His for a year. - Chapter 53: Chapter 53

I didn’t know what to say. My chest tightened from all I’d overheard. All that he had said in my defence.
And then… everything else.
“I… I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” I murmured, eyes lowering.
He shook his head. “You didn’t. You heard what you needed to.”
He held out his hand.
I looked at it for a second, then took it quietly.
He led me to the dining room, pulling out the seat across his and helping me settle into it like I was made of something delicate and priceless.
I tried not to stare at him. At the firmness in his jaw, the warmth he was hiding under all that quiet.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“A little,” I admitted, finally letting a small smile tug at my lips.
He signaled the staff gently, and a few quiet servants emerged with warm plates.
As we began eating in silence, my thoughts wandered again.
I wasn’t just surviving anymore, I was fighting to survive. But for the first time in a long time, someone wasn’t letting me fight it alone.
Zade had chosen me.
In front of his family.
Loudly. And maybe proudly.
The soft clinking of cutlery echoed gently through the dining room. I stole a glance at Zade as he poured me a glass of sparkling water before pouring his. He was quiet—but it wasn’t the distant, cold kind of silence. It was warm and curious.
“You’ve been attending your classes online, right?” he asked, his voice smooth as honey but edged with interest.
I nodded, swallowing a spoonful of mashed potatoes. “Yeah… they’re going fine.”
“You sure?” he leaned slightly closer. “Do you need any improvements? Tutors? Access to certain materials or subscriptions? Just say the word.”
I blinked, caught off guard. “Oh. Um, no. Not yet. I think I’m good, thank you.”
He nodded, satisfied. For a moment, he watched me in silence—then I tilted my head at him.
“What about you?” I asked. “You just stopped going to lectures after our… marriage. Why?”
At the word marriage, his brow lifted ever so slightly.
“You mean after our contract marriage?” he asked, voice slow, measured. “Is that how we’re still calling it?”
My eyes dropped to my plate. “Well… isn’t it?”
He leaned back slightly in his chair, his eyes narrowing just a bit in amusement. “Didn’t hear you.”
I poked at my food, mumbling, “Nothing.”
He watched me a moment longer before sighing, “The truth is, I went to school for one reason. It’s done. No reason to go back.”
My lips parted like I was going to question him further, but then he leaned forward again, his gaze locking on my face.
My heart skipped.
He didn’t say anything.
He just stared.
Then his eyes slowly dropped to my lips. And stayed there.
I could feel the tension spread between us like silk on fire. His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip.
I forgot how to breathe for a second.
Suddenly, his hand reached across the table. His thumb lifted—slow, deliberate—and brushed the side of my bottom lip.
The skin-to-skin contact sent a jolt straight through my spine. Her eyes fluttered.
“You had sauce,” he murmured.
His voice was low. Husky.
I blinked rapidly, unsure if I was still breathing.
Then he leaned back, clearing his throat, returning to his plate like nothing just happened.
But I couldn’t shake the sensation. The way his touch lingered even after it was gone. The way he looked at my lips and licked his.
This didn’t feel like a contract anymore.
It felt like something else entirely.
Something dangerous.
And magnetic.
And heart-stopping.
After dinner, the walk back upstairs was quiet, but not heavy. I felt the weight of his touch still lingering on my lip like a branded memory. I didn’t know what to call the feeling, but it was gentle… unsettling… dangerously warm.
We reached the top of the stairs, just as Zade’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, then answered. “Yeah… hello, Doctor.”
I paused mid-step and turned toward him.
Zade’s expression shifted as he listened. “Alright… tomorrow morning?”
He nodded once, running a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. “Okay. Thank you.”
He ended the call and looked at me with soft, steady eyes.
I already knew it was concerning mom. “Was that…?”
He nodded. “The doctor in charge of your mom.” He stepped closer, tone lowered. “They’re going ahead with the operation tomorrow morning. Olive, it’s… a fifty-fifty situation.”
I went still. Not shocked, exactly—but unsteady.
I drew in a long breath. “Fifty-fifty,” I repeated in a whisper. “That’s… not exactly reassuring.”
He reached for my hand. “I know it’s not. But she’s made it this far. And the doctors are ready.” He paused, his voice firm now. “I’m going to drive you and Aliyah to the hospital tomorrow. Stay the whole time.”
I shook my head softly. “You don’t have to. This is—”
“I want to,” he said, cutting in gently but firmly. “I have to.”
That made my breath stall in my throat.
No one had ever insisted on being there for me like that before. No conditions. No hesitation.
The next morning, we pulled up in front of Aliyah’s house. I sat in the front, hands resting tensely on my lap. My heart wasn’t pounding. It was just… quiet. Like it was saving its energy for whatever came next.
Aliyah rushed out, Jake behind her, holding her shoulders and whispering something comforting. She climbed into the backseat, her eyes already red and swollen. I didn’t know what to say when I wasn’t even sure what to feel.
When we arrived at the hospital, the hallway smelled like alcohol and unanswered prayers.
We saw our mother being wheeled toward the operating room. She looked frail—eyes half-shut, skin pale. The nurses barely gave us time to catch up before the doors closed behind her.
Aliyah broke immediately.
She dropped onto a bench and began sobbing into her palms, Jake pulling her close. Zade moved to stand next to me, his presence silent but firm.
But me?
I just stood still, my eyes trained on the closed door. My throat was dry. Her palms were cold.
No tears.
No overwhelming pain.
Only a strange knot of responsibility in my stomach. The need to keep Aliyah from crumbling. The need to make sure no one else was lost.
Because mom… she’d never loved me. Not really.
And I wasn’t going to pretend to mourn something I never had.
Just then, Aliyah sat up abruptly and pointed. “Olive… that person—look.”
But I had already noticed it.
A figure in black, half-hidden near the corridor corner. Lingering. Watching.
My first instinct was to step back—to shield Aliyah and Jake instinctively, even though they hadn’t noticed the tension in my spine.
Zade followed my line of sight. His entire demeanor changed, then he moved closer to me, whispering just enough for me to hear.
“Stay here. I’ll go check it out.”
But I couldn’t shake it. That figure. That presence.
Was it really her? Anna?
And if it was—what now?
I swallowed the dryness in my throat.
One thing was certain—something wasn’t right.
My stomach twisted as the figure darted off. Without a word, I turned to Jake.
“Stay with Aliyah,” I said quickly, already moving after Zade, my heels clicking against the tiled hospital floor.
“Olive—!” Jake called, but I didn’t look back.
Zade was fast, but so was I. We both ran through the corridor, past nurses and startled patients, weaving between carts and chairs until the figure crashed through the side exit toward the alley behind the hospital.
“Hey!” Zade yelled as the person stumbled into the morning light.
And sure enough—when they finally caught up, breathless and bracing, it was her.
Anna.
She was dressed in all black, her hair pulled tight into a ponytail that revealed every sharp angle of her face. But there was something different about her now. Her eyes had always been cold—but now, they were wild.
Feral.
Zade took a step forward, his jaw clenched. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Anna didn’t blink.
Instead, her stare cut from Zade… to me. Her pupils dilated. Her hands curled into fists.
“What?” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “Why her?”
Zade didn’t answer.
Her breathing became heavier. “You knew what you were doing. You chose to humiliate me. You drew the line, Zade. And now, I’m drawing mine.”
I froze beside him. My heart was racing, thumping violently against my ribs.
Zade's laugh was low, almost taunting. “You really think you scare me?”
Anna’s lips curled. “You will regret this. You’ll regret everything that you are now.”
Zade tilted his head, amused. “You won’t do a damn thing. You can’t. You’re nothing. You always have been.”
Before I could even process the words, Anna’s hand flew toward his face.
But Zade caught it midair.
His fingers wrapped tight around her wrist, and for a second, he smiled—cold and dangerous.
Then he stilled.
His eyes changed—turned hollow. Sharp and terrifying.
“You’d better listen carefully,” he said, voice like ice against a glass pane. “Leave. Disappear. Live whatever pathetic life you think you deserve.”
Anna trembled.
“Because if you come near her again—if you breathe in our direction—I will make sure you remember what fear really feels like.”
Then he let go of her hand—flung it aside with just enough force that she stumbled back, hit the wall with a painful thud, nearly collapsing.
I gasped, covering my mouth.
Anna regained balance slowly, chest heaving. She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. But something in her eyes broke.
Zade didn’t flinch. He was so unbothered.
He reached into his pocket, dialed. “Security. East wing alley. Now.”
Two guards arrived not long after. Big, built, and dressed in grey uniforms.
“Escort her out of the building,” he said without looking at them. “And make sure she doesn’t come near this hospital again.”
The guards grabbed Anna by both arms. She struggled at first but then snapped her arms free and hissed, “I can walk.”
They surrounded her anyway, keeping close.
As they began to walk out, Anna threw a sharp glance over her shoulder. Her eyes landed on mine.
“You’re just a pawn,” she sneered, spitting the words. “You’ll see.”
Zade instinctively placed his hand on my back and pulled me close. His grip was firm, protective. Safe.
She gave him one last long glare, the type that burned like poison, and turned with a bitter flick of her hair.
We watched her disappear out the hospital’s front door.
Zade didn’t speak for a moment.
I felt his fingers still on my shoulder.
“She’s not done,” I whispered, my voice trembling.
His gaze didn’t leave the empty corridor. “She is now.”
"And I'm always here to protect you and everything you love." He added.
He finally turned toward me, his face softer now, but his brows still pinched with tension.
“You okay?” he asked, voice low.
I nodded slowly.
But my heart said otherwise.
Because Anna might’ve left the building, but the war she started wasn’t over yet. Her face screamed determination.
She'd do whatever it is to continue to ruin me. And I wasn't sure I was ready.
He took my hand in his and began to lead me back to my mother.