His clenched fists rested on the hospital bed, his efforts clearly aid at avoiding any movents that might aggravate his wound.
Alice lowered her head, her bandaged fingers fidgeting with an almost childlike unease as she pouted.
But Rafael’s patience was clearly wearing thin, his irritation palpable as his temper threatened to erupt.
Hera watched the scene, her emotions a tangled ss.
She couldn’t quite place what she was feeling.
Was it the fear that Rafael might soften toward Alice, treating her with kindness that could eventually lead to feelings—just like in the novel?
Or was it jealousy, a sense of possessiveness, seeing Alice alone with him?
Or perhaps it was a deeper unease, a worry about what the original female lead—soone who held so much influence—might do in this situation?
Hera didn’t know. All she could do was stand there, torn, unsure of what to feel, watching the scene unfold.
"Hera?"
Hera was caught off guard.
The voice wasn’t loud, nor was it too soft, but it still cut through the tense atmosphere, drawing both Rafael and Alice’s attention.
As Hera turned toward the source of the voice, she saw Minerva, being gently pushed in by a nurse.
"How are you feeling?" Hera’s expression shifted instantly, settling into a calm and composed deanor.
Minerva smiled at her warmly, her gaze drifting to the large thermal bags Hera was carrying.
’Those must be heavy,’ she thought to herself. Hera noticed her eyes but didn’t make any effort to conceal the bags.
"Are you here to visit my brother?" Minerva asked, her tone light but filled with curiosity.
Hera nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"I brought you food, just like I promised." At her words, Minerva’s eyes briefly sparkled with excitent, though she quickly masked it with a calm expression.
Hera couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the sight.
"Please, co in," Minerva said, motioning toward the door as the nurse gently pushed her wheelchair inside.
Both Rafael and Alice were now watching intently, waiting for the two to enter.
Rafael’s eyes were filled with anticipation and excitent upon hearing that Hera had arrived, while Alice’s face twisted with displeasure—almost anger—as she realized Hera was intruding on her ti with Rafael.
She hated the thought of anyone else stealing his attention.
Just as Hera and Minerva stepped into the room, Zhane arrived, looking slightly disheveled with his hair out of place and a hint of breathlessness in his voice.
Without hesitation, he reached out to help Hera carry the bags she was holding.
Hera didn’t pull away, allowing him to take so of the load.
Though Hera had worked as a delivery person before and carrying such a load was no trouble for her, seeing her small figure with the heavy bags made both Zhane and Rafael’s hearts ache.
Fortunately, Hera had ssaged Zhane the mont she arrived at the hospital, inviting him to join her for dinner.
As soon as he received the ssage, he had raced from his office straight to Rafael’s room.
After Zhane took the bags from Hera, he effortlessly carried them with one arm while gently holding her other hand, leading her inside and purposefully ignoring Alice, who was seated near the patient’s bed.
Once they reached the small dining table, he carefully set the bags down and then looked at Hera’s delicate hands.
They were soft, but her palms were red with faint marks from the straps of the bags.
"You should’ve waited for to pick you up downstairs," Zhane said, his voice laced with a hint of self-reproach, as though he were scolding himself rather than Hera.
Minerva couldn’t help but chuckle from behind them, giving her brother a teasing glance.
"Brother, if you keep being so slow, Hera might be stolen away," Minerva teased.
Instead of the usual irritation, Rafael’s expression softened, and a smile tugged at his lips, his mood lightening at the playful banter.
"Your sister-in-law wouldn’t just favor the new and discard the old. Don’t you believe in your brother’s charm?" Rafael replied, his eyes shifting to Minerva, who was sitting in the wheeled chair.
His gaze softened as he looked at her, a mix of affection and concern in his eyes.
He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret that she had to endure this discomfort.
If this had been before, a little pain would have sent Minerva into tears, calling out to their parents or him for comfort.
But now, despite the ache, she was still smiling at him, her strength shining through.
’She’s really grown so much.’ Rafael thought, a swell of pride and tenderness rising in his chest.
Not long ago, he had believed that he had exhausted his love for his sister, worn down by their constant argunts over Alexi.
But the events that had unfolded between them felt like a bridge, reconnecting them in a way he hadn’t expected, bringing them closer once again.
Minerva, too, sensed the shift, and the joy in her heart was so overwhelming that she found herself crying at night, silently thanking the deities for giving her the chance to change, to beco soone who could restore the bond she shared with her brother.
It felt as though the two siblings had returned to the closeness they once shared, where Rafael would always go to great lengths to protect his sister, and Minerva, though spoiled, still understood her boundaries—so much so that Rafael indulged her every whim.
But after Alexi ca into their lives, everything changed.
Rafael beca frustrated with Minerva’s constant threats of suicide whenever things didn’t go her way, and her reckless use of his hard-earned company resources to support Alexi.
She even redirected funds that were ant for his other artists, all for Alexi’s sake.
Rafael couldn’t bring himself to openly oppose his sister, so he was always the one to clean up the sses Minerva created.
It was the sa as when Hera had first entered the picture.
Over ti, instead of the love he once had for his sister, it transford into a burden—a responsibility that weighed heavily on him.
’When did our relationship start to change?’ Rafael thought, a heavy sense of guilt creeping into his chest.
’Was it when I got busy with my own company and stopped making ti for her? Or had it started long before that?’
"Minerva, co here. How are you feeling?" Rafael asked, his voice gentle as he gestured for her to co closer.
Minerva blinked, a wave of emotion rising in her chest.
Her eyes reddened as she rolled her wheelchair closer to him.
She had missed this—Rafael’s tenderness and indulgence.
After the accident in the forest, it was as if a fog had lifted from her mind.
Maybe it was because Hera had saved her, or perhaps it was the overwhelming feeling of vulnerability when she thought she and Rafael might die there.
Hera had been the one to pull them back from the brink.
At that mont, the bitterness and hatred she’d once harbored seed to evaporate.
Her desire to bring Hera down vanished entirely.
But deep down, she knew it wasn’t just her heart that had changed—it was sothing else— the storyline’s grip on her that had finally loosened.
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