The words had barely left her mouth before she noticed Lucas's expression shift. Not in a good way. His jaw tightened visibly. His gaze darkened, storm clouds gathering behind his eyes.
Nina panicked internally, her heart plummeting.
Why does he look even angrier now?!
She felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, threatening to betray her composure.
Sir, please. If you have something to say, just say it. Your mysterious silence is absolutely terrifying.
Axel coughed awkwardly and rubbed his nose, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden shift in atmosphere. "Uh…"
He glanced between them, assessing the damage. "Okay, small translation moment here."
Nina leaned forward immediately, desperate for clarification. "Yes, please."
Axel pointed at Lucas with a somewhat apologetic gesture. "My brother thinks giving you money would be… insulting. Like reducing what you did to a simple transaction."
Nina's brain short-circuited completely, all rational thought grinding to a halt. Inside her head, she began screaming at maximum volume.
INSULTING?!
PLEASE INSULT ME.
INSULT ME AGGRESSIVELY.
INSULT ME WITH ENTHUSIASM.
BRING A BUCKET OF MONEY AND DUMP IT ON MY HEAD.
I WILL THANK YOU PROFUSELY.
I WILL WRITE YOU A HEARTFELT THANK-YOU LETTER.
I WILL FRAME IT AND HANG IT IN MY LIVING ROOM.
Outwardly, however, Nina maintained perfect composure, her expression serene despite the chaos raging inside."Oh," she said with practiced politeness, her voice steady."That's very thoughtful of you."
Meanwhile, internally: My acting career is one bad audition away from bankruptcy. If money is an insult, please insult me repeatedly.
Daily. Hourly, even.
Silence descended upon the room once more, thick and uncomfortable. The stalemate had returned with a vengeance.
Axel's gaze darted between them nervously, his discomfort palpable. "Wow," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "This is the most awkward reward negotiation I've ever witnessed, and I've sat through corporate merger discussions."
Lucas broke the silence, his voice carrying that same unnerving calm that seemed to characterize everything he did. The decisiveness in his tone left no room for argument. "Then we'll resolve it another way."
Relief washed through Nina like a cool wave.
Good.
She'd take literally anything over this suffocating billionaire tension that made her feel like she was drowning in expensive cologne and unspoken expectations.
Lucas met her eyes directly, his gaze unwavering and intense."Marry me."
Nina froze. Completely. Every muscle in her body locked into place. Her brain short-circuited, thoughts scattering like startled birds. Her lungs forgot their primary function. Three excruciating seconds crawled by before Nina exploded into violent, uncontrollable coughing.
"Cough—COUGH—"
She nearly choked on her own saliva, her hand flying to her chest as she struggled to regain control of her respiratory system. "What did you just say?!" The words came out strangled, disbelieving.
Axel looked equally stunned, his professional composure finally cracking. His mouth hung open in a way that would have been comical under different circumstances. He slowly turned toward Lucas, moving as if through molasses."…Okay."
He raised both hands in a gesture of bewildered surrender, his voice climbing an octave. "Now I need a translation too, because I could have sworn you just proposed marriage to a woman you met yesterday."
Nina clutched the hospital blanket like it might somehow protect her from this surreal reality, her knuckles white against the pale fabric.
Her heart hammered against her ribs as she stared at Lucas, searching his face for any hint of humor, any sign this was an elaborate joke."…You're joking." It came out as half statement, half desperate plea.
Lucas's expression remained perfectly serious, his features carved from stone. Not a flicker of amusement crossed his face. "No."
Axel blinked repeatedly, as if trying to reset his vision and wake from whatever fever dream he'd stumbled into. "Brother…" His voice carried a note of genuine concern now. "Care to elaborate? Perhaps explain the logical leap from 'thank you' to 'marriage proposal'?"
Lucas spoke as calmly as if he were discussing a routine business merger, his tone measured and rational in a way that made the situation even more absurd. "You saved my son." He gestured toward Ethan with one elegant hand, his expression softening almost imperceptibly when his eyes landed on the sleeping child. "I intend to repay that debt. Fully and appropriately."
Nina raised a trembling finger, pointing at him with a mixture of disbelief and rising panic. Her voice climbed higher with each word."…By proposing marriage? That's your solution? That's how you repay someone for basic human decency? Who does that?!"
Lucas paused, appearing to weigh her question with the same gravity he might apply to a corporate acquisition.
Then he nodded once, decisively. "Yes."
Nina stared at him as though someone had just announced that gravity had ceased to function. The world tilted sideways in her mind.
Her thoughts scrambled desperately for some thread of logic, some explanation that would make this conversation make sense. She grasped at possibilities like a drowning woman reaching for driftwood.
Finally, one emerged from the chaos.
Her eyes widened in dawning horror."Oh my god." The words came out strangled, barely above a whisper.
She raised one trembling hand, pointing weakly at him as heat flooded her cheeks."Are you saying…" She gestured helplessly between them, her hand shaking. "…you're repaying me with your body?"
Axel nearly choked on air, his face cycling through several shades of red before settling on crimson. Lucas tilted his head slightly, a contemplative expression crossing his features. He seemed to genuinely consider her phrasing, turning it over in his mind as if examining it from multiple angles.
Then he nodded again, completely unperturbed. "I suppose that's one way to describe it, yes."
The hospital room plunged into stunned silence. Even the steady beep of medical equipment seemed to pause in disbelief. Nina slowly leaned back against the pillow, her strength abandoning her entirely. She closed her eyes, willing the world to make sense again.
"…I must still be hallucinating from the fever," she murmured to herself, her voice hollow with resignation. "That's the only rational explanation."
And somewhere nearby, Ethan, who had been quietly pretending to sleep through the entire surreal exchange, opened one eye with the careful precision of a spy gathering intelligence. Very carefully, barely breathing.
He watched everything unfold, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.