Chapter 579

Nathan looked like he was fighting something inside, his fists clenched tight, but he didn’t tell me to stop.

When I went to clean the wound on his back, my chest tightened with worry. A bit of blood seemed to seep out again, and as the towel touched it, guilt flooded my heart.

I quietly rinsed the towel and wiped him down even more gently than before.

Nathan picked up on how I was feeling and started to loosen up.

Once I finished cleaning him up, I handed Nathan the sweater I’d brought over, so he wouldn’t catch a chill.

Nathan slipped into a black turtleneck, and somehow, it made him look even more gentle.

When I came back from taking out the trash, Nathan was sitting up straight, focused on his laptop.

It looked like he still had work to finish–his left hand was flying over the keyboard, typing at lightning speed.

“Do you still have a lot of work left?” I asked, my heart aching for him.

Nathan nodded. “Just a bit left, maybe about an hour.”

I walked over to his laptop for a look. The screen was packed with endless streams of data, and just looking at it made my eyes blur. Clearly, I was out of my depth.

Nathan glanced down and chuckled. “Want to learn how to code?”

I blinked, surprised. “You really think I could just learn that if I wanted to?”

Nathan’s smile grew, his voice gentle. “If you want, I’ll teach you myself. One-on-one. I guarantee you’ll get the hang of it.”

“Nah, I’m too old for that. My memory’s not what it used to be,” I said, shaking my head.

“Come on, you’re not that old!” Nathan laughed, teasing me.

I froze for a second–almost let my real age slip. That was close!

“Alright, you get back to work. I’ll make you some tea,” I said with a smile.

But Nathan suddenly paused, watching me as I picked up the kettle to boil some water.

“Victoria, if you weren’t standing right here in front of me, I’d honestly think this was all just a dream,” Nathan said quietly from behind me.

I turned to look at him. “So, do I show up in your dreams a lot?”

Nathan’s cheeks turned a little red, and he gave an awkward smile. “Not really. I kept hoping I’d dream about you, but after all this time apart, not even once.”

“Oh? Maybe fate just doesn’t want us to be that close,” I teased, raising an eyebrow at him.

“No, I think it’s because I daydream about you so much, the universe decided to punish me by not letting me see you in my dreams at night,” Nathan joked back.

I let out a little laugh and propped myself lazily against the cabinet. “Oh yeah? So what’s a daydream like? I don’t think I ever have.”

Nathan looked even more embarrassed, biting his lip. “Maybe it’s just… thinking about someone when you’re awake.”

I was stunned for a moment.

Nathan’s eyes grew heated as he looked at me. “Because you’re awake, you can imagine every little detail. And the best part is, you can keep weaving that dream as much as you want–it doesn’t just disappear when you wake up.”

My cheeks turned red, and I turned away, facing the cabinet. “Oh, maybe I’ll give it a try sometime.”

“Daydreaming about you and Ryan together?” Nathan’s face fell instantly.

I denied it right away. “Of course not.”

I tossed some tea leaves into a cup, poured in hot water, then turned to Nathan. “My daydreams aren’t about that kind of stuff. I dream about striking it rich, or maybe even living forever.”

Nathan just stared at me, totally speechless for a moment, then smiled. “You really are still as funny as ever.”

I pulled out my phone and said, “Alright, you get back to work. I’ve got some emails to deal with too.”

Nathan went back to his work quietly. I opened my phone, and the first thing I did was cut ties with Isabelle, that fair-weather friend. Then I put Ryan and Edward on my block list–no more contact with them, ever.

Once that was done, I opened my work emails and started replying to messages.

By a little past ten, Nathan finally finished up his work. He looked exhausted–guess all that blood loss really took it out of him.

“Where are you planning to sleep, Victoria?” Nathan asked.

I pointed at the couch beside the bed. Since this was a high-end hospital room, it was pretty well-equipped.

“That couch is way too small, and it’ll get cold at night,” Nathan said, shifting a little. “Why don’t you just sleep here next to me?”

I froze for a second.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll just ask the nurse for an extra blanket,” I said, getting up and heading out.

The nurse–she was really sweet–handed me a pillow and a blanket.

Nathan seemed a little down, but he just kept quiet about it.

Lights out, and the room was swallowed by darkness.

I’d napped in the afternoon, so now, to my surprise, I was wide awake.

My mind kept circling back to what Edward had said–how in families like his, emotions were worthless, barely worth mentioning. What truly mattered was profit and power that couldn’t be replaced. That was the real core of their world.