Chapter 135: ¹³⁵: what have you done?

Chapter 135: 13?: what have you done?

"Ma’am, should we leave now?" the nurse asked, breaking the string of my thoughts in the middle.

I blinked and looked back at her, momentarily pulled away from the thoughts that had been consuming me.

"Luna is not here right now, so you have to make decisions on her behalf," she continued urgently. "We can’t waste even a second anymore."

Mother Elena nodded, her expression becoming even more serious.

I could understand why the nurse was in such a hurry. Whatever had happened seemed serious enough to require immediate attention, and with Luna Selene away, the responsibility had fallen onto Mother Elena.

It couldn’t have been easy for her to deal with something like this without the Luna present.

"Mother Elena, please go quickly," I said when she turned toward me. There was a faint hesitation in her eyes, as though she wanted to make sure I didn’t need anything else before she left.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "I am fine. Damian will be here any minute now, and we’ll leave for home. You can deal with this matter without worrying about me."

Mother Elena studied my face for a few seconds, almost as though she were making sure I wasn’t simply saying that to make her leave without guilt.

"Okay, Athena." She finally nodded, a slight smile appearing on her face.

Even in such a tense situation, she was still making sure I was comfortable and that I wouldn’t be left worrying about myself. That small gesture warmed my heart more than I could explain.

"I might be late getting home tonight," she added, "but don’t worry. After I’m done dealing with those two girls, I’ll make sure to bring your test results back with me."

My heart gave a small, uneasy beat at the mention of the tests. I quickly pushed the feeling down and nodded. "Okay." I hummed softly in response, keeping the smile on my face.

Mother Elena gave me one last look before turning around and following the nurse out of the room.

I watched them disappear through the doorway. The moment the two of them left, however, I immediately got up from the bed.

I didn’t want to wait. Damian had never failed to come and pick me up these past few days, and there was no reason to believe he wouldn’t come today as well.

And when he did... I needed to find out whether he had anything to do with what had happened to Ria and Sombar.

I couldn’t shake the feeling. Something inside me kept insisting that Damian was somehow connected to this.

Even though I desperately wanted that feeling to be wrong, I couldn’t silence it. His words from that evening in the flower field kept replaying in my mind.

I stepped out of the room, deciding not to wait for him inside as I usually did.

Mother Elena had repeatedly reminded me that I was supposed to be supervised at all times until my treatment was complete, and under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have dared to wander around on my own. But this was different. I needed to know the truth.

I walked through the clinic and made my way outside, the cool air brushing against my face as soon as I stepped out of the building.

I stood near the entrance, glancing down the path. I hadn’t been waiting for long when I heard the familiar sound of an approaching bike.

My eyes immediately lifted. Just as I had assumed, Damian’s bike soon came into sight. It moved toward the clinic before slowing down, and within seconds, he brought it to a stop directly in front of me.

A small breath escaped my lips. Of course he had come. Damian never failed to keep his word. He quickly got off the bike, his helmet still covering his head. I remained where I was, watching him silently.

For a brief moment, I wondered whether I should ask him right there. Should I simply look him in the eyes and ask whether he had anything to do with Ria and Sombar?

The question was already sitting on the tip of my tongue. But I hesitated. There were people around the clinic, and even though no one seemed to be paying attention to us, I didn’t want our conversation to become someone else’s business.

If Damian really was involved, I didn’t know what his answer would be. And if he wasn’t... I didn’t want to accuse him of something without knowing the truth. So I decided to wait until we got home.

Damian reached up and removed his helmet. His hair was slightly disheveled from being underneath it, and as his face finally came into my view, our eyes met.

I stared at him for a moment. He looked completely normal. If someone else saw him right now they would say there was nothing obvious in his expression that could tell me whether he knew what had happened at the clinic.

But I knew this was not really his normal. Usually, whenever that face came into my view, it would be accompanied by a big, goofy smile. But today, that familiar smile was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Damian wore a completely neutral expression, his features carefully composed as though he were deliberately trying to hide something from me. My suspicion grew even more stronger.

"Why are you already outside?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of me. "Didn’t Mom advise me to escort you out of your room for your safety?"

There was a slight frown on his face as he looked me over, as though he was checking whether I had done something I wasn’t supposed to.

"I just didn’t feel like waiting inside today," I replied casually. I forced myself to keep my voice light. I couldn’t let him realize what I was thinking.

Not till we reached home where no one else could hear us. I needed to keep the mood normal until we reached home. "I am getting tired anyway. Let’s go back."

Before he could say anything else, I reached toward the back of his bike and grabbed the spare helmet.

I put it on without another word. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Damian watching me. His gaze lingered on me for a few seconds, almost as though he were trying to figure out why I was acting differently.

I deliberately avoided looking at him. I knew that if I met his eyes for too long, he might notice something in my expression.

After several seconds of silently sizing me up, Damian seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to explain myself. He finally moved toward the bike and climbed onto it.

I followed him, settling onto the seat behind him. Usually, this was when Damian would start with some annoying joke or playful comment.

Today, there was nothing. He simply started the bike. The engine came to life, and we rode away from the clinic without exchanging another word.

The silence between us felt strangely heavy. I sat behind him, my hands resting carefully as I tried to keep my thoughts under control.

Before I knew it, we had already arrived at his home.

The moment Damian stopped the bike, I got off without waiting even a second. I barely gave him time to remove his helmet before walking inside.

My heart was beating faster now. I had spent the entire ride trying to convince myself that perhaps I was imagining things. But the moment we reached home, my patience disappeared. I really needed an answer.

I stepped into the small living room and waited for Damian to come inside. The second he crossed the doorway, I turned toward him.

"I need to ask you something, Damian." My voice came out more serious than I had intended.

He paused, his eyes settling on me.

I didn’t give him a chance to ask what it was. "Do those girls getting caught have anything to do with you?"

The question came out directly. I didn’t wait for his approval or give him any time to prepare an answer. I needed to know. I needed to know whether he had done something and if he had, exactly what it was.

Damian stared at me. For a moment, his face was completely devoid of expression. "What did I do?" he asked calmly. "They were breaking the pack laws. What does any of that have to do with me?"

His voice sounded almost perfectly casual.

Almost....But I was watching him too closely to miss it. There was a tiny hesitation behind his words. It lasted for barely a second, but I caught it.

My suspicion grew even more. He really did have something to do with this. Perhaps he wasn’t responsible for what Ria and Sombar had done in the first place, but there was something about the way they had suddenly been caught that didn’t sit right with me.

"Damian, I know you’re not responsible for whatever those two girls have done," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on him. "But how could they suddenly be caught, and in public at that?"

I took a small step closer, studying his expression. "Do you really have nothing to do with that either?"