Serena returned to find three people in the waiting room, instead of the two that she had left. Hesitantly, she went to sit with Aiden when the doctor approached her stopping her midstep "Ma’am. We need to check you for symptoms of shock and this is the ointnt for your hands."
The doctor handed Serena a small tube of ointnt and instructed her to sit still for a mont while he checked her vitals. She nodded absently, her thoughts scattered as he gently dabbed her bruised hands with a sterile wipe. Her eyes flickered over to the people waiting for her, lingering on Sidney. He was watching her too closely, his concern tinged with sothing that made her stomach knot.
"Everything looks fine," the doctor finally said, standing up straight. "But I’d recomnd so rest. Keep an eye out for any signs of shock, alright?"
Serena nodded again, her eyes already drifting back to Sidney. As the doctor moved away, she stood, and walked towards him.
"How did you know I was here?" she asked, her voice low, though her question carried the weight of suspicion.
Sidney’s expression faltered for a mont. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing ca out. The brief hesitation was all Serena needed to confirm her growing suspicion.
"You had people following ," she stated, her voice sharpening as her eyes hardened.
"Serena—" Sidney started, but she cut him off with a glare.
"Call them off," she ordered, her voice firm. "I don’t care who they are or how well-aning you think this is. I don’t need people watching my every move and reporting them to you.."
"They are for your protection. Tonight, they scared away..." Sidney tried to explain but was simply cut off.
"I don’t care. What is the point of scaring the attacker away if they could not stop the attack from happening. Call them off Sidney, or I will file a complaint against you for stalking . And I really don’t want you here. So,feel free to leave."
Sidney’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t back down. "Fine. I’ll call them off. But, I’m not leaving. Jane is a close ally, and I have no intention of going anywhere until I know she’s okay."
Serena snorted, a bitter smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "Of course," she muttered, turning on her heel without another glance at him. She crossed the room to sit beside Aiden, resolutely ignoring Sidney’s presence. He was about to oretend that he cared ofr her? He could go ahead and do that.
Once seated, she leaned closer to Aiden, her voice dropping to a whisper. "How did you know I was in the hospital?"
Aiden shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting away from her. "I, uh... I don’t really want to say."
Serena gave him a look—a mixture of disbelief and insistence—and Aiden sighed, resigned.
"I found you the sa way I found you at the hotel last ti," he admitted. "You used your credit card, and since it’s on the account... the spouse account, I get notifications when it’s used."
Serena’s mouth parted in shock. "I—I’ve been using the wrong card?" she whispered, her mind reeling. She hadn’t even realized she had still been using Aiden’s card... Admittedly, it had been three days but... she really needed to get things sorted at the soonest.
While she was lost in thought, Aiden touched his shoulder to hers," See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. Now, you will not be using the card and then, if you need , I won’t know. Also, before you say anything, I get it. You don’t want to rely on anyone, especially . But until things settle down, it’s not the worst thing in the world to keep it, is it? Just for ergencies. Its not like I’ve gifted you my entire empire or sothing. You can consider it a loa..."
As Aiden was thinking of other reasons to so how convince her, the doctor appeared. Both Serena and Aiden turned their attention to him, montarily forgetting their conversation, while Sidney stood and ca near too.
"The bullet," the doctor began, his voice steady and professional, "hit a major artery. She lost a significant amount of blood before arriving here, but we were able to stabilize her." He glanced down at his clipboard before continuing, "Luckily, no vital organs were damaged, and we managed to repair the artery in surgery. She’s out of danger now. It’s going to be a long recovery, but she’ll pull through. She will be moved to the private ICU soon, where you should be able to see her. But you have to be careful."
Serena felt a wave of relief wash over her, almost dizzying in its intensity. She nodded absently at the doctor’s words, barely hearing him as he excused himself and walked away. All she could focus on was the fact that Jane was safe—alive.
Without thinking, she instinctively leaned into Aiden, clutching his arm and putting her head on his shoulder as she inhaled deeply, her eyes closed.
Surprised by the gesture but also thankful for it, Aiden quietly patted her head," Now you can relax. At least your friened is safe."
Serena didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, she let herself relax against him, the tension finally seeping out of her body. After a long mont, she whispered, "I was so scared."
Aiden shifted slightly, adjusting his arm around her. "You did everything you could," he murmured.
"I want to know who did this, Aiden. I want to find out!"
"Hmm. I am already on it. My people are already looking for clues and I have a proposition for you to consider."
Serena did not look up at him but smiled softly," Aiden Hawk, you always have propositions."
Aiden smiled and kissed the top of her head, "Of course I do. I am Aiden Hawk, after all."
anwhile, the two of them, lost in each other seed to have forgotten the existence of soone else in the room. Soone who was not just unhappy just now but simring in rage.
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