Chapter 4 I Thought I Was Dreaming
Ana immediately grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back down.
“I was joking! Joking, okay? Calm down.”
Stella huffed and folded her arms across her chest without saying another word. She closed her eyes, clearly annoyed.
Once she had calmed down, she finally looked at Ana.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here, or are you just going to wait for me to tell you?”
Ana’s expression changed as she studied her. “What’s going on? Is something wrong at home?”
Stella hesitated for a moment before answering.
“I slept with Lucius.”
Ana looked confused for only a brief second. Then her eyes widened, and she immediately brought a hand to her mouth.
“What the hell? Are you serious? Didn’t you two break up a year ago?”
Stella sighed and closed her eyes.
Then she finally began telling Ana everything that had happened over the past few days, starting with how she had run into Lucius again.
“I don’t even know what he was doing at that restaurant.
I never expected to come across him, especially just one day after coming back.
” She shook her head, still struggling to process it herself.
“It was like magic. One moment I was thinking about him, and the next, he was standing in front of me. I thought I was dreaming.”
She paused before continuing.
“I didn’t even realize it was real until he took me to his house. Then suddenly, I was in his bed, and you know how it is with him.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“I’m even more angry with myself. He’s the first man I ever fell in love with, and falling back into his arms felt like I was back in those three years again.”
She pressed her lips together before finally admitting, “I don’t know what to do.”
Ana was quiet for a moment before asking, “What about Shane? Does he know?”
“Yes.” Stella lowered her gaze. “He was worried about me. He told me to take it slow and not jump into anything.”
“You really like Lucius, don’t you?”
Ana rested her head against Stella’s shoulder, and Stella tilted her head to the side as well. For a moment, she remained quiet.
“I did,” she admitted.
She hesitated before continuing.
“When he proposed the relationship four years ago and asked me to be his girlfriend, I already had a crush on him, so I obviously accepted. I wouldn’t have accepted those terms from anyone else, but with him, I did. Even though I knew better, I agreed to all of them without a second thought.”
Her voice softened.
“But then I fell more and more in love with him. I knew that if I didn’t walk away while I was still thinking clearly, I was going to get completely trapped in that relationship.”
Her fingers tightened together in her lap.
“I really wanted to have a love life with someone I truly liked. I wanted it to be with him. But I guess this is how my first love was supposed to end.”
***
The Frost Group was one of the most well-known event management companies in Manhattan. They handled major events for some of the biggest entertainment companies, working with leading artists, actors, actresses, and singers.
Because the company managed events on such a large scale, its reputation was among the best in the industry. The work was also extremely demanding. There was always another event to plan, another client to manage, and another deadline approaching.
At the moment, the company was handling an upcoming event for a singer who had recently gone viral on the internet.
With the event drawing closer, managing everything had become increasingly difficult.
The crowd expected to attend was going to be enormous, and every detail had to be handled perfectly.
Lucius was standing in his office, going through the files related to the event, when the door suddenly opened.
Nial stepped inside, looking breathless and tense.
Lucius immediately lifted his head at the urgency in his assistant’s voice.
“What’s wrong? Did something go wrong with the planning?”
“No, sir. Nothing went wrong with the event.”
Lucius studied his face. “Then what is it?”
Nial hesitated for a moment.
“It’s about Miss Gibson.”
Confusion immediately appeared on Lucius’s face.
“Stella?”
“Yes, sir. She’s in the hospital right now.”
The file in Lucius’s hand dropped onto the desk.
He pushed his chair back at once, the tension in his voice so sharp that Nial had never heard anything like it from him before.
Without wasting another second, Lucius headed for the hospital.
The drive seemed longer than usual. He kept checking his watch, his impatience growing with every passing minute. Even sitting still, he could feel the tension radiating through his body.
By the time they reached the hospital, Lucius was barely able to contain his impatience.
It was less than an hour before they were leaving the hospital again, but this time, they were not alone.
Stella was with them.
As soon as they entered the Frost mansion, Lucius carried her upstairs in his arms and carefully laid her down on the bed. One of the doctors followed them, still holding the IV line.
The doctor checked Stella once everything had been arranged and then removed the IV from her arm.
“This should be enough, Mr. Frost. She should wake up soon.”
Lucius didn't look even remotely reassured.
His eyes remained fixed on Stella, his expression filled with concern as he looked down at the woman lying motionless on the bed. She looked pale and exhausted, and to Lucius, she looked far worse than she actually was.
“Does she need any medicine?” he asked. “Give it to me.”
Nial stood nearby, watching him in silence.
He had seen Lucius lose some of the biggest deals of his life without showing even a fraction of the emotion he was displaying now. Seeing him this worried was something Nial had never witnessed before.
The doctor eventually left, and the maids came in to take care of Stella.
Later, when one of the maids invited Lucius to dinner, he refused. Instead, he remained beside Stella, sitting near her bed and waiting for her to wake up.
It was late at night by the time the maids had returned to their quarters, leaving the mansion quiet.
That was when Stella finally opened her eyes.
She blinked several times, her mind still hazy. The bed beneath her felt unfamiliar, and as she slowly looked around, confusion settled over her face.
“Where the hell am I...?” she whispered.
She turned her head and found Lucius sitting in a chair beside her bed.
Stella’s brows drew together as she looked around, her mind still clouded with sleep. The familiar room slowly came into focus, but nothing about waking up here made sense.
She was in Lucius’s bedroom?
She pushed herself up slightly, her gaze moving from the bed to the furniture around the room as she tried to piece together how she had ended up there.
“What the hell am I doing here?” she whispered. “I was working at the café. What happened afterwards?”
She searched her memory, but there was nothing.
The last thing she remembered was being at the café and suddenly feeling dizzy. Her vision had blurred, her body had weakened, and then everything had gone completely dark.
She couldn't remember anything after that.
Stella rubbed her temple and took a careful breath before slowly pushing herself upright. Her body still felt heavy, and there was a faint weakness in her limbs, but she didn't want to stay there any longer.
She glanced toward Lucius.
He was asleep in the chair beside the bed, his head tilted slightly forward and his arms folded across his chest.
Stella quietly moved the covers aside and began slipping out of the bed, careful not to make a sound. She placed one foot on the floor, then the other, intending to leave without waking him.
But the moment she shifted her weight, the mattress moved beneath her.
The bed creaked.
Lucius’s eyes opened instantly. His gaze locked onto her.
“What the hell are you doing? Where are you going?”
Stella froze for a moment before turning toward him.
“I’m getting some water.”
Lucius immediately rose from the chair. He stepped toward her and placed an arm around her shoulders, stopping her from taking another step.
Without saying a word, Lucius reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and held it out to her.
“Here.”
Stella glanced at the glass before looking at him. She didn't like the way he was watching her, as though he didn't trust her not to make a dash for the door.
And, considering that was exactly what she had been planning to do the moment he stopped paying attention, she couldn't entirely blame him.
Still, she took the glass from his hand and raised it to her lips. After drinking a few small sips, she lowered it and handed it back to him.
“I’ll leave now,” she said.
She turned and began easing herself out of the bed again, but Lucius caught her before she could get away.
He caught her around the waist, pulling her back onto the mattress. Then he climbed into bed beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and drew her against him.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice low. “Why are you trying to run away from me?”
He shifted closer, placing one hand on either side of her as he leaned over her. His body crowded hers, leaving barely any space between them. The intimidating closeness made Stella stiffen.
For a moment, she simply stared at him.
Then she hardened her expression, refusing to let him see how unsettled his proximity made her.
“What am I doing here?” she demanded. “I shouldn’t even be here, should I? I was at work, and the last thing I remember is being at the café. What happened?”
Lucius’s gaze moved over her face.
“So you remember working?” he asked. There was a sharp edge to his voice now. “Do you also remember that you worked yourself to exhaustion today? Do you want to work yourself to death?”
His brows drew together as he leaned closer.
“You own your business, and you’re still overworking yourself to the point of fainting. What the fuck are you lacking? Money?”
Stella’s eyes flashed with irritation.
“It has nothing to do with you, Mr. Frost. You should be worrying about your girlfriend, not me.”