Page 81 of Beautiful Trauma

“Are you deaf? Get the fuck out of here!” he snarled.

“Dima, please,” I murmured.

“GET OUT!”

As his machines began beeping erratically, nurses began rushing into the room.

Maksim nodded with regret. “C-Come on, g-guys.” He then began to corral us from the room as the nurses began lifting Dima back into the bed.

With defeat, we obeyed Dima’s request. In the hallway, we stood shaken. “He just needs time,” Aleks reasoned.

“And some good fucking drugs,” Lev replied.

At the thought of Dima needing drugs to endure his new reality, tears pricked my eyes. “I have to get out of here.”

“W-Where are you g-going?”

“The gallery,” I replied as I headed to the elevator.

“We’ll call you if anything changes,” Aleks said.

I froze as I reached for the elevator button. Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I said, “You mean if he’s suddenly able to walk and doesn’t hate the world?”

When Aleks winced, I sighed. “I’m sorry. Please call me if anything changes.”

At his nod, I got on the elevator. I held myself together until the doors closed, and then I began to sob openly.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: MILA

When I got to the gallery, I found my assistant, Zara, had things running smoothly. Since she was a civilian, I’d only told her my brother had been in a car accident. Of course, when she inquired about sending flowers or bringing me food, my phone had dropped the call. I couldn’t possibly explain to her that my brother was in a trauma-level hospital, but it was in our basement.

“I know I’ve been out of pocket, so thank you for keeping things going,” I said.

“Of course.” Tilting her head at me, she asked, “Are you sure you’re up to being here today?”

Since I’d stopped at the house to shower and change, I knew her concern was about the dark circles under my eyes and thestrain in my expression and not because I looked like I’d been sleeping in a chair beside my brother’s bed.

Nodding, I replied, “I needed an escape.”

“That’s understandable.”

The last thing I wanted was someone hovering, so I said, “I know it’s been a lot, so why don’t you take off the rest of the afternoon?”

Her brows furrowed. “Are you sure? Don’t you have that new collection to deal with?”

At her reference to Brian’s fake collection, a shudder went through me. I swallowed hard as I tried finding my voice. “Unfortunately, the Dublin collection didn’t pan out as I’d hoped.”

“Oh no,” Zara lamented.

With a shrug, I replied, “I should’ve known it was too good to be true.”

She shook her head. “They owe you for dragging you so far to waste your time.”

At the thought of Brian and Cian’s hands tearing the clothes from my body, I whispered, “Yes, they do.”

My pain must’ve been visible because Zara frowned as she nibbled on her lip. “You know, I really don’t mind staying with you.”

“No. I’ll be fine.”