Chapter 2

I walked out of the hotel, the night air cold against my skin.

My wrist was still bleeding. I grabbed a tissue from my bag and pressed it to the wound, not bothering with neatness. The blood soaked through the tissue almost instantly.

It felt like something inside me had been drained away. I felt lightheaded but hollow.

I leaned against a pillar on the sidewalk, feeling dizzy.

My phone rang. It was my assistant, Allison.

"Lila, something's wrong. You need to check the news," Allison shouted, her voice full of panic.

I unlocked my phone and opened the news app. A local headline flashed across the screen. [Breaking: Fire Erupts at Grant Holdings Headquarters Downtown. Extent of Blaze and Casualties Unknown.]

The article was accompanied by a photo from the scene. Thick smoke billowed from the middle and upper floors of the building.

Below that was another financial update from ten minutes ago. [Grant Holdings got hammered by aggressive short selling right before the closing bell, and the stock crashed.]

That was exactly when I walked out of the hall.

My phone rang again. It was an unknown number. I picked up.

It was Lucas's father, Richard Grant. He was practically screaming, desperate and furious. "Lila, you curse! What did you do to the Grant family?"

I held the phone away from my ear and replied, unfazed, "What did I do?"

"You dare ask? The building's on fire. The stock's crashed. Was this your doing? Get your ass back here right now," Richard roared.

"Mr. Grant, your son made it clear in front of everyone that I'm not worthy of the Grant family," I replied, my voice steady. "And now he's got his arm around another woman.

"So you want me to come back? So I can keep playing mascot for your family?"

"Y-You..." Richard was so furious that he could barely speak.

I hung up and blocked him. Peace at last.

The dizziness was getting worse. Everything went black, and my body went limp.

As I was about to hit the ground, someone caught me. He spoke softly beside me, his voice gentle and soothing, "Hey, are you okay?"

I barely managed to open my eyes. All I could see was a gentle, clear-cut face. He wore a crisp white shirt, and his eyes were full of worry.

"You're bleeding," he said gently.

I looked down. My sleeve was stained red with blood.

"Should I take you to the hospital?" he asked, sounding genuinely worried.

I nodded. I was barely hanging on.

He helped me over to a car parked by the curb, opened the door, and carefully helped me inside.

There was a hint of disinfectant in the car.

He handed me a first aid kit. "Patch yourself up for now, we're almost at the hospital," he said gently.

I looked at him and said softly, "Thank you."

He flashed a bright, friendly smile. "You're welcome."

He started the car.

I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes.

*****

When we got to the hospital, he took me straight to the ER. He stayed with me the whole time while I checked in, got my wound cleaned, and had it bandaged up.

Turned out, he was a doctor at this hospital. His name was Sean Miller.

"It's a minor wound, nothing deep. No damage to the muscle or bone. Make sure you keep it dry for the next few days. Don't let it get wet," Sean spoke and handed me the payment slip.

"Thank you, Dr. Miller," I said, taking the slip. "How much was the bill? Let me pay you back."

Sean waved it off. "Don't worry about it, really. Just doing my job."

He glanced at the bandage on my wrist, and then at my face. "You look pretty out of it. It's not just the blood loss, is it?"

I didn't say anything. Having my luck ripped away like that left me feeling hollow. For three years, my luck was tied to the Grant family. Now that it was gone, it was like a part of me was missing.

"Let me prescribe something to help you recover," Sean said.

"Nah, I only need some rest," I told him.

Regular medicine wouldn't do a thing for me. I needed some time to recover.

"Alright, do you need me to take you home?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I don't have a home anymore."

I couldn't bring myself to return to the place that was supposed to be my home with Lucas.

Lucas had already forced me to move out of my own apartment. He said Mrs. Grant didn't need a place of her own.

Sean paused, a little taken aback. He could see I was embarrassed.

"If you don't mind, my place is just around the corner. I've got a spare room," he said, scratching his head a little sheepishly. "I don't mean any harm. You know, it's not safe for a girl to be out alone at night."

"Okay," I said. Truth was, I really had nowhere else to go.