shattered across the floor. Someone had been inside. Before I could even spin around, something cold and metallic touched the back of my neck.
- Writer
