Chapter 77: A Fair Exchange

Sloane stood in front of the intensive care unit’s door, her eyes fixed on Lumi as though she were trying to decide whether allowing the girl to enter was a mistake.

"If you can’t do anything, then please..." Her voice wavered, the anger in her expression gradually giving way to something more complicated. "Don’t make things worse."

She paused, glancing through the glass panel at the unconscious man lying inside.

"I’ve only got Evan," she whispered. "I can’t lose him."

Lumi looked at her silently, remembering how gently Sloane had treated her when they first met at the hospital after Evan’s Rampage during the Fated Bonding Ceremony. Back then, she had thought Evan’s mother was a kind woman, someone who genuinely cared about him.

Perhaps she still did.

But Lumi couldn’t forget what she had witnessed inside Evan’s mental space, the painful memory of Sloane calling her own son a monster. Whatever affection Sloane had for Evan, there was something between them that Lumi didn’t understand, something that had left wounds deeper than either of them was willing to admit.

Sloane took a slow breath before turning back to her, "Fine. I’ll let you in."

Lumi’s eyes widened slightly.

"But there’s something you need to understand first." Sloane’s expression hardened, and the vulnerability that had briefly appeared on her face was replaced by a familiar sense of control. "If you can help Evan recover, then I’ll consider this a fair exchange. You help him, and once he’s better, you leave him."

Lumi stared at her, momentarily unsure whether she had heard correctly. "Madam..."

"Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying you have to abandon him while he’s still in danger." Sloane’s fingers curled tightly around the edge of her sleeve. "I’m giving you the chance to help him now, but after he recovers, I want you to end this relationship and stop getting involved in his life."

Her gaze sharpened.

"You’re his Fated Guide, I know that. But being Fated Guides doesn’t mean you have to stay together forever, does it? There are plenty of talented Guides in the Empire who can help him. Guides who can actually support him instead of dragging him into one dangerous situation after another."

The words stung, but Lumi didn’t immediately look away.

She remembered Evan stepping in front of the Anomaly, taking the attack meant for her without the slightest hesitation. She remembered his blood staining her hands and the terrible helplessness she had felt as she tried to keep him alive.

She had never asked him to protect her.

And yet, he had done so anyway.

"I don’t want Evan to get hurt either," Lumi replied softly.

"Then you should understand why I’m asking this of you." For a moment, Sloane’s voice became gentler, almost pleading.

"Evan has spent his entire life fighting for things he doesn’t need to fight for. He never knows when to stop, and he never listens when someone tells him to step back. I don’t want to see him continue down this path until one day, there’s nothing left to save."

There was truth in her words, but Lumi couldn’t help wondering whether Sloane truly wanted Evan to be safe or simply wanted him to live the kind of life that would cause the fewest problems for her family.

Perhaps even Sloane herself could no longer tell the difference.

"I’m his mother," she continued, her voice growing strained. "I know what’s best for him, even if he refuses to listen to me. If you really care about him, then you should be willing to let him go when the time comes."

Lumi lowered her eyes. She couldn’t promise to leave Evan. Not when she didn’t even know what their future would look like, and certainly not when he was lying unconscious behind that door.

But she also couldn’t bear the thought of standing outside while there might still be something she could do to help him.

"I can’t promise you that," she admitted quietly. "I don’t know what will happen after he wakes up, and I don’t think it’s right for me to decide his future without him."

Sloane’s expression darkened. "Then why should I let you in?"

"Because the doctor said I might be able to help him." Lumi lifted her head, her voice still timid but steadier than before. "I don’t know whether I can, and I won’t pretend that I do. But if there’s even a small chance that I can help Evan, I want to try."

For several seconds, neither woman spoke.

Sloane studied the girl before her, apparently searching for some sign of deception or ambition. She found no confident declaration, no promise that Lumi could save Evan, and no attempt to use their Fated connection as a weapon against her.

Only a frightened young woman who wanted to help the man she cared about.

Finally, Sloane stepped aside.

"Go in, then," she said stiffly. "But don’t forget what I’ve told you. Once Evan recovers, I expect you to keep your promise and leave him."

Lumi hesitated before following the doctor inside.

She hadn’t made such a promise, and Sloane knew it.

Perhaps the older woman had decided that allowing Lumi to enter was worth the risk, provided she could persuade the girl to leave afterward. Perhaps she believed that once Evan was safe, Lumi would be easier to separate from him.

Whatever her reasons, Lumi had no intention of arguing with her any further.

Right now, Evan mattered more than anything else.

When she finally reached his bedside, she stopped.

He looked so different from the man who had stood fearlessly before the Anomaly, the man who had protected her without hesitation. His face was pale, his body motionless beneath the hospital sheets, and the steady rhythm of the medical equipment was the only reminder that he was still alive.

"Evan..." she whispered.

There was no response.

Lumi slowly reached for his hand, her heart aching at the sight of him.

She didn’t know whether she could help him, and she couldn’t promise that she would leave him simply because his mother demanded it.

But she could make one decision for herself.

She would do everything she could to bring him back.