Chapter 145: Still alive?

Tom couldn’t bring his hands to even do anything. His mind had gone blank.

The trailer was all he could see, filling his mind completely with only flashes of death and agony. There was no clever reaction waiting in his body, no trained instinct to draw from because this was the first time he’d ever experience what a road accident looked like.

Panic took him and his hands left the steering wheel. His breath locked. For one stretched second, he could only watch death come at him in steel and motion.

Then, all of a sudden, before the trailer could ram into him, another trailer burst in from the side and smashed into the oncoming vehicle.

The impact cracked the moment apart. Tom’s eyes flew wider as the killing line broke, and pure shock sent him wrenching his car toward the roadside bush. Branches tore across the hood. The vehicle jolted hard, slammed into a tree, and the world punched out of focus.

And like that, darkness took him.

~~~~~~~~~

When Tom opened his eyes again and the ceiling above him was unfamiliar…

Before he could start wondering where he was, his eyes darted around the surrounding and he realized he was in a Hospital.

“I’m still alive?” He wondered inwardly with a sharp exhale of relief.

[Very much alive, Host. ] the system replied him and Tom heaved another sigh of relief.

Then he turned his head and found Stella there, standing by the window, looking in the direction of the bed he was in.

The moment their eyes met, her composure broke enough for the fear underneath to show. She moved to him at once and wrapped her arms around him, holding on as if she needed the solid fact of his body to prove he was still here.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered against him.

Tom pushed himself up slightly, the movement drawing a dull ache through his shoulders.

“No, why would you be sorry?” He muttered.

“It was my fault.” She blurted and Tom’s eyes widened slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

Stella drew back just enough to look at his face. Her eyes were too bright, her mouth held too tightly.

“It was my fault.” She repeated. Her voice stayed low, but the guilt in it was raw. She swallowed hard then opened her mouth again;

“I noticed Adrian had been acting suspicious for days. I should have warned you. I kept telling myself I would find the right moment to figure out what exactly he was up to, and then this happened.” Her fingers curled against the bedsheet.

“I sent a rescue team when I realized what he might do. The other trailer. But I was late. Too close to late.”

Tom watched her for a second, taking in the strain she was trying and failing to fully hide. This was not a concern for cameras. This was fear that had already lived through the worst possibility and had not yet fully left her body. He sat up slowly and she stood up straight.

“Don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.” he finally said.

Stella’s brows pulled together, unconvinced.

“No, I’m to be blamed.” She insisted.

“You didn’t send the trailer at me,” Tom continued. “Adrian did. And from the fact that I’m lying here instead of being scraped off the road, your people got there in time. I should be thanking you.”

The words landed just right at Stella’s mind. Some of the tightness in her shoulders eased, though not all of it. She searched his face as if bracing for rejection anyway.

“So you don’t hate me?”

“Of course not. Why would I hate you? Adrian is the one I should hate. Not you. Not in any way.” Tom said firmly.

Relief moved through her expression so clearly she could not hide it. For a moment she only looked at him, the fear still lingering under the pleasure of being spared his blame. Then she sat on the edge of the bed beside him.

“Does any part still hurt?” she asked gently.

Tom tested his neck and shoulders lightly. “No.”

“The doctor already checked, though. He said it was mostly shock and panic that made you lose consciousness. No serious injury.” she said.

“Yeah. That sounds right.” Tom exhaled, the memory of the windshield still too easy to recall.

Stella shifted closer on the bed. “Come here.” she said then she leaned in and kissed him.

There was hunger in it, but also leftover fear ; the kind of kiss meant to confirm that the person under her mouth was warm, alive, and still reachable. Tom kissed her back, one hand rising to her waist as the contact deepened. Stella made a soft sound against his lips and murmured, “I missed you so much,” before kissing him again, fuller this time, as if the hospital room had briefly ceased to matter.

Then a knock sounded at the door.

Stella broke away at once and stood, smoothing her expression back into calm so quickly it almost looked practiced. By the time the doctor entered, she was only a composed visitor at the bedside again.

“Hello, Mr Thomas. I’m here to check you again. I’m pleased to see you awake now.” The doctor said to Tom warmly. Tom nodded in appreciation.

Then the doctor checked him thoroughly, asked a few questions, and finally nodded.

“Thankfully, nothing serious. You need rest more than treatment. We’ll keep you until evening just to be sure you stabilize fully.” he said.

Tom nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Doctor. “

Once the doctor left, Stella’s shoulders lowered again.

“You’ll need food,” she said. “What do you want?” she asked.

“Anything simple.” Tom gave a faint tired breath. “I don’t have much appetite. Not after that sight.”

“I understand.” Stella glanced at the watch on her wrist, checking the time and conflict flickering briefly through her face.

“I’ll get something arranged for you. I was in the middle of a shoot when I rushed here, so I’ll send someone with everything you need, go finish the work, and come back by evening when you’re discharged.” she explained.

“Okay. That’s fine.” he said.

“Be good, okay?” She said, looking at him one more time, as if making sure the image of him safe would hold until she returned.

“I will be.” He gave her a nod of assurance. Stella nodded too then walked out of the hospital room.

~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Stella’s personal assistant arrived with more food than one patient needed.

Containers, covered plates, fruit, soup, light meals, and extras were set out until the overbed table looked closer to catering than hospital care.

Tom ate enough to satisfy his body and ended up sharing the rest, most of it, with the nurses on duty, who accepted the unexpected windfall with open surprise and quick thanks.

By late afternoon, the room had grown too still. Stella’s personal assistant was still lingering around, based on her boss’s instructions but Tom was bored of the quietude of the room.

He would have called Bree to inform her of what happened and also to instruct her to stay back on the club property and continue the work but he didn’t see his phone. He knew it would be inside the car.

After a moment of just looking around the hospital room, he stepped out for fresh air and made his way to the balcony attached to the corridor.

He got there and rested both hands on the rail, drew in a deeper breath, and let the residual tension in his chest loosen.

“Adrian Cole…” He had just begun to think about what to do to him when his gaze landed on something surprising… Someone actually.

A woman stood farther along the balcony line, her shoulders appeared slightly drawn in, her head lowered in a way that did not belong to casual waiting. Even before she fully turned, something in her posture pulled his attention hard.

She was someone he knew but what was she doing here, looking like that…?

Sullen, worn, and marked by the unmistakable aftermath of tears.