"What you did to protect Mia and Pearl was outstanding, James," Maester Khan said, making me blush.

I took a glimpse at Mia, seated on the other side of the long sofa in Maester Khan's study room that fine winter morning. A lovely crimson shade adorned her cheeks.

"And what Mia did in the hospital the other day was outstanding too, including finding out your deformity," he added as he checked once more the results of the nerve study in his hands. "This is..." He chuckled. "This is really good news. I'm so happy for you, James. It's such a pity that your stepmother ruined last evening's dinner right when you delivered the news."

I replayed their argument in my mind. It was a shameful scene.

"Congrats again, brother," Patrick said, putting a hand over my shoulder and staring deep into my eyes with genuine pride. "Don't let what happened yesterday cloud this moment."

"Thank God the number you pulled on Thiago had no consequences on your spine," Mia said in a mild warning tone.

I pressed my lips into a thin line. She made me feel like a kid getting reprimanded after doing mischief.

"You're due for surgery the day after tomorrow first thing in the morning," Maester Khan went on. "Miss Tan and I have already vetted a team of trustworthy surgeons. We interviewed them thoroughly. No bias as regards your social condition has been tolerated. Like healer Feng, who comes from the capital. She has got no bias against people like you, so you don't have to worry. We found the perfect team. Luckily, there are still good professionals in Two Dawns who take the job of healer seriously."

"That's great," Patrick said with joy. His smile was warm and effortless, dimples deepening as his eyes softened with a light that seemed to dance only for her.

Mia's eyes, then shy, travelled from his to mine when she said, "I suggested Maester Khan to allow you to travel to Purple Rock if we found nobody willing to operate on you due to your social condition, but it turns out that won't be necessary."

I was the only one not smiling. It still felt surreal to me.

Me? Treated rightfully? Like a regular person? Congratulated? Being able to walk again in a few days? It felt like a dream.

"What will you do while I'm in surgery and in recovery?" I asked Mia.

"Bearing in mind that a suit was on the loose and attacked us, I won't risk it. I'll be staying here, in Maester Khan's study room, examining the plants and herbs he has got here," she explained.

Patrick's gaze was intense on her, making her visibly uncomfortable. He leaned in just slightly, his posture open and relaxed, as if every word she spoke held the world's secrets, his attention unwavering.

"The hydroponics lab promised to deliver some plants in the order I placed yesterday, depending on availability," she went on, blushing a bit. "Hopefully, I can study those too. Rosa will hang around, as well. She's got cleaning duty all morning here while Maester Khan is lecturing at the university. I won't be alone at all the entire day, because I'm meeting him for lunch here, and he said he'd stay home with me to help me out with the herb studying and lab work all afternoon and the next few days."

Patrick tilted his head as she spoke, a small, almost imperceptible nod showing he was not only listening but savouring every detail she shared.

"That's great," I replied. "I hope you don't mind that I asked Patrick to fulfil my duties as bodyguard while I'm at the hospital."

No offence, Mia, but I don't trust that you'll stay put here all day.

Not while preparations were being made to accommodate the Federal Governor in his visit the following week.

She bit her lower lip as if that had mildly bothered her. Was I right to believe she found my stay at the hospital convenient? I had already told Patrick about my assumption, just in case. He was willing to keep an eye on her as regards her passion to defy authorities. Her life was at risk—not just the cure to the pandemic.

I added, "I don't trust anybody else to do the job."

I didn't like the way Patrick's intense gaze scanned Mia up and down, but I had no other choice.

"It's alright," she said, smiling, making Patrick's smile widen in return.

"Thiago's been acting weird, too," Patrick said. "I've found out he's been asking about you around town. I think he's trying to figure out the places you go and when you go, Mia, as if he wishes to stalk you or something. I asked Rosa to keep him busy whenever she could—or any of her friends. He will leave you alone, Mia. Don't worry."

Oh, he did that already? Huh.

We all knew what "busy" stood for in this context, even Mia. We all blushed for a moment.

"Damn these kids today," Maester Khan complained. "I don't like that you talk about prostitution this freely—even ask a prostitute to do extra work."

"But you employ one in your home," Patrick replied.

"Because I want to show her that it's possible to have a normal job!" Maester Khan answered. "She needs to quit being a prostitute... and bisexual. But she won't listen to me."

Nobody replied to that comment.

"Maester Khan," Mia said after clearing her throat, "would you mind if Rosa brought some clothes and ribbons here? She asked me for help to sew a special costume for a dance, and I'd love to help."

"Sure, Miss Tan." He smiled.

She sighed in relief. Her smile then paired well with the joy in her eyes. The cloud of uneasiness left her immediately after Maester Khan's reply.

Interesting. I frowned. Was that what worried her before, not the fact that I wanted to stop her from doing something rash as regards the Federal Governor's visit? But why worry about such a trifling matter?

The doorbell rang. Our heads automatically turned to the sound.

"I'll get the door," Maester Khan said as he got up.

"What a lovely surprise! Vanessa Om, thanks for stopping by."

"I heard on the grapevine that James will soon undergo surgery to get his back cured for good. I had to see him and congratulate him."

I frowned and clenched my jaw. She didn't do that when I got wounded, though.

"This is a good surprise, Vanessa," Patrick said, standing up. They shook hands with broad smiles on their faces. "Long time no see."

"I'll go make some tea," Maester Khan said. He left to the kitchen.

"I know. It's been a while," Vanessa replied to Patrick.

"Since you two dated," he said, smiling and pointing at both of us. "I hope that now you can rekindle your love. You seemed to get on really well."

An awkward silence reigned in the study room after that.

Was I willing to forgive the fact that Vanessa left me shortly before my accident? And her subsequent ice-queen coldness? I doubted it.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my fingers gripping my biceps hard enough to leave marks, as if bracing myself against the storm of memories clawing their way back from the grave I had buried them in.

Mia's teeth worried at the corner of her lip, leaving it red and raw. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. She twisted her hands in her lap, her fingers fidgeting endlessly with the hem of her sleeve.

"I'm sure you could solve the problems between you," Patrick insisted. His intentions were good, that I knew for a fact. He was always the greatest brother I could ever have, but he had put his foot in it then.

My body remained rigid, my shoulders squared and unmoving, yet my knuckles whitened where they gripped my arms, betraying the tension I fought to control.

"Maybe we could," Vanessa replied.

Then, Mia's shoulders tensed, and her nails dug into her palms, the ache grounding her against the surge of—what I thought could be—helpless jealousy? Was I reading too much into her body language?

"I doubt it," I replied in the coldest voice I could manage.

"Miss Tan, the blue-haired angel," Vanessa said, turning to Mia then. The weird-looking smile on her face was a telltale sign that she hated her guts but was willing to be civil. I hated that patronising attitude. "Congrats to you too."

"What for?"

Vanessa's voice was filled with venom when she said, "You scored high when you met James."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mia asked, her smile fading.

"He and his family have been paying for everything for you—including the accommodation. I hope you're not overstaying your welcome and taking advantage of them, especially James." Her judgemental tone denoted she actually thought that was the case.

"She's not taking advantage of me," I said before Mia had time to reply.

"In your current condition, any woman could," Vanessa answered. I hated that sharp tongue of hers.

"What's that supposed to mean now?" I asked, frowning.

She sighed. "When I left you, I realised you'd be hungry for attention. That's when-"

"Stop it right there," I said, raising a hand. "You have no right to make assumptions about me, especially after dumping me."

"Brother, don't make things worse," Patrick whispered to me.

"Make things worse?" I complained. A bitter scoff escaped my throat before I clamped my mouth shut, the sound low and sharp, like a blade slicing through the heavy air in the room. "She's been ignoring me ever since. It's been a bit over two years now."

"You resent me, don't you?" Vanessa said softly. "That means you still care about me."

I replied casually, "No, I don't. I wish I had never dated you, that's all."

"You could possibly still love me. It would make sense." She ignored my comment and issued that statement with a convincing attitude. How dare she?!

"I don't love you now," I replied with a dry smile on my face. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Listen, I just came by to congratulate you, okay?" Vanessa said a bit defensively. "I wanted to check on you in case this foreigner took advantage of you. It's happened before to elderly men who need a caregiver."

"I'm not a gold-digger," Mia replied, with a frown that marred her beautiful face. I'd be offended too. "I have my reasons for being here. Check my story out, if you want."

Vanessa's eyes filled with a deep, aching sorrow as she looked at me then, her gaze heavy with the weight of unspoken fears, though she quickly cast it downward. A faint, defeated sigh escaped her, and she tilted her head to the side, her expression etched with a fragile sadness.

"I already did," Vanessa answered, "—and I didn't like what I found."

"What?!" Mia's face went red.

"I know who you are and what you're up to," Vanessa replied with renewed passion. "A doctor from Purple Rock who's on the run. Suit Robotics, a legitimate company, filed a complaint against you to your former faculty, from which you got expelled. Your academic title was made void."

"What? They did that?" Mia's crimson cheeks went redder as she clenched her fists.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, pretend you didn't know that. Pathetic excuses from criminals 101."

"But I didn't know!" Mia exclaimed. "For real."

"Whatever." Vanessa tsked. She faced Mia in a dominant, hard standing pose, parting her legs and clenching her fists on either side of her. "You threatened to physically hurt the company's representatives if they showed up at your hospital. That's a criminal offence.

"Their legal department sued you, but guess what? When the formal notice was sent to your home to make you show up in court to offer you a chance to defend yourself, you weren't there. In fact, you were nowhere to be found. You had managed to escape from the city, from the colony, in fact, after causing damages to public property, including the violent death of several suits—somebody else's private property, by the way—on your way to the airport.

"You hate suits so much that you killed some of them on your escape and blamed Suit Robotics for it. How wicked is that?

"Guess what? Doing that not only makes you liable in monetary terms, but guilty in legal terms, in my eyes. You're a criminal, Miss Tan."

She turned to me with a bewildered expression on her face. Her golden loop earrings jingled.

"James, do you still think I was wrong to show up here?" Vanessa asked me. "Did you know all this?"

I frowned and stared at Mia with doubt showing on my face. So did Patrick.

"You're a menace, Miss Tan," Vanessa went on. "You're lucky I cannot arrest you right now, since the crimes you committed are out of my jurisdiction. Only an astroguard from Purple Rock could arrest you for as long as you're on their soil, not Two Dawns. But the second you commit a crime in my territory, I'll be waiting, hon."

That last bit was uttered in a legitimate, typically astroguard-menacing tone.

She turned to leave, but thought better of it. She turned her face to Mia and pointed a finger at her as she said, "Oh, and besides that, you've been using fake names and travelling to other colonies to harass reputable doctors and university professors with questionable excuses.

"Curing a mysterious pandemic? Who would believe that? Even your former lab colleagues made a public statement denying all ties with you and showing full support to the faculty and Suit Robotics!"

Mia stood up, her body shaking and her cheeks flushed. "It's true! There's a pandemic in Purple Rock!"

Her lips curled into a sneer, sharp and mocking. She stalked closer, her boots thudding against the floor with deliberate force, her chin lifted in defiance, radiating an aura of untouchable pride. "There's no hospital or lab, public or private, which is researching for a cure at this very moment, hon." She smiled condescendingly. "I checked. They all denied this lame story of yours."

Mia went paler than paper at that moment, all blood drained from her face. "What?"

"They confirmed there is a strange illness that causes multiple symptoms which don't add up, but that Suit Robotics takes care of every case diligently and humanely. All patients are being redirected from hospitals to their offices there immediately once symptoms start to show," Vanessa explained.

"WHAT?! NO!" Mia yelled, on the brink of tears.

Oh, dear. Mia's father. He was supposed to wait for her return. Had he been turned into a suit already?

"A pandemic means there is a situation that's medically out of control, causing panic and affecting other areas of life, both at the private and public level," Vanessa explained. "That is not the case."

Her eyes narrowed into slits, glittering with anger, while her hands rested on her hips, fingers twitching as though itching for an excuse to escalate the confrontation. She chuckled.

"I'm not sorry to blow your cover, Miss Tan," she went on, shaking her head. "You had it coming."

Mia let her body fall on the sofa behind her, almost devoid of life. Her tear-filled eyes darted restlessly, as though searching for answers in the empty space around her. Her hands trembled. Her lips parted slightly, quivering with the effort to steady her breath, but each exhale came out shaky and uneven.

Vanessa turned to me and said, "And the sooner you expel her from your home, the better, James. I've already sent an official report to your father with all the details and evidence to claim what I just said. Let him decide her fate. After all, he's the Lord Commander—our boss and our ruler in this colony."

Maester Khan came into the study room with the tea. His usual smile and bright mood soon withered like a dead flower in a forgotten vase.

"You're lucky she didn't lie about your condition and cure, James," Vanessa said seriously, taking a few steps to the door. She slightly bowed to all the men present and said, "Have a good day."

She left at a brisk pace after that.

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Did you enjoy Vanessa's plan to get rid of Mia? Will she succeed?

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar