Chapter 4 The stranger

Three days.

That's how long Ruby Elgrave lay unconscious, tangled in tubes and silence.

Three days since Drace Vellion hit her with his car.

Three days since his perfectly calculated life spun off-course.

Three days... and still no records, no ID, no past. Nothing.

Hospitals don't like mysteries.

Neither did Drace.

But somehow, he couldn't stop returning.

The Watcher

He came every day - never announced, never smiling.

The nurses started whispering about him: The man in the black coat. The one who never speaks but tips like royalty. The one with eyes like storms.

He didn't ask questions. He just... watched.

Her.

Ruby.

There was something about the stillness of her face, the way her fingers twitched in sleep, as if she were fighting battles in her dreams.

As if her soul wasn't resting - just hiding.

"She has no records," the nurse had told him again.

"It's like she doesn't exist."

The Decision

By the fifth day, the hospital threatened discharge.

No ID. No next of kin. No insurance. No memory.

She wasn't their problem anymore.

But she was Drace's.

He didn't know why he said it.

Didn't understand the strange possessiveness in his voice when he told the nurse:

"She's coming with me."

They called it guardianship.

He called it... unfinished business.

The Vellion Estate

Drace's estate sat at the edge of the cliffs, a black-glass fortress of luxury and silence. It wasn't a home - it was a war camp disguised in elegance.

And now, it had a guest.

She was quiet when she woke. Eyes wide, lost.

He stood at the doorway, suit pressed, face unreadable.

"You're safe," he said.

She flinched.

"You don't have to be afraid of me."

Her lips trembled.

And then softly, another voice came from her mouth:

"You're lying."

Not Ruby's voice.

Someone else.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Interesting."

"So the doctors weren't exaggerating."

Unspoken Attachment

He didn't touch her. Didn't ask about the voices.

He simply gave her the east wing, a private nurse, and a silent command to his staff: "Protect her. No questions."

She didn't eat much.

She didn't speak often.

But once, he caught her staring at him - and it wasn't Ruby.

It was someone darker. Someone amused.

"You have secrets," she whispered.

He didn't respond.

"So do we

Drace told himself this was temporary. That once he found her records, her family, her past - he'd walk away.

But deep down, something told him she wasn't going anywhere.

And if he wasn't careful...

neither was he.