"She's stable for now." With the immediate crisis over, Serena put away her tools and methodically wiped her fingers. "She has a congenital heart condition. Her episode was triggered by emotional distress."
Nicholas's gaze remained fixed on Brianna. Seeing the color return to her face and her breathing steady, the fist he'd been clenching slowly relaxed.
He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on the fingers the girl was wiping- slender, pale, with beautifully formed knuckles.
He smiled, a profound emotion swirling in the depths of his dark eyes. "Thank you."
Serena tossed the wet wipe into the trash, then picked up her canvas bag, her expression nonchalant. "No need."
"What do you mean, no need?" Nicholas lifted his mesmerizing eyes, which seemed to ripple with a bewitching light, adding a devilish charm to his ethereally handsome face. "You've worked hard today, Dr. Lancaster. It's getting late... why don't we have dinner together?"
Serena glanced at the time. "No, thanks. I have a family dinner to get to. I have to go."
As she spoke, she unzipped her canvas bag, pulled out a plain-looking porcelain vial, and handed it to Nicholas.
The vial had no label, but a faint, pleasant medicinal scent emanated from it.
"One of these a day. It will help protect your sister's heart. This is a month's supply. After she finishes them, her heart should be stable and her system rebalanced. Then we can consider a more permanent treatment plan."
Nicholas reached out to take it, his long fingers seeming to brush against Serena's fingertips accidentally.
A jolt, like an electric current, shot through her.
It tingled.
Serena's fingers instinctively recoiled slightly.
She looked up sharply, her eyes meeting the man's gaze, which swirled like a spring tide.
His impossibly handsome face was just inches away.
It was enough to make one's heart tremble.
"Dr. Lancaster. The name rolled off the man's tongue, carrying an inexplicably intimate and seductive quality. His voice was so low and magnetic it made her eardrums tingle. This is such a huge favor. don't think just remembering it will be enough. What do you think... if I offer myself in return? Would that be enough repayment?"
The man was far too close.
His refined, pine-like scent seemed to wash over her ear, carrying a lingering, bewitching charm.
Serena's expression remained unchanged. She lifted a hand, her slender, jade-like fingers pressing against his devastatingly handsome face, and unceremoniously pushed him back.
Her movement was clean and sharp. "Mr. Blackwood, I couldn't possibly accept."
She slung the canvas bag over her shoulder. "I have a family dinner. I'm leaving now."
Nicholas wasn't annoyed at being pushed away. Instead, his smile grew more devilish. "I'll see you out."
"No need. You should stay with your sister. She should... be waking up soon," Serena refused again, striding away without a backward glance. "Alfred drove."
Alfred nodded quickly to Nicholas and hurried out after Serena.
Only Nicholas and Nathan remained in the ICU room.
Nicholas squinted his obsidian eyes, staring intently in the direction the girl had disappeared, his gaze deep and unreadable.
His long fingers caressed the cool surface of the porcelain vial in his palm.
It was as if the girl's warmth still lingered on it.
"Let me see. What kind of pill is that amazing?" Nathan craned his neck, staring curiously at the vial in Nicholas's hand. "Countless doctors have looked at Brianna's heart condition, and none of them@ould
guarantee a cure. The slightest emotional trigger and she has an attack."
He was incredibly curious how that stunningly beautiful young woman could be so confident that this unlabeled, unverified product she just handed over could stabilize Brianna's heart.