The moment the secretary, Dan Dam, finished his phone call, he rushed out of his master's suite, his eyes searching urgently for Fati in the hospital corridors. He carried news that could change everything; he had just received an update regarding the missing records. It turned out there was indeed a servant whose name did not appear on the official palace list, for a reason both simple and pivotal: she wasn't part of the general staff. She was a "private servant" who had arrived with the daughter in law when she first married into the family.
This woman was like a shadow, tied only by her loyalty to her mistress, and she had vanished without a trace from the palace following the tragic accident that upended everyone's lives. Dan Dam had to find Fati immediately to inform her of this breakthrough in the wall of silence surrounding "Rosie."
Dan Dam paused in the hallway, hesitating. When he saw Kylo with Fati, he decided to retreat. He thought it best to delay giving her the news until he had gathered the complete information about the servant and could present it in a formal report. He turned back for one last look and saw Fati standing up and leaving quickly. Kylo was trying to keep her there, but she vanished behind the closed doors of the surgical department.
At that moment, suspicion took root in the secretary's heart. He sensed there was something between them. Should he inform Jaguar? Dan Dam fought the urge and chose silence. His master had only just begun to regain his appetite for life since Fati's return. Telling him now would only throw him back into a dark tunnel of despair, where he would deny himself all joy and exhaust his body with work once again. He decided to let him recover first; everything else could wait.
In his room, Jaguar sat staring at his phone; Fati's number danced before his eyes like an unsolvable riddle. His heart urged him to call, while his mind pleaded for caution. Finally, his heart won. He pressed the call button, telling himself it would be "just one ring," rationalizing that she was surely busy.
At that exact moment, Fati had hidden behind the heavy doors of the operating room after escaping Kylo. She leaned her back against the door, taking a deep breath to find her calm, when her phone suddenly rang. Without thinking, she answered instantly, her mind racing: "Did the secretary report what he saw to his master this quickly?"
- Hello...?
She said, her voice trembling and her breath coming in short gasps.
Jaguar was shocked by how quickly she answered and by the strained tone of her voice. In his sheer nervousness, his fingers slipped, and he accidentally ended the call. He sank into a silent regret, staring at the black screen, wondering what she must be thinking now.
Fati stood frozen for a moment, unable to believe that Jaguar had hung up on her. She clutched the silent phone to her ear, her heart pounding with anxiety. Was that call a silent "warning"? She concluded in fear that she had to keep Kylo away from her at any cost; his presence might be the reason Jaguar refuses to perform her grandfather's surgery.
Just then, the nurse passed by, escorting the staff as they moved the patient Fati had just operated on toward the recovery room. The patient drifted between consciousness and anesthesia as the nurse asked in surprise,
- Doctor, are you still here? Isn't it time you got some rest?
- Yes.. yes, I'll take a break now,
Fati replied absently.
She had originally intended to go to Jaguar's suite to sleep on the sofa, but now she didn't have the courage to face him. Her weary legs carried her instead to Jaguar grandfather's room. There, she sat beside him and held his hands tightly as if drawing strength from them. She kept whispering to him until sleep overcame her, falling asleep while cradling his warm hands, escaping from her bitter reality.
Jaguar found no peace after what he had done; he kept blaming himself for letting his fingers hang up on her. He remained lost in thought, not daring to call again or even send an apology. In an attempt to escape his racing thoughts and his overwhelming desire for Fati, he stood up, put on his surgical mask, and headed to his grandfather's suite. Staying alone was driving him mad.
As soon as he entered the room, his eyes fell on Fati. She was sitting there, fallen into a deep sleep, resting her head in the palm of his grandfather's frail hand. He smiled at the tender sight; there she was again, lost in dreams. She seemed so exhausted that she could fall asleep anywhere.
Jaguar leaned down until he was right in front of her face, whispering in a deep voice that carried a mix of reproach and adoration:
- You mischievous kitten... why do you sleep in every place my eyes find you? My bed is the only place meant for your sleep, and from this day on, I won't allow you to sleep anywhere else.
He carried her with extreme gentleness, as if afraid to break her beautiful dream, and headed toward his suite to establish his new balance of power. He wasn't satisfied with just having her in his life; he wanted her in the heart of his world... always under his watchful eyes, placing her on his bed like a piece of precious porcelain. He lay down beside her, watching her peaceful features until he, too, succumbed to sleep. When Fati finally opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place next to him. "When did I get here?" she wondered in shock. She slipped out of bed and crept out of the suite like a "thief" afraid of being caught, while Jaguar slowly opened his eyes with a lingering smile; he had finally stolen the moments of closeness he had been longing for.
After leaving the suite, Fati struggled to recall her steps. She remembered the operating room, then his grandfather's room... but she had no memory of going to Jaguar's suite of her own will.
- What is wrong with me?
She whispered to herself in panic.
- Have I lost the strength to stay away?
She quickly forced herself to remember:
- No, Fati... don't forget what he did to you and your grandfather. Don't forget how he left him in cold blood, taking his last breaths in your arms!
She decided then and there that he didn't deserve a single beat of her heart; the love he crushed years ago could never bloom again.
She left the hospital building and headed toward the apartment complex across from the gate. Suddenly, she realized she didn't know the apartment number or how to get in. She pulled out her phone and sent a brief inquiry to Jaguar. Within moments, the reply came, and she stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the numbers on the screen: 2403.
Her heart raced. It was their wedding date! Was it possible he chose this number on purpose because that day meant something to him? Or was it just a cruel coincidence of fate? She tried to convince herself with cold logic:
- No... it's not real. Jaguar doesn't love me... it's a pure coincidence!
But doubt began to creep in, for in Jaguar's world, dates are never chosen by chance.
Fati opened the apartment door and stepped inside, overwhelmed for the first time by a sense of absolute freedom. The apartment was hers alone; she would live like a queen today, doing whatever she pleased. She set her priorities and wrote them down on a small piece of paper: (Shower, Dinner, Romantic Movie). She left the note on the living room table as the manifesto for her peaceful night.
She went in to shower, leaving the bathroom door wide open after all, there was no one here to disturb her. She let the warm water flow over her exhausted body, then sank into the bathtub filled with bubbles. She surrendered to the heat and the scent of essential oils, resting her head on a rolled up towel, breathing in the steam with a quiet smile. Her muscle tension began to fade, and her body relaxed into a world of serenity... until a sudden male voice pierced the silence:
- May I join you?