That same day, Kage arrived at the hospital early. The familiar sounds and hurried footsteps greeted him as he navigated his wheelchair through the corridors with practiced ease. First priority: checking on the trauma patient from yesterday. He wheeled directly to the ICU, where the man was still connected to various monitors and a ventilator providing respiratory support. He showed signs of progress last night, Kage expected it to be the same. With a focused glance at the patient’s chart and vital signs, Kage observed the steady improvement. "Excellent" he said proudly to himself. The man’s oxygen saturation had risen to safe levels on reduced support, his blood pressure stable, and he was beginning to breathe spontaneously between ventilator cycles. It was like a miracle — soon, they would be able to wean him off the ventilator and remove the ICU-level respiratory support. Something about this man, perhaps their shared resilience, made Kage feel a stronger

Clara woke feeling drained. Pain was the first thing she registered Yesterday’s chaos still clung to her, her gasping for air as she cried her eyes out. The memory of Matt's face—the hurt, the anger, the silence afterward—haunted her. She recalled her words to him, and how she’d returned to patch up the cut from the broken glass beneath her right foot. Miraculously, her arm wasn’t broken—just bruised and aching—but the pain was nothing compared to the ache Matt left behind. If only she had gotten her wealthy man. Clara knew she deserved the best. She deserves a man that would spend all he has on her and she would get it. She knew she was strong enough to catch and live in her pinket fence life. She moved around the apartment lazily, cleaning what she could without straining her injured arm. Well, it was because she couldn't afford the cleaning services at the moment. Heavy chores were out of the question. But the hardest thing was facing the truth she kept burying: she ha

Clara’s alarm blared sharply, jolting her awake. "What? Work again!" Groaning, she glanced at the clock—she wasn’t late. In fact, she had nearly an hour before her shift would start. Despite the relief, irritation lingered and s the thought that she won't be able to get back to sleep vexed her. Dragging herself out of bed, she moved through her morning routine with sluggishly. The tension in her hand from a few days ago scuffle still lingered, so before going to her office, she made a stop to radiology for an X-ray. Working in the hospital had its perks—they would call her when the results were ready. As soon as she got to her office, Clara settled herself into her chair, lightly touching up her makeup in the reflection of her laptop screen. "Why do I feel like I need to do something today" she thought. Her eyes fell on the calendar alert pinging on the screen—the same time her alarm had awakened her. She frowned, struggling to remember what she’d missed. Sc

Gina had selected an excellent restaurant for their meeting and informed Kage. He had sent Alfie before but wanted to deepen his business relationship with the person he was to meet this time. He had something more on his mind to discuss with the person. As they walked toward the car, Kage noticed John placing his wheelchair carefully in the boot. For appearance, he still needed it.Kage chuckled to himself. “Forgot I even use that thing daily,” he muttered before greeting John with a nod. As they drove, Gina called. Kage answered warmly, “Gina. How are you doing? It’s Sunday—you should be resting that arm.”She laughed, “my arm's doing great, Sir. I am holding up my left shoulder as we speak" she paused for a few seconds "Uhmm— because you can see me now.” There was a brief silence before Gina said, “I found something on Mr Richard Ho. You know, the man you’re meeting today, he has an Orphanage.”Not new news.Kage nodded. “I know. That’s why I want to see him in person.” Gina

Yesterday had been a whirlwind for Kage. He spent most of the day at home, meticulously preparing for the arrival of the first batch of kids. Two days ago, his meeting with Richard Ho had set everything in motion, and with Gina’s help, Kage had coordinated every detail for the 76 children expected: personalized bags with their names and ages, customized shirts, meals, insurance certificates, and age-appropriate gifts.It wouldn't be pleasant to offend teenagers, especially at their most vicious moments. So with staff from Allen Creed’s companies joining them at Bridge Hospital, Kage was confident the day would go smoothly. Checking himself in the mirror one last time, Kage adjusted his shirt collar. He wanted to look his best for the kids, not just for respect, so they find him less threatening. Satisfied, he headed down the stairs. As he entered the dinning area, Gina and John were deep in conversation, completely unaware of his presence. Gina’s voice floated above