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It’s three in the afternoon, and Zoe’s parents have already been transferred to the clinic that was set up exclusively for them. I also asked Yuri to arrange a property to install them in if they wish to return to a home , and to help them get new documentation.

I transferred a large sum of money to Scott’s account. They lost everything in the fire, including bank details and credit cards.

I have consulted with the medical team, and there is no change in Bia Ramos’ clinical condition. Also, as I suspected, moving her to a private clinic is out of the question.

Now, I’m heading to Zoe’s room. I’m finally allowed to see her, even though she’s still sedated.

After the revealing conversation with Macy, my head is boiling with information, and I can’t come to any conclusions.

Yes, she was . . . she is very young, but it couldn’t have been just the mix-up over money that made her run away from me.

What, then?

The truth is it doesn’t matter anymore. Everything is minor in the face of what has happened, the possibility that, at this moment, she could be dead.

I know that when I cross the threshold, there will be no more masks .

I reach for the bedroom doorknob, but before I can go inside, the doctor responsible for the team that takes care of Zoe and Bia approaches.

“Mr. Lykaios, we need to speak urgently.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Three patients who passed away yesterday tested positive for the new virus. If you have the means, I advise you to get Miss Turner away from here as soon as possible.”

“But she hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Yes, I know. But just as you arranged a private clinic for her parents, I think you can do that for Miss Turner as well. The burns she suffered aren’t life-threatening—although, perhaps in the near future, she will need corrective surgery on her hand—but none of that is as important as getting her out of here. She can recover at home. I’m sure you can set up home care in record time.”

“Will she remain sedated?”

“Only for another day or two, but you should take her out of here today.”

I watch him walk away, thinking that, once again, all my plans with Zoe have gone awry. What matters now, however, is making sure she stays safe.

I leave to arrange her transfer to a house Yuri has rented.

There is a team in place now, and the doctor advised me to leave as soon as possible.

Again, I’m standing in front of Zoe’s room. At any moment, the personnel who will assist with her transport will arrive, so I take advantage of a few minutes to check her without witnesses.

I open the door and watch her from afar before getting close. Knowing that she survived the fire and seeing her with my own eyes are two completely different things .

The burning in my chest becomes unbearable, making me feel like I’m suffocating.

Fear. I was afraid of losing her.

Some might question that feeling because up until a few days ago, Zoe was still married to someone else. But what the fuck is a piece of paper next to the certainty inside of me that she always belonged to me? Will she always belong to me?

She could have died —the voice repeats in my head— and then all that would be left are the memories of that night.

She’s still asleep, so I have time to examine her at my leisure.

The bed is elevated at a thirty-degree angle, as the doctors informed me is standard procedure in case of smoke inhalation, even though they have already cleared her nasal passages. Her face doesn’t even have a scratch on it; her right hand, resting on the linen sheet, is bandaged, as are her legs, but nothing can destroy her perfection in my eyes.

When I first met her, I thought it was her beauty that attracted me. Now, I realize that there is no way to define what she awakens in me. The feeling of being pulled by a magnet, the sense of souls connecting—things she herself pointed out the night we slept together. It’s as if everything between us should be . No explanations, no rules. We simply must be.

The bed seems too big for her delicate body. Zoe shouldn’t be in a hospital bed, injured, helpless.

A mad desire to wake her up, to prove to myself she’s okay, takes hold of me.

Once again, I swear to myself that I will get revenge on Howard. There will be no mercy.

Beau is running an investigation parallel to the police. I’m sure it is much deeper and more efficient, and I’m sure we’ll eventually catch him.

With the number of deaths around the world increasing, as well as the number of cases in our country, the new disease is already being treated as a pandemic, and newspapers and sites don’t talk about anything else. This pushes what happened at Zoe’s parents’ house into the background.

Of course, I used my influence to hush up the incident as much as possible, but if the fire had happened at any other time, it would have been talked about in the newspapers for months. Even if they don’t know Zoe’s ex-husband’s whereabouts, the police already suspect his involvement.

They interrogated her parents, and both reported that their daughter was in the process of getting a divorce. Along with that is the fact that the police were unable to locate Howard anywhere, which solidified their suspicions.

What the investigators don’t know yet is that they’ll never get their hands on the bastard. There is no way to judge and condemn a dead person. Because that’s what Mike Howard already is.

Zoe coughs, her face turning a bright, reddish color, but then she’s breathing normally again.

Even after she left, when I refused to admit my desire for her anymore, there wasn’t a day when, not even for a brief moment, the blonde goddess didn’t occupy my mind.

I caress her face with the back of my hand, and it feels like I’m getting fresh oxygen in my lungs. For the past two years, I have been in denial about how much I want her. I prefer to view that feeling as a grudge. I’m not used to losing anything, and Zoe’s abrupt departure from Barcelona took me by surprise.

All the theories I’d created about her before were shattered when we met in my New York office. She wasn’t frivolous, nor did she simply leave because she’d changed her mind.

What happened between us was neither a figment of my imagination nor a one-sided attraction. Every kiss and moan we shared that night was real and filled with desire.

And now, after almost losing her, I’ve decided that I’m no longer willing to deny myself anything regarding her.

I want everything, and it will be with her.

As if my wishes are heard, her eyes open and she stares at me. “, what happened?”

Then realization dawns on her face, and she screams in pure terror.