That much, Aurora was already certain of.

Julian let out an awkward laugh. “It’s nothing, Aurora. You’ve misunderstood me. I have something to take care of. I’ll be leaving now.”

But there was no way Aurora was letting him walk out of there.

She had already realized she was in a hospital room.

Without hesitation, she shouted toward the door, “Someone help! There’s an intruder in my room! Hurry!”

She was still lying on the bed and could clearly feel how weak her body was.

That meant she’d been unconscious for some time.

The best move now was to avoid any direct confrontation.

Otherwise, she’d be the one at a disadvantage.

After what she’d just experienced in her memories, Aurora became extremely protective of her health.

She wasn’t going to take any unnecessary risks.

She hadn’t even seen Lucas yet—how could she afford to waste her life like this?

She had just learned who he really was and how important he’d always been to her.

She hadn’t even had the chance to tell him yet.

There was no way she was going to throw that away on something so pointless.

Thinking about it now, she felt like a fool for not saving more time for herself before.

But that wouldn’t happen again.

From now on, she was going to give her future self and Lucas all the time they deserved.

She wasn’t going to let anyone else steal that from her.

Lucas had been on the phone just outside.

He’d already sensed something was off.

Grace had been talking in circles for a while now.

And then, remembering the odd look on Tessa’s face earlier, his eyes darkened.

Without another word, he turned and headed straight toward the hospital room.

Tessa stepped in front of him. “Hey, where are you going? You haven’t finished talking to Mom. Don’t you know how to show some respect to your elders?”

Lucas narrowed his phoenix eyes. “You’d better pray Aurora is okay, because if anything happens to her, I swear you’ll go down with me.”

Tessa flinched at the pressure radiating off him.

But then she quickly reminded herself—she had Grace backing her.

What was there to be afraid of?

Besides, it was broad daylight. What could he really do to her?

Sure enough, the next second, Grace’s voice came through the phone.

“So, this is how you treat my daughter?”

She let out a cold laugh. “If that’s the kind of man you are, how do you expect me to trust you with Aurora?

“If one day she upsets you, would you treat her like this too?”

Lucas felt a sudden jolt of panic in his chest but still forced himself to reply casually, “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll take care of Aurora. I promise, I…”

He was in the middle of his reassurance when he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling his name.

He froze.

His mind went completely blank.

That voice—he had definitely just heard it.

Yes, it had to be real.

A rush of joy surged in his chest, impossible to contain.

Without a second thought, he tossed the phone to Tessa, shoved her aside, and sprinted toward the hospital room.

He barely had time to feel the happiness building in him before the sight inside stopped him cold.

Aurora was struggling against Julian.

And in Julian’s hand was a thick syringe.

One look, and Lucas understood everything.