Chapter 2

MIRABELLA’S POV

Ana’s face tightened with panic as she turned to me. “We need to leave the city, Mira,” she said, her voice trembling. The unease in her eyes clawed its way into my chest, stirring my own panic.

I frowned, confusion knotting my brows. “What nonsense are you talking about? Why do we need to leave the city? And why are you panicking just because of that man on the television?”

Ana’s eyes widened as she leaned closer. “Did you just say that’s the man you drugged?” she asked, her voice sharp, needing confirmation.

I shifted uncomfortably, my words tumbling out. “Well, he’s the one I drugged, but it wasn’t supposed to be him. I don’t know how this happened.”

Ana froze for a moment before pacing the room, her steps quick and frantic. “Oh no, Mira. That man is Aiden Hayes—the richest man in the city.”

Ana stopped pacing, her voice urgent. “The Hayes family owns businesses everywhere in the city, and Aiden Hayes is the one running it all,” she said, her words hitting me like a weight. My chest tightened as the gravity of my mistake sank in.

She turned to me, fear flashing in her eyes. “How could you drug him, Mira? Do you have a death wish?”

My voice trembled as I looked at Ana, desperation creeping in. “Oh my God! What are we going to do now?” I asked, clinging to the hope that she had an answer.

Ana threw up her hands, her voice cracking. “I already told you, Mira. We have to leave the city! If that man tracks you to this apartment, we’ll either end up in jail or worse—dead.”

My chest tightened, and I shook my head. “But I can’t leave the city. I can’t leave my mother all alone. She needs me to take care of her.”

“We’ll take her with us. Once we reach another city, we’ll admit her to a different hospital,” Ana said, her voice unwavering.

“Alright, I think that’s a good idea. I should—” I stopped mid-sentence as my phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen, I saw a message from Adam. It was about my performance at the bar, but one part of the text pulled me in.

“The pay’s big tonight, Mira. Enough for a down payment on your mother’s surgery.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, my voice steady. Ana stared at me, stunned.

“This isn’t the time to argue, Mira. We need to leave if we want to stay alive,” she pressed.

“My mother needs surgery,” I replied, unyielding. “Moving her now is too dangerous, and I won’t risk it.”

“What happened to Mr. Hayes was my mistake, and I’m willing to apologize,” I said, anger tightening my voice. “But he wasn’t innocent either—he took advantage of me. That makes us even.”

“But Mira, staying here might not be the best idea,” Ana said cautiously.

“I don’t care, Ana,” I shot back, my resolve firm. “I don’t run from problems, and I’m not running from this. My mother’s life is what matters most.”

“Whatever Aiden Hayes has in store for me, I’ll be ready,” I said, my voice steady with resolve.

AIDEN’S POV

“What happened to you, Aiden? How did your head get this bad?” Brian, my personal doctor, asked, his hands steady as he wrapped the bandage, but his face was filled with confusion.

“I don’t know,” I winced, biting back the pain. “All I remember is some crazy woman hitting me with a vase.”

“A woman?” Brian blinked, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. “You… came in contact with a woman?”

That’s when it hit me—something wasn’t right.

Slowly, the scattered memories started to piece themselves together, and before I knew it, the words “I slept with her” slipped out of my mouth.

“You slept with her?” Brian’s voice rose in shock. I shot him a cold, silent stare, letting him know I didn’t appreciate his outburst.

“I’m sorry, Aiden, but it’s hard to believe you were intimate with a woman. And looking at you now, aside from the obvious bruise on your head, you’re not reacting like you usually do,” Brian said, his tone skeptical. It was then I realized—no irritation, no rash, nothing. I wasn’t feeling my usual reaction to even the smallest touch from a woman.

“What does this mean? Am I cured?” I asked, my voice tinged with urgency.

“I can’t say for sure yet,” Brian replied. “I’ll need to run a test, or better yet, an experiment.”

“I came with a nurse. She’s waiting outside,” Brian continued, his explanation clear. “I’ll have her come in so we can be sure if you’re cured.”

I nodded, understanding the situation. A few moments later, the nurse entered the room.

Brian signaled the nurse to come closer. For a moment, I thought the healing had worked. But when she placed her hand on my shoulder, everything shifted. A lump rose in my throat, followed by a sharp pain in my chest. My skin began to pale, then red rashes spread across my arms.

“Get out!” I screamed, shoving the nurse away. She stumbled backward, crashing to the floor, shrieking in pain, before scrambling to her feet and fleeing the room.

“Please, calm down, Aiden,” Brian said, injecting me with something. Slowly, the pain faded, and after a few minutes, I felt normal again.

“Your symptoms are getting worse,” Brian said, his brow furrowed with worry.

“So how is it that I didn’t react like this with that woman?” I asked, confused.

“Right now, I have no explanation,” Brian admitted. “But I’ll need to run some tests.” His answer left me frustrated.

“I’m not paying you this much to have no answers,” I snapped, my face tightening with anger. “I need answers, Brian.”

“The only solution I can offer right now is to bring the woman in for tests,” Brian said, his face tight with worry.

“Impossible!” I snapped. “That crazy woman nearly killed me, and you want me to track her down?”

“Maybe I should find her and have her arrested for drugging me and attempted murder,” I said, my voice firm.

“Please, Aiden, you shouldn’t do anything like that. She might be the solution to your problem,” Brian said. His words struck a nerve, and I felt my frustration building. I was about to cut him off when the door suddenly creaked open.

“Sir, I found this outside the room,” Richard, my assistant, said, handing me a card. I’d sent him out earlier to look into the events of the previous night.

I studied the card in my hand. It was an ID card, the same woman’s. She must have dropped it while running away after whatever she had done.

“Her name is Mirabella Jones. She’s twenty-three, a low-grade actress,” Richard said, his tone steady.

“She also performs every night as a singer at a popular bar in the city,” he added.

“She’s just a cheap actress, and she dares to do this to me?” I spat, my face twisting in anger. At first, I thought she might be a spy sent by one of my enemies, but discovering she was just a nobody in the entertainment industry only made my frustration worse.

“Aiden, I know you’re upset, but you need to calm down and think this through before making any decisions,” Brian said, his voice steady and his expression calm.

“You’ve been my doctor for so many years, Brian, but I don’t recall giving you the right to tell me what to do,” I said, my voice tight. “But I’ll make today an exception because one thing you said was right.”

“I need to find that woman,” I continued, my jaw clenched. “I’ll make her pay for daring to mess with me. She’ll regret the day she crossed me.”

“There’s never been a record of someone wronging me and getting away with it,” I said firmly, my eyes hardening. “She’ll bear the consequences of crossing me.”