CHAPTER 111: 111

The car ride felt endless. And Elisa stayed curled in the passenger seat, trembling beneath Nix’s jacket. Every now and then a soft, scared whimper escaped her lips, and Nix’s chest tightened painfully each time.

He kept glancing sideways at her worried, and frustrated with himself, shaken in a way he could not show.

Why did she panic like that?

What did she hear?

What terrified her so much she ran into traffic?

He rested his hand gently over hers.

"Elisa," he whispered, "we’re almost home. You’re safe." But she flinched again, her voice barely audible.

"He... he’s going to take her..."

Nix swallowed slowly, the words hitting him harder than they should.

"No," he whispered firmly. " No one is taking her from you. I’m not taking anything from you."

But she didn’t seem able to hear him.. not fully.

Her breathing was still uneven, her eyes swollen and unfocused. And he hit the pedal and drove faster wanting to get them home but from time to time his gaze flickered between Nyxella who had her head resting firmly in Zamiel’s chest and the road.

The mansion gates opened immediately when his car approached. The moment he pulled into the driveway, maids appeared instinctively, bowing as they always did

only for all of them to freeze mid-motion when he stepped out carrying Elisa in his arms.

Her head rested limply against his chest, and her fingers still curled weakly in the fabric of his jacket.

Gasps echoed softly across the entrance.

The butler’s eyes widened, and two maids covered their mouths.

While others exchanged a frightened look with the head housekeeper.

Everyone knew that Mrs Deanarely showed vulnerability and even those that had never met her had already heard stories about her. But seeing her pale, trembling, and unconscious in Nix’s arms...

It was a sight none of them expected.

"Clear the way," Nix ordered quietly yet the command carried the same weight as a shout.

Instantly, the staff stepped aside, bowing deeply. Their gazes followed him anxiously as he strode through the hall, his hold on Elisa protective enough to draw whispers behind bowed heads.

"She looks so pale..."

"What happened to madam?"

"Is she sick?"

"Sir Nix looks... worried."

He could hear their whispers but chose to ignore all of it.

His only focus was the fragile woman in his arms

He pushed open her bedroom door with his shoulder and laid her down carefully on the bed. She stirred weakly, her brows tightening with the remnants of panic.

"...Nyxella..." she whispered, almost inaudible. "Where... where is she...?"

"Shh," Nix murmured. His fingers brushed her cheek gently.

"She’s safe. She’s with Zamile."

Those words alone made her breath slow.. just a bit.

Enough for her body to sag into the mattress.

Exhaustion finally took her and her eyes fluttered shut as she fell into unconscious sleep.

Nix adjusted her pillow, pulled a blanket over her, and stayed seated beside her, watching the way her chest rose and fell still too fast, but no longer frantic.

He had seen her angry, stubborn and guarded.

But he had never seen her break.

And it unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

A soft knock interrupted the silence and Zamile walked in holding a sleeping Nyxella, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. Her tiny fist gripped the collar of his shirt like she was afraid to let go.

"She cried for her mother," he said quietly, "but she’s asleep now."

Nix stood and took Nyxella gently from him.

Her little body melted into his chest, her breaths soft and warm against him.

He swallowed emotion tugging hard and unexpectedly at his chest.

He placed her on the bed beside Elisa, adjusting the blanket to cover them both. Nyxella instinctively reached out in her sleep until her tiny hand rested against Elisa’s arm. And the sight nearly broke him.

Zamile moved closer, placing two fingers at Elisa’s wrist.

"Her pulse is steadier," he said. "She’s stabilizing... but something triggered her hard."

Nix looked up sharply.

"I know."

Zamile sighed. "She didn’t just panic. She spiraled. That kind of reaction only happens when someone believes they’re about to lose something they cannot survive without."

Nix’s jaw tightened painfully.

He thought of his own words in the boardroom.

"I think she heard me," he admitted quietly.

Zamile nodded slowly.

"That explains part of the fear. But Nix..."

He exhaled.

"That wasn’t a normal panic attack. She reacted like she was reliving something."

Nix straightened, his expression darkening.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean something else happened. Something more than your conversation. She didn’t run like a frightened person. She ran like someone being chased."

Nix’s eyes flicked to the door and back to her

"I’ll find out." was all he said before Zamile picked up his medical bag.

"Call me if she wakes up or if she gets worse. I’ll come back in the morning." He tapped on Nix’s shoulder before taking his leave.

The moment the door closed, Nix pulled out his phone and his voice dropped to a dangerous calm.

"Connect me to security."

The line clicked.

"Yes, sir?"

"I want every second of CCTV footage from the boardroom hallway," he said.

"Every camera. Every angle." There was a sudden pause as if his words was a remote control before the voice from the other end continued

"Of course. From what hour?"

"All of them."

He looked at Elisa sleeping beside Nyxella and his expression hardened.

"Something happened today," he said softly.

"And I’m going to find out what."

Was all he said and left for his study room. He sat alone in his study, the only light coming from the glow of the monitor. His jaw flexed as he clicked through the footage, each second replaying the events Carmela had lived just hours ago.

He wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

Her expression.

The frozen terror.

The way her knees buckled.

The way she pressed a hand to her chest as if the air had been ripped out of her lungs.

Then the moment..

The exact moment she heard something.

Something that made her eyes widen with recognition before she clamped a shaking hand over her mouth.

Nix’s finger hovered above the pause button.

He leaned closer. Replayed it again and again

Her reaction wasn’t a confused woman trying to piece together unfamiliar surroundings...

It was someone who understood exactly what she heard.

And a cold, heavy realization sank into his bones.

His hand dropped from the mouse.

His breath left in one slow groan.

He dragged a hand over his face, exhaustion and betrayal settling into him like poison.

"Lord please help me" he muttered under his breath

Meanwhile a sharp gasp tore through the darkness as Elisa sat upright in her bed.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as sweat coated her temples and her heart throbbed painfully in her ears.

She looked around, disoriented the room she was in looked familiar and yet foreign as the dim morning light filtered In her sheets tangled around her legs.

She swung her legs off the bed, steadying herself before stepping toward the door. But the moment she opened it...

Her breath hitched.

Her luggage was already packed and lined up neatly by the entrance.

And at the center of the room stood Nix, holding Nyxella protectively against his chest. His expression was unreadable, carved from something cold and wounded.

"Wh... what’s going on?" she whispered.

Before she could take a step, Nix lifted a hand, signalling one of the maids who immediately reached for the luggage.

"Wait.." Elisa started, but her voice died the moment Nix spoke.

His tone wasn’t loud.

But it carried the weight of something broken beyond repair.

"You know... there was a time I thought losing you would destroy me."

His eyes met hers haunted.

"I loved you so much it terrified me." Her heart dropped hearing those words

"Nix... please.. "

"But what terrifies me more," he continued, his voice trembling despite how hard he tried to steady it, "is realizing I was the only one drowning in that love."

Her lips parted as she wanted to defend herself

"No.. that’s not true. I.. " but she couldn’t

"You killed my mother."

The words cut through the room like a blade.

"And even if I force myself to look past that, I can’t forgive that you hid my daughter from me. You let me grieve for you while you were still alive.." Her knees weakened about to give way

"Nix, I didn’t mean to.. I was scared. I didn’t want to lose either of you and so I listened to what my Dad said and I already lo.."

"You lost me the moment you chose my suffering over the truth."

He swallowed hard, eyes reddening.

"You didn’t just hurt me, Carmela. You made me believe my whole world had died."

"No... please... don’t say that.. " her voice shook, brittle from guilt and desperation.

He looked away, jaw tightening.

"Take her out," he ordered quietly.

The maids grabbed her arms.

"Wait! Nix.. please! Let me explain! I didn’t want.. I didn’t.."

Her words dissolved into sobs as they pulled her toward the door.

Her fingers scraped the frame but the maids hold on her was too firm

"Nix!" she screamed and the moment her body crossed the threshold

She jerked awake with a violent gasp. Her gaze swept the room and the sight of Nyxella beside her brought ease to her. Nix was sleeping on the coach opposite the bed and her bags were nowhere in sight.

Her chest heaved as she pressed a trembling hand over her pounding heart.

It was a dream... just a dream.

But the ache it left behind...

That was painfully real.