The doctor looked worn out. After putting away the equipment, he slipped out of the room without another word.


    ra sat by the bed, her eyes lingering on the man lying there. Something in her chest twisted painfully.


    She reached out, took his hand, and was about to say something when his eyes snapped open.


    His gaze was distant and empty, like something inside him had just copsed, leaving nothing but silence behind.


    ra''s heart clenched. She squeezed his hand harder. "Dn?”


    He didn''t seem to hear her. Instead, he tried to sit up.


    ra pressed him back down. "You''re hurt. You need to rest, okay?"


    He ignored her, brushing her hand away like she wasn''t even there.


    Frustration surged through her. Without thinking, she gave him a quick, sharp chop to the side of his neck.


    His eyes fluttered, then rolled back. He passed out cold.


    ra sank back into the chair beside him. She wasn''t sure how long she sat there, lost in a fog of exhaustion, before her phone finally rang.


    It was Richard, calling for Dn.


    "How''s it going? Are you inside?" he asked.


    "I am," ra replied quietly. "But he''s really hurt. Do you know who did this?"


    Richard didn''t answer that. He just said, "He''s supposed to head to North America in two weeks, just like we nned. It''s risky over there. With these injuries, he should really take some time to recover."


    ra didn''t respond. She nced at the thick bandages around Dn''s waist and legs, imagining what kind of wounds they were hiding.


    "Got it," she said after a moment.


    After hanging up, she was left with this restless, empty feeling-like she was reaching out for something she just couldn''t grasp.


    "ra."


    The voice startled her. It was Dn, still sprawled on the bed, his eyes closed but his lips moving.<fn8227> Th?s chapter is updated by find(?)ovel</fn8227>


    She leaned in, bending over him. "I''m here. What is it?"


    He mumbled again, lost in a dream.


    She wanted to say something else, but then he whispered, "I''m sorry."


    Her heart twisted sharply. She had no idea what he was apologizing for, but it hurt all the same.


    Dn slipped into aa and didn''t wake up for three days.


    While he was out, someone from the house took ra upstairs and found her a room to stay in.


    But she couldn''t sleep. She just kept wandering around the castle, drifting through hallway after hallway. When she stopped outside the biggest bedroom, she hesitated,


    half-expecting someone to stop her.  s


    No one did. She pushed the door open. The room was emptypletely stripped down.


    If there''d ever been a kid here, there should''ve been toys, something left behind. But there was nothing.


    For a second, she even wondered if she''d been wrong about everything.


    Every room in the castle was beautiful, decorated to perfection, but there was no life to it. Just cold, echoing silence.


    She barely saw any staff, either-after all that wandering, she''d only bumped into two or three people.


    Kids were supposed to be noisy, full of energy. How could one live in a ce so empty, so dead?


    ra went back to her own room, the unease clinging to her like a shadow.


    She didn''t shake it until the morning she woke up and sensed someone else was there. She opened her eyes and saw Dn standing by the window.


    For a second, she thought she was hallucinating. She shot up. "Dn?"


    He stood in the sunlight, the ss glowing gold behind him. He didn''t look at her.


    Without asking why she was here, he just said, "Let''s go. We''re heading back to Palm Bay."


    He looked even paler than before sickly white.


    ra could tell he was barely holding it together.


    She took a slow breath. "What about


    the person you''re hiding here? I came all this way can''t fat least meet them? Dn, why do you have to keep so many secrets from me?"  s


    He lowered his eyes, silent for a long, heavy moment. When he finally spoke, his


    voice was t. "Who? There''s no one I''m hiding."


    ra almostughed out loud. Instead, she just let out a bitter little chuckle.


    All her anger drained away, leaving her feeling empty and foolish. Coming here


    had felt so important, but now it just seemed pointless.


    She''d wanted to be honest with him, but what was the point if he just shut her out?


    Didn''t he care about her at all?


    She got out of bed, threw on her jacket, and headed for the door.


    Dn didn''t say anything to anyone. He just followed her out.


    They left the castle, passed through another set of gates, and finally walked out of the West Hill Cemetery.


    Someone was already waiting for them by the car-but it wasn''t Aiden. He was still in the hospital, recovering.


    ra slid into the car, leaning her head against the window, silent. For a moment, she thought maybe it wouldn''t be so bad if she and Dn split up. At least she wouldn''t have to spend every day trying to figure out what he was thinking. It was just so exhausting.  s


    But even as that thought crossed her mind, she pushed it away.