Krishna's body gave out two hours after dragging Aaron back to her side.
The pain… the blood loss… the adrenaline crash.
It all hit at once.
She collapsed without warning, slumping against Aaron's chest mid-sentence, her body going limp like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Aaron?" she whispered weakly.
And then, nothing.
Panic detonated inside him.
Aaron didn't waste a second. He scooped her up like she weighed nothing, bolting down the apartment stairs, yelling for help before they even hit the lobby.
The hospital staff barely got her stabilized in time.
Her blood pressure had dropped dangerously low. The fracture in her arm wasn't clean. Bruising laced across her ribs. Her hands were a mess of torn skin and busted knuckles.
But she lived.
That was all that mattered.
And when the news spread?
The reaction was instant.
Aaron never left her side.
The twins arrived less than an hour later, Alliyah screaming at the nurses for faster updates, while Allysa quietly wiped away tears, her usual snark nowhere to be found.
Lucius was next.
And even though his expression stayed tight and controlled, the set of his jaw told a different story.
For two days, they hovered over her like overprotective shadows, taking shifts, barely sleeping.
But then…
Lucius's phone rang.
Harlan.
Calling him directly.
Lucius's throat tightened.
Duty clawed at him.
Reluctantly, with a final look at Krishna's still-sleeping face, Lucius slipped out of the hospital.
Back at Debonair Holdings… Harlan didn't offer so much as a glance of concern.
Didn't ask how she was.
Didn't even look up from his desk.
"I assume you know where she is," Harlan said, flipping through papers like Krishna's hospitalization was a minor scheduling inconvenience.
Lucius kept his posture straight. "Yes, sir."
"When she wakes… inform me."
That was it.
Dismissed like a courier.
Lucius clenched his fists behind his back to stop the shaking. Rage curled low in his gut… but outwardly?
He stayed composed.
Because if Krishna was still fighting for survival behind that family name… then so would he.
When Krishna finally opened her eyes two mornings later, it felt like dragging herself out from underwater.
Blinding light.
Beeping monitors.
And then…
A loud, uncoordinated, chaotic mess of bodies pouncing on her.
"KRISHNA!"
"YOU'RE AWAKE!"
Aaron crashed down on her right side, nearly squeezing her ribs flat in a panicked embrace. The twins were seconds behind him, Alliyah gripping her uninjured hand, tears streaking down her face, while Allysa buried her head against Krishna's hip with uncharacteristic desperation.
"Oi- easy - !" Krishna hissed, her cracked voice barely functioning as her body screamed in protest.
Her arm, God, her arm throbbed like hellfire with every squeeze.
But even with the pain… she laughed.
A broken, wheezing, ugly laugh.
And it startled all three of them into freezing.
Because that laugh?
It was real.
Soft… exhausted… but so stupidly genuine.
"You're all… too damn noisy," she managed, grinning weakly.
Aaron's face twisted like he was about to sob again.
The twins hiccupped.
But before Krishna could even blink again…
The hospital room door slammed open.
Hard.
Every head snapped toward the entrance.
And there, standing with all the subtlety of a corporate firing squad, stood Harlan Debonair, Lorenzo, and… Bella Triton.
Bella.
Dressed to kill in a sharp white dress suit, heels clicking like a metronome of impending disaster, carrying a slim portfolio folder against her chest.
The atmosphere dropped ten degrees.
Aaron's body stiffened at the sight of his cousin.
Alliyah and Allysa practically bared teeth on instinct.
Lucius… still absent… but if he'd been there, Krishna knew he'd already be halfway to murder.
Harlan didn't waste time.
"I heard you've regained consciousness," he said coolly, tone clipped and formal. "Good. Now we can address the damages."
Krishna blinked.
"What?"
Lorenzo stepped forward, tossing a document onto her hospital tray table like it was a court summons.
"Forcible entry. Destruction of private property. Public scandal," Lorenzo listed, crossing his arms with visible irritation. "Triton Holdings already sent an itemized bill for the door you destroyed."
Bella smiled sweetly and laid the folder down next to it.
"And as for the other issue… your little stunt dragging Aaron by the collar outside your building was captured," she said lightly. "It's already circulating. News outlets are using terms like… 'kidnapping.'" She gestured with a click of her manicured fingers. "The PR department's scrambling."
Aaron's face drained of all color.
The twins hissed under their breath, visibly shaking with barely restrained fury.
Krishna just stared.
Dizzy.
Disbelieving.
"…You came all the way here… just to hand me a bill?" she asked slowly.
Harlan didn't flinch.
"You'll settle it. Immediately."
Krishna blinked once. Twice.
Then she laughed.
Dry.
Short.
And cruel.
Her dogs froze at the sound.
That was not the same laugh from earlier.
This was the brittle, fractured sound of a woman who'd just been reminded why she never let herself hope for more.
Aaron clenched the blanket over her legs, staring up at her like his heart was breaking.
The twins reached for her, but Krishna lifted her good hand, stopping them with a small shake of her head.
Not here.
Not now.
Harlan didn't deserve to see her unravel again.
Instead, Krishna took a slow breath, forcing her expression back into place, dragging every last ounce of pride and poison into her smile.
"Well then," she said sweetly. "Send me the total. I'll pay it out of my own pocket."
Lorenzo scoffed.
Bella tilted her head like a curious bird.
Harlan only gave a curt nod… and with that… they left.
The moment the door clicked shut behind them…
Krishna's shoulders slumped.
Her good hand slid into her tangled sheets.
But she didn't cry.
Not this time.
Because when she finally glanced up…
All three of her dogs were still there.
Still staring at her.
Not with pity.
Not with disappointment.
But something harder.
Sharper.
Full of loyalty that had no leash.
Something that said:
They saw her now.
And they weren't going anywhere.