Chapter Two Hundred
Both Aht and Markus slowed when they heard her. For a mont, neither of them spoke. Then they both released quiet breaths at the sa ti.
She was standing. Arguing. Looking exactly like herself. If she had the strength to fight a doctor, then at least she wasn’t lying unconscious sowhere.
They approached.
Cole noticed them first. His eyes flicked in their direction and he gave a single, sharp nod.
Asli didn’t even look back. She was busy arguing.
Aht opened his mouth to ask what exactly was happening. But the doctor spoke again before he could speak. And the words froze him in place.
"You almost lost the baby," the doctor said. "And I demanded you stay here to rest."
Aht felt the ground shift beneath his feet.
"You said I was out of danger," Asli replied imdiately.
"Yes," the doctor said patiently. "But you still need rest."
"Who needs rest?" she snapped. "You have no idea what my work is."
The doctor was about to respond when his eyes lifted past her. And he finally noticed the two n who had joined Cole who was already standing behind her.
His gaze moved between them. One by one.
He could tell by their looks. They looked dangerous.
Every single one of them. Realization dawned slowly on his face.
Ah. ’That kind of work.’
Asli noticed where he was looking and turned around. Her eyes landed on them. Surprise flashed across her face. Then sothing else followed imdiately after. It was annoyance.
"And who asked you to co here?" she demanded.
Markus didn’t even hesitate. "What do you an by that?" he snapped. "The doctor just said you almost lost the baby. Did it not occur to you to call us?"
"Don’t be silly," she shot back instantly, as if being accused. "His phone wasn’t going through."
She pointed at Aht.
"His phone?" Markus scoffed. "What about mine?"
The sharpness in his voice made Aht glance at him in surprise. He had seen Markus serious before. Which he hardly was.
And this... This was sothing else entirely. Markus had slipped fully into older-brother mode. And it was aid directly at Asli.
"You think I was thinking straight while I was in that much pain?" she fired back. "You know what? This is not the ti. I just need to go ho."
"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Aht said calmly.
All eyes turned to him.
"You heard the doctor."
"I am fine," Asli insisted. "The baby is fine."
"For now," the doctor cut in. "I told you, you need rest. I don’t know what kind of work you do, and frankly, I don’t want to know, but it’s clearly stressful."
He gestured lightly toward the three n behind her.
"Being here would force you to rest. You even refused the dications I prescribed. How exactly am I supposed to trust that you’ll take proper care of yourself and the..."
Asli turned slowly. The look she gave him could freeze hell.
"Say another word," she said quietly, "and you’ll be running that mouth in hell."
The doctor imdiately shut his mouth. She turned and started walking. But Markus grabbed her arm. "You’re not going anywhere."
Her head snapped toward him. "Since when did I report to you?"
She glared at him. But for so reason, in Markus’s eyes, she looked more stubborn than threatening. Almost adorable. His anger faded just a little. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Aht stepped forward before things could escalate again.
"Doctor," he said calmly. "She’s a fierce woman. And extrely stubborn."
The doctor nodded vigorously.
"et us halfway," Aht continued. "She doesn’t want to stay here. You want her to rest. How do we make this work... in her terms?"
The doctor exhaled, clearly deciding to stop arguing. "Fine," he said. "If you refuse to stay, then at least listen carefully." His eyes settled on her.
"You need rest. Like I ntioned to her earlier: no physical strain, no stress, and absolutely no situations that could raise your blood pressure."
He gestured toward the prescription pad on his desk. "I’m prescribing dication to help during the early stage of the pregnancy. They need to be taken exactly as instructed."
His gaze moved briefly to the n standing behind her before returning to Aht. "Soone should make sure she actually takes them. Missing doses right now would not be wise."
He wrote quickly on the paper and tore it off.
"And if she feels pain again, dizziness, or anything unusual, bring her back imdiately." Aht’s jaw tightened.
"You were lucky it stabilized quickly," the doctor continued. "But that doesn’t an the risk is gone." The doctor looked concern and for them, it was new. They were used to doctors looking like they could murder the patients. They showed zero emotions.
He pointed a finger at her. His eyes flicked to the n again. "And definitely no involvent in whatever... dangerous work you people seem to do." His gaze settled on Asli. "I’m serious about that."
Aht nodded once. "We understand."
A few minutes later, they began heading out.
Before leaving, Aht stopped beside the doctor.
"Can I have your contact?" he asked quietly. "Just in case."
The doctor hesitated for half a second. Then nodded. "Of course."
He wrote down his number and handed it over.
"Call if anything changes."
Aht folded the paper carefully and slipped it into his pocket. Outside the hospital, the evening air felt cooler.
Aht turned to her. "What happened?" he asked calmly. The question had barely left his mouth when Asli suddenly stopped walking.
Then...
She started crying. "Why are you accusing ?" she demanded through tears. "Why would you think I didn’t take care of the baby?"
The n froze.
"What?" Aht said quietly.
"You turned your phone off!" she cried. "I was trying to call you!"
Aht blinked.
So did Markus.
Cole remained silent, but even he looked confused.
Aht’s question had been pure concern.
It was not an accusation. What was she hearing? But none of them blad her. They knew what it ant. The fear she had held in while she was inside the hospital... was finally breaking out.
Still...
This wasn’t like Asli. She didn’t cry easily. Scratch that, the other two hadn’t seen her cry before.
Only Aht had.
Which ant sothing else was wrong.
Aht stepped closer.
"I would never accuse you of that," he said gently. "Never."
Her shoulders shook slightly.
"We saw the footage," he continued softly. "Your car stopped multiple tis on the road."
Asli wiped her face roughly. Then she looked at them. "Soone else knows," she said quietly.
All three n stiffened.
"Knows what?" Markus asked.
"That I’m pregnant."
The air around them seed to freeze.
"And they wanted to eliminate it."
"What?" Markus and Aht said at the sa ti.
Aht frowned imdiately.
"Are you sure it wasn’t just the stress from the fight that caused it?"
Beside them, Cole’s fingers slowly curled into his palms.
They were just about to ask who it was when Asli’s phone rang. She glanced down. Her father’s na flashed across the screen.
Aht felt sothing dark surge inside him.
It took every bit of control he had not to snatch the phone and smash it.
She answered. "Sir?"
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