Christina’s POV
"Book the earliest flight back to Highrise City," I told Ysolde.
She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Finally ready to fight for your man?"
"No," I huffed. "I just can’t let Hudson marry soone this manipulative and cruel because of my mistakes."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Ysolde teased, but she was already tapping away on her phone. "There’s a flight leaving in three hours. Think you can convince that doctor to discharge you?"
"Watch ."
The doctor, predictably, wasn’t thrilled about my decision to leave.
After a long lecture about rest, dication schedules, and the importance of hydration, he reluctantly signed my discharge papers.
"Your fever could return," he warned. "Your body needs ti to recover."
"I’ll rest on the plane," I promised, already stuffing my ager belongings into a bag Ysolde had brought.
The flight seed endless despite the captain’s cheerful announcent that we were making "excellent ti."
My mind raced faster than the plane, replaying everything Ysolde had told about Lea’s sches.
"She really thought she could just step into your shoes?" Akira snarled in my mind. "As if our bond with Hudson and Lycaon could be erased so easily."
The businessman beside cleared his throat, interrupting my internal conversation. Middle-aged with a navy suit and an friendly smile, he leaned toward with the determined air of soone who viewed a seven-hour flight as a networking opportunity.
"First ti in Highrise City?" he asked.
"No," I answered.
Undeterred, he pressed on. "Business or pleasure? I’m in tech investnts myself. Always good to make connections."
"Jewelry design," I said, reaching for my headphones.
His eyes lit up. "Perfect timing! The luxury market is booming. My firm specializes in capital expansion for creative startups. What’s your company called?"
I slipped my headphones on. "I don’t discuss business on planes."
He laughed like I’d made a joke. "Just a quick chat. Perhaps I could help with growth strategies—"
I turned to the window and cranked up the volu on my music. Eventually, he got the hint and buried himself in his laptop.
All I could see were storm clouds below us, their shadows swallowing the ocean.
My thoughts dragged back to the island—Hudson’s burning skin, his strong grip on my wrist, the way he’d protected despite his own injuries.
By the ti we landed in Highrise City, my chest felt tight enough to crack.
***
The taxi dropped at Christina Joie first. Though exhausted, I needed to check in. Through the windows, I spotted Priya hunched over her desk, pencils stuck haphazardly in her bun as she worked under the desk lamp.
When I pushed open the door, the bell jingled softly.
Priya looked up and froze mid-sketch.
"Christina!" She squealed, sending pencils clattering to the floor as she rushed to hug . "Do you know how close I ca to scratching your na on the wall like a prisoner counting days?"
"You vanish for weeks, and I am drowning here."
"I’m sorry," I said, guilt tightening my chest as I surveyed her workspace—coffee cups, scattered sketches, gem samples, and towering stacks of order forms.
"Sorry is not going to stop turning into a corpse buried under unfinished commissions," she said, half laughing, half on the verge of tears. "Look at this. Three custom orders overdue, one supplier demanding blood, and I had to beg soone to help with deliveries. I almost sold my soul to keep this place alive."
I squeezed her shoulders. "I’ll fix everything. I promise I’ll be around more."
She narrowed her eyes. "Really? Do you an that, or is this just a brief visit before you fly back to Paris, to your new job?"
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. She had there.
"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "I didn’t an to sound so pushy. Just... don’t disappear on again, please. This is your studio, you know."
"I won’t," I promised, even as my mind was already racing toward my next destination.
***
The cab pulled up outside Hudson’s mansion. My stomach flipped like I’d swallowed a live fish.
Warm lights glowed from within.
The place looked exactly as I rembered—imposing, elegant, and now completely intimidating. I’d lived here, laughed here, loved here. Now I felt like an intruder.
I stood frozen at the gate, my hand rising and falling. What would I even say? That I’d rushed back hoping he’d forgive imdiately? That I wanted to step back into a life I’d thrown away?
While I debated whether to run, the front door swung open.
"Luna Christina?"
Geoffrey stood there, his usually stoic face lting into surprise.
"Geoffrey," I breathed, relief washing through at the familiar face.
He hurried down the steps. "You’ve returned! Thank the Moon Goddess."
Sothing cracked in my chest at his genuine welco.
"Co inside quickly," he urged, guiding through the gate. "It’s much too cold out here."
I stepped into the grand foyer, inhaling the familiar scent of polished wood and Hudson’s lingering presence. Akira whined softly, recognizing our ho.
Geoffrey closed the door and studied with concerned eyes. "You look thinner. Have you been eating properly?"
"I’m fine," I said, but my voice betrayed .
"You never are when you say that," he chided gently. "Co sit. I’ll make tea."
He led to the sitting room. Nothing had changed—the sa furniture, the sa photographs. My chest ached with longing.
"Alpha Hudson isn’t ho at the mont," Geoffrey said, answering my unspoken question as he set down a tea tray. "I heard what happened, but I refuse to believe it. You and Alpha Hudson, you two are ant to be together."
I smiled sadly. "I wish I had your confidence."
"I kept your things exactly as you left them," he continued. "Alpha Hudson forbade anyone from moving anything in your spaces. "
My throat tightened painfully. "Geoffrey..."
"He still cares deeply," he insisted. "But he’s an Alpha—he’ll never admit how much your absence hurt him."
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed. I pulled it from my bag and felt the blood drain from my face.
Breaking News: [Hudson Laurent Lea Lopez. Rumors of Engagent.]
A photograph filled the screen: Hudson in a dark suit, his expression grim but determined, with Lea at his side, her hand possessively gripping his arm.
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