Nikolas still couldn't believe it. He couldn't even wrap his head around the reality of his best friend shielding her.
The thought alone was enough to make something bitter rise into his throat—a strange, heavy bile of emotions that he couldn't quite name. Anger. Confusion. Disbelief. And beneath all of it, a violent, blaring rage that seemed to throb through his veins with every beat of his heart.
He had replayed in his head on how the entire thing had unfold, from what he was told.
He could imagine his friend throw himself between her and danger.
For her. The fragile lady who lay stiffly beneath the sheets.
The seemingly fragile woman who had somehow become the center of a situation Nikolas couldn't make sense of.
His jaw tightened.
It was the most impossible thing he had ever heard related to Leonardo and perhaps the most impossible thing he would ever be able to understand in this life or the next.
What the hell had happened between them?
What kind of relationship did his laid-back, seemingly cold friend have with this woman that could make him willingly put his own life on the line for hers?
Nikolas couldn't find the answer.
And the more he tried, the more his frustration grew. He closed his eyes tightly, drawing in a slow, controlled breath through his nose.
He needed to think and needed to understand.
But every time his mind attempted to arrange the scattered pieces of the incident into something that made sense, it returned to the same maddening thought.
'His friend shielding her.'
His body taking the impact that could have ended her life.
And their hands...Nikolas's eyes opened abruptly.
Their hands had been joined... tightly, even while unconscious.
Even while his friend's life hung precariously in the balance.
Their fingers had remained intertwined as though neither of them had been willing or able to let go.
That image had lodged itself inside Nikolas's mind like a splinter. He was still shocked by what his own eyes had witnessed and couldn't wrap his head around it...not even remotely.
What did she mean to him?
And why the hell had he protected her like that?
The questions continued to torment him.
Meanwhile, the woman was safe.
She had escaped the worst of the accident without suffering the devastating injuries that should have been expected from what had happened.
She wasn't fighting for every breath.
She wasn't hovering somewhere between life and death.
She wasn't lying in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors fighting to keep her alive.
She was simply unconscious and according to professor stravos and she could wake at any moment.
Any moment.
Nikolas's gaze hardened.
His friend didn't have that luxury. He was struggling for every breath..fighting for his life with every passing second.
Every minute that disappeared from the clock was another minute that could carry him closer to death.
The thought made Nikolas's chest tighten.
His hands slowly curled into fists.
His body rose and fell heavily beneath the weight of his restrained breathing as he fought to control himself.
He couldn't allow his thoughts to run wild.
Not now!
Because every time he thought about the accident, another image followed.
The people responsible. The ones who had deliberately designed it. The ones who had set everything into motion.
The ones who had nearly taken his best friend's life.
Nikolas's fingers dug deeper into his palms, his rage was no longer something distant.
It was alive. Burning. Waiting.
He could already imagine what he would do when their agents found them.
No! Not imagine..He knew. His lips pressed into a thin, merciless line.
Damn the woman! His gaze shifted toward the room where she remained unconscious.
Damn her!! She had somehow become the reason his friend was lying there, fighting for his life.
And yet...Nikolas's expression tightened. He couldn't ignore what he had heard. His friend had protected her with his life.
Not hesitated or calculated, He had not even considered his own safety.
He had simply done it as though keeping her alive mattered more than keeping himself alive.
Nikolas exhaled sharply.
His wavy dark hair shifted slightly across his forehead as he lowered his head, the muscles along his jaw flexing beneath his skin.
Then—BAM.
His fist slammed hard against his opposite palm.
"I desire nothing more than to haunt the people who designed this accident."
His voice was low. Controlled in that moment.
But there was something lethal beneath it. Something that promised the words weren't merely an expression of anger.
His fist struck his palm again.BAM. Slowly closing his eyes as his breathing deepened.
He could feel the heat of his rage crawling beneath his skin, but he forced himself to remain still.
To remain rational and retain his patience.
Because since the very night his friend had been brought into the hospital, Nikolas had made one decision.
He would find them, every single person involved and when he did...They would regret ever crossing his path.
His eyes opened again, perfect cold blue eyes which unveiled it's steady, deadly. Because had already made up his mind.
And once Nikolas made up his mind about something, there was very little in this world capable of making him change it.
Nikolas's cold features became even more frightening.
His knuckles whitened with every thought that tore through his mind, the fingers of his clenched fist tightening until the tendons stood prominently beneath his skin.
What he felt wasn't merely anger. It was something far more vicious.
The kind of fury that settled beneath the skin and burned slowly, steadily, refusing to disappear.
Someone had nearly taken Leonardo from him.
Someone had put his best friend's life in jeopardy.
And whoever those people were, they had no idea what they had just unleashed.
Nikolas swallowed hard. His heart seemed to pound against his ribs with every violent thought, each beat carrying the same question.
What kind of people were capable of doing this to Leonardo?
The answer didn't matter. Not yet. Rverything was still under investigation.
But the moment the investigation ended and the people responsible were found...Nikolas's jaw clenched.
They would wish they had never been born.
He dragged a hand over his face, exhaling heavily before his gaze settled on the old professor.
"After all, everything is still under investigation," he said, his voice low and edged with restraint. "We've been looking into the entire incident since that night."
His hand dropped to his side. "Nothing has been allowed outside these walls. The few people who knew about it were warned not to say a word. Not one."
His eyes hardened. "It was kept numb. Quiet. Buried as though it never happened."
His fist suddenly struck his opposite palm.
Thud.
The sound cracked through the quiet room.
"Even if a few people around the neighborhood still whisper about it, they only whisper about how horrific the incident was. How gruesome it looked."
His nostrils flared. "Plainly speaking, it was too terrible to set eyes on."
The professor's expression shifted.
For a moment, the old man's usual sternness softened into something almost resembling pride.
Not pride in the accident. Pride in how efficiently everything had been done.
"Under your orders," the professor continued quietly, "and under the authority of Leonardo, every official, every nurse, every member of staff who knew anything about this was instructed to treat the matter as strictly confidential."
A faint, knowing look crossed his face."Who, after all, would dare disobey at the mere mention of that name?"
He allowed the silence to answer for him."Leonardo"
Even spoken in a whisper, the name carried weight.
The professor's mouth curved faintly. "It appears the entire hospital understood the importance of silence."
Nikolas didn't respond.
His gaze remained fixed somewhere beyond the old man's shoulder, his thoughts already returning to the investigation.
The professor sighed, deeply. "Son, don't do anything stupid."
Nikolas's eyes shifted toward him gauging his mood and how much the man knew him.
"And, Nikos..." the professor drawled, allowing the warning to sharpen at the edge of his words. "I know how your anger works."
He paused. "And I know the stupid things you do when you can't control it."
Nikolas's jaw twitched.
The professor's gaze grew heavier. "You deal with the people responsible when they're caught. If they thought they could touch the untouchable synonym, then whatever end awaits them is more than fine with me."
A dangerous glint entered the old man's eyes. "But don't you dare transfer that anger onto his woman."
Nikolas's eyes narrowed. His woman. A scoff left his lips. "Or frighten that innocent lady when she wakes."
His gaze instinctively shifted toward the unconscious woman.
Even unconscious, she looked almost painfully fragile against the hospital bed.
Nikolas's expression remained cold. But the professor caught the smallest change in it.
The old man's eyes twinkled, he had noticed.
Of course he had.
"After all..." the professor continued, clearly enjoying himself now, "you wouldn't like what that rugged son of mine would do if he woke up and saw so much as a scratch on her."
The old man's face transformed as he said it.
His stern features relaxed into a mischievous, almost boyish amusement, the corners of his mouth lifting as though he had just delivered the finest joke in the world.
Nikolas stared at him. Slowly.
"His woman?" The words came out colder than intended, almost a reprimand.
Not because he believed it.
Not because he accepted it.
But because he was desperately trying to control the rage still boiling inside him.
The idea of Leonardo and this woman together, something hot and bitter rose into his throat.
A bile of disbelief. Of irritation. Of something he absolutely refused to name.
"Of course," the professor replied.
And somehow, instead of calming Nikolas, the answer only fueled the fire.
"We could place a bet they'll be married before the year runs out."
Nikolas stared at him. "Bet?" A disbelieving scoff escaped him, then he grinned. It wasn't a pleasant grin.
He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug expression off the old man's face.
"You've lost your mind."
The professor merely chuckled.
Nikolas's hot anger fought with his amusement, his frustration colliding with the absurdity of the conversation.
He wanted to hit something.
A wall.
A table.
Anything sturdy enough to absorb the rage and helplessness clawing through him.
Because while they stood there discussing marriage, Leonardo was still unconscious.
Still fighting for his life. The professor began walking away.
Then he stopped, he turned his head slightly. "Oh, and probably heavy with a child by then."
Nikolas's face went completely blank. The professor's grin widened.
Then he continued walking, his movements almost light.
There was something almost gleeful about the old man's expression now, his eyes shining with playful satisfaction as though he had deliberately thrown another match onto Nikolas's already raging fire.
The man was inexorably annoying. Strict.
Grounding.
A physician whose voice alone could make a room fall silent. But those who knew him closely knew there was another side beneath that severe exterior.
He was wise. Deeply observant and annoyingly perceptive.
Years of experience had taught him to see things others overlooked, and he possessed the peculiar habit of saying things that sounded ridiculous in the moment—
only for them to somehow come true later.
Nikolas watched his retreating back. The old man was practically gleaming.
"What the hell..." Leonardo hadn't even woken up yet, and the man was already weaving stories about marriage and children.
Quirky old bastard! nikolas rubbed his jaw. But his amusement vanished almost instantly.
Because beneath all the professor's teasing remained one ugly possibility.
What if the woman wasn't completely innocent?
What if she had somehow been involved in what happened?
His eyes returned to woman. If she knew something...If she had played any part in putting Leonardo's life at risk...
Then he would never let her walk away untouched.
Not easily. Not without answers. Unless, His expression darkened.
Unless his damned best friend intervened and judging from what had already happened...Leonardo had intervened with his entire body.
His life.
His last ounce of strength.
Nikolas exhaled through his nose.
That left him with absolutely no choice.
Because whatever relationship existed between Leonardo and this woman, he wasn't foolish enough to create a direct war with his own best friend over her.
But anyone else?
Anyone who thought they could touch the untouchable?
Nikolas's lips curled. He would gladly meet them.
Since the very night Leonardo had been brought into the hospital, only one thought had consumed him completely.
Finding the people responsible.
Find them!! The words hung in the air like a verdict already sealed.The people that dared to be responsible for this accident.
The investigation had already begun through Leonardo's loyal agents and specialized intelligence teamd in tracks, Names, Locations.
Leonardo didn't need to wake up at first even if he was still unconscious. He didn't need to.
(A month before)
Immediately Leonardo was reported in the hospital, Nikolas just need to send an alert and Leonardo's agents were already out there—silent shadows moving through channels of information most people didn't even know existed.
Phone records. Security footage. Flight logs. Bank transfers. Anything that could bleed a name, a location, a mistake.
And Nikolas… Nikolas didn't chase answers the way ordinary men did.
He collected them.
One by one.
"Start from where the accident occured," a voice said through the encrypted line. Calm. Controlled. "No assumptions. I want timestamps, not theories."
A pause.
Then
"And whoever thinks they're safe… remind them they're only safe until I say otherwise."
The line cut.