The First Bite and the Silent Hallway
The VIP dining room was packed. Aika sat there, her head spinning as she looked around the table. Wait... is this a business party or a family lunch? she wondered, her inner nerd feeling overwhelmed. There were too many people. The D'Arvens, the Therons, the new step-family, and the business partners. The noise of their laughing and shouting about mergers felt like a wall of sound.
Aika felt her throat go dry from nervousness. Nobody has even taken a single bite yet, and they're already fighting, she thought. Just let me eat and get out of here.
Before she could think more, the waiters arrived. When the plate was set in front of her, her eyes widened. Prawn Noodles. The steam rose up, smelling of butter and garlic.
Wow... seafood, Aika's inner monologue whispered. In my previous life, I had a deathly allergy. I spent twenty years dreaming of what a prawn tasted like. But this is Helena's body... and this is my first time being able to eat it! That's one good thing about being here.
She didn't hesitate. She picked up her fork and took a big, hopeful bite. Oh! It's so good! she thought for one glorious second. But then, the world stopped. A sharp, prickly heat exploded in her throat. Fuck.
She stood up instantly, her chair screeching against the floor, but the sound was drowned out by the Chairman laughing at a joke Airon's father made. Aika realized with a surge of panic: Helena has the allergy too. She turned and bolted for the door, desperate to reach the washroom. But as she hit the hallway, darkness started to claw at the edges of her vision. Her lungs felt like they were filled with cement. She didn't even make it to the door before her knees gave out and the world went black.
The Only Two Who Noticed
Inside the room, the feast continued. Plates clattered and people argued. Nobody noticed the empty chair—except for Noel. He had seen her get up fast. He had seen the way her face turned a terrifying shade of red. He waited a few minutes, but when she didn't come back, a strange feeling of unease settled in his chest. Why do I care about it? he thought, trying to push the feeling away.
He looked around the table. Her father was drinking wine; Marcus was mocking Julius; Airon was whispering to Saira. Nobody cared that she was gone.
Noel stood up abruptly and walked out. Vahn, seeing his friend leave, followed him into the hallway. "Where are you going?" Vahn asked, his tone casual. "The merger talk is just getting started."
"Did you see Helena?" Noel asked, his voice tight. "Where did she go?"
Vahn shrugged. "I don't know. I just came after you. Why do you care all of a sudden?"
"She didn't look good," Noel muttered, his pace quickening. "She looked... wrong. Let me just check."
He asked a passing waiter, who pointed toward the restroom corridor. As they turned the corner, they both froze. Helena was lying on the cold marble floor, motionless.
The Panic of the Sharks
Noel was the first to reach her. He knelt down, his heart hammering against his ribs, and pulled her head onto his lap. "Helena? Hey! Wake up!"
Vahn stepped forward, his usual "silent and egoistic" mask cracking. He looked at her pale face and the hives breaking out on her neck.
"Vahn... Vahn, she's not breathing!" Noel's voice cracked. He looked up at his partner, his eyes wide with a fear he didn't want to admit. "Hey, do something!"
Vahn's hands moved to his phone, his fingers steady even as his pulse raced. "Wait. Calm down. I've already called the ambulance," Vahn said, his voice low and commanding, trying to anchor Noel. "She has to be alright. Just stay with her."
For the first time, the "fake Brother" and the "Corporate business partner" weren't thinking about shares or revenge. They were just two men in a quiet hallway, holding onto a girl that everyone else had forgotten was even there.The Emergency Run
Noel was still on the floor, cradling Helena's head, when Vahn's assistant rushed down the hallway. He had seen the commotion and, knowing this high-end restaurant kept emergency kits for seafood allergies, he hadn't hesitated. He skidded to a halt, thrusting a box toward Vahn.
"Mr. Vahn! I have the emergency kit! Sir, this must be a seafood allergy—use this!" the assistant shouted.
Vahn grabbed the kit, his hands moving with clinical precision despite the sweat beaded on his forehead. He pulled out the syringe, his voice echoing in the narrow hall. "Hold her arm steady, Noel!"
Noel gripped Helena's arm, his eyes fixed on her pale, still face. Vahn pressed the needle in, injecting the medicine that would restart her breathing.
"The ambulance will take too long with the city traffic," Vahn snapped, looking at the assistant. "Bring the car around to the side entrance. Now!"
The Race Against Time
Noel didn't wait for a stretcher. He scooped Helena up in his arms—she felt terrifyingly light, like she was fading away—and bolted toward the stairs. Vahn was right behind him, barking orders into his phone to clear a path.
They didn't wait for the paramedics. Vahn jumped into the driver's seat of his black sedan, and Noel climbed into the back, pulling Helena's head onto his lap.
The Race Against Time
Noel didn't wait for a stretcher. He scooped Helena up in his arms—she felt terrifyingly light, like she was fading away—and bolted toward the stairs. Vahn was right behind him, barking orders into his phone to clear a path.
They didn't wait for the paramedics. Vahn jumped into the driver's seat of his black sedan, and Noel climbed into the back, pulling Helena's head onto his lap.
"Drive, Vahn! Go!" Noel yelled.
As Vahn tore out of the parking lot, weaving through traffic like a madman, the interior of the car was thick with tension. Noel looked down at Helena. Her hands were blue-tinted and ice-cold. A surge of genuine sympathy he couldn't hide anymore washed over him.
He quickly shrugged off his heavy designer overcoat and wrapped it tightly around her small frame. He began frantically rubbing her hands through the fabric, trying to use his own body heat to create friction and warmth.
"Come on, Helena... stay with us," Noel whispered, his voice trembling. "Don't you dare die after making all those 'Bro-man' jokes."
Vahn glanced at them in the rearview mirror, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. He was pushing the engine to its limit, his "Cold CEO" brain calculating the fastest route, while his heart hammered a rhythm he didn't recognize.
"Keep her warm!" Vahn commanded. "We're five minutes away. She's strong—she survived that accident, she'll survive this."
The Silent Arrival
When they screeched up to the Emergency Room entrance, the hospital staff was already waiting. As the nurses swarmed the car and took Helena onto a gurney, Noel stood on the pavement in just his shirt sleeves, the cold night air hitting him as he watched her disappear through the double doors.
Vahn stood beside him, breathing hard, his own suit jacket discarded in the front seat.
"We saved her," Noel muttered, though he sounded unsure.
"We did what was necessary for the project," Vahn replied, but he didn't look Noel in the eye. He was looking at the doors where Helena had just been taken.
They stood there—two men who claimed they didn't care, one missing his coat and both covered in the medicine that had kept her alive.The Sterile Silence
As the doctors rushed Aika into the emergency suite, the heavy double doors swung shut, leaving Vahn and Noel alone in the hallway. The silence of the hospital was deafening compared to the roaring of the car engine and the chaos of the restaurant.
Noel stood frozen, staring at the doors. His chest was still heaving, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. Vahn, exhaling a long, shaky breath, stepped forward. He reached out and placed a firm hand on Noel's shoulder. It was a grounding gesture—one "Silent" man trying to steady another.
"It's okay, Noel," Vahn said, though his own voice was lower than usual. "The doctors have her. The injection we gave her bought enough time. It's nothing big now."
Noel turned to look at Vahn, and for the first time, his "Silent" mask was completely gone. His eyes were wide with a shock that bordered on horror.
"Nothing big?" Noel repeated, his voice barely a whisper. "Vahn... did you see them? We were running out of that room, she was literally collapsing in the hallway, and they didn't even stop their conversation. Her so-called father... Marcus... Airon... they didn't even look up from their wine."
Noel let out a dry, bitter laugh. "How can they be so heartless? I knew that family was a nest of vipers, but I can't believe it. She's their blood. How could she have lived there all these years? In that house, with those people..."
Vahn didn't pull his hand away. He looked toward the doors, his expression darkening into a cold, dangerous resolve.
"I was thinking the same thing," Vahn admitted, his jaw tightening. "I've done business with the D'Arvens for years, but I never realized... they don't see her as a person. She was a ghost to them long before she lost her memory."
Vahn looked at Noel, his gaze piercing. "I can't believe what this family is. If we hadn't noticed her leave... she would have died alone in that corridor while they argued over shares."
Noel looked back at the doors, a new kind of fire flickering in his eyes—one that wasn't about revenge on Helena, but protection.
"Not anymore," he muttered. "They've thrown her away. Fine. But they don't get to decide what happens to her next."