CHAPTER 4

The Darkness Settles

The sound of metal crashing against the wall echoed through the sterile hospital room. Ares’ fist was still clenched, the force of the punch reverberating in his wrist as the pain surged through his arm. His breathing was ragged, his chest heaving, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t stop himself. It was like a dam had broken inside him, releasing all the anger, all the frustration that had built up since that fateful night.

“Damn it!” he snarled, staring at the jagged crack in the wall. The white plaster seemed to mock him, a physical manifestation of the powerlessness that clawed at his insides. His body, once a machine of strength and discipline, was now weak and helpless. And that was only the beginning.

Ares closed his eyes, his breath still shaky. His heart raced, but it wasn’t just the physical pain. It was the constant nagging thought that refused to leave him: Victor and Charlotte had betrayed him.

Victor. His closest friend, his right-hand man for years. And Charlotte. His fiancée, the woman who had promised him everything. They had both been there, just moments before the crash, and yet, here they were, standing on the other side of the wreckage. Had they known? Had they planned this? The uncertainty gnawed at him like a hungry beast.

He had trusted them both with his life. And now, all he had left were broken bones and questions with no answers.

His head spun with anger and disbelief. The company he’d built from the ground up, the empire that was supposed to be his legacy, was slipping from his grasp. How could they do this to him? How could they betray him like this, at a time when he was vulnerable, when he needed them most?

Ares’ eyes snapped open, rage burning through his veins. He slammed his fist against the bed, the sound sharp and violent. The motion sent another wave of pain through his body, but he didn’t care. The anger his anger was the only thing that made him feel alive anymore.

“Tell me the truth!” he shouted to the empty room, his voice hoarse, his words filled with desperation. “What happened that night? What the hell happened to me?”

The silence answered him.

The door creaked open, and a nurse stepped into the room, her face calm and unflinching. Ares saw her approach, her steps deliberate, but the anger in his chest didn’t subside. It only grew more intense, more desperate. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

“What’s going on here?” Ares snapped, his voice raw, his tone demanding. “I need to know. What happened during the crash? What did Victor do? What did Charlotte know?”

The nurse hesitated for a moment, her eyes flicking nervously to the side. It was subtle, but Ares noticed it. There was something in her eyes, something she wasn’t telling him. She was hiding something, and that only made the burning in his chest grow hotter.

“Sir, I ” the nurse began, but her words were cut short as Ares leaned forward, pain be damned, his face twisted with fury.

“Tell me the truth!” he roared. His voice cracked, the demand cutting through the stillness of the room like a whip. “Did they do this to me? Did they set me up?”

The nurse’s face faltered, her calm composure slipping for just a moment. Her hand trembled as she gripped the clipboard, her gaze darting away from his. But she didn’t answer, and that silence only confirmed one thing to Ares.

They were all lying.

A soft knock on the door interrupted the stifling tension in the room, and Ares’ head snapped in the direction of the sound. The nurse’s face tightened, her hand still gripping the doorframe.

“Mr. Calloway,” she said, her voice hesitant. “I’m sorry. Someone’s here to see you.

Before he could respond, the door creaked open, and a figure stepped inside.

Ares’ heart skipped a beat, a strange chill running through him as he looked up. She was taller than he expected, dressed in a simple yet elegant outfit dark, practical, but somehow commanding. Her eyes were dark, too, though they held an intensity that made Ares feel like she could see straight through him.

The woman didn’t flinch at the intensity of his gaze. She didn’t flinch at the violent display of frustration he’d just shown. She simply stepped inside, her posture poised and unbothered.

“You must be Ares Calloway,” she said, her voice soft but certain. She didn’t ask; she already knew. “I’m Selene. I’ll be your nurse for the time being.”

Ares opened his mouth, ready to snap at her, to demand that she leave. But when he saw her, something in her gaze stopped him. There was a stillness in her, an assurance that he hadn’t seen in anyone in weeks. She wasn’t afraid of him, or the storm of emotion swirling in his chest. And for reasons he couldn’t understand, that irked him.

He couldn’t push her away not like the others. He wanted to, but something in him resisted. He looked her up and down, taking in the way she held herself with grace, with quiet confidence. There was something familiar about her, though he couldn’t place it. A part of him hated that, hated how she made him feel like he wasn’t in control.

“I don’t need a nurse,” Ares muttered, his voice dark with frustration. “I don’t need anyone to babysit me.”

Selene didn’t react to his tone. Instead, she moved toward him with quiet efficiency, placing her hands lightly on the side of the bed, the pads of her fingers brushing against the sheets in a gesture of reassurance.

“I’m not here to babysit,” she said, her voice calm, even, but there was an edge to it. “I’m here to make sure you heal. You’ll need help, whether you want it or not.”

Ares’ chest tightened. He didn’t want help. He didn’t need help. He was a man used to being in control, used to making things happen. But here she was standing over him like she knew something he didn’t. And he hated it.

He glared at her, refusing to let his frustration show, but his eyes couldn’t help but wander to her face. Something about her.. her gaze. It was as if she already knew the pain he was hiding. As if she understood what it felt like to lose everything, even if he’d never told her.

“Do you know what this feels like?” Ares asked, his voice softer now, the challenge fading as he finally looked her in the eye. “To lose everything? To be helpless?”

For the first time since she entered the room, Selene paused. Her eyes softened for a brief moment, as if she was about to say something. But then, just as quickly, she masked it, her face a careful mask again.

“I know what it feels like to be broken,” she said quietly. “But I also know how to rebuild. And I’m here to help you do that.”

Ares felt a strange tightening in his chest, the words stirring something inside him. The room seemed to grow heavier, the air thick with an intensity that was hard to ignore.

As she turned to leave, her words floated back to him. “You’ll never be the same, Ares. But there’s a way back.”

The door clicked shut behind her, and Ares was left in the silence of his room, his thoughts whirling.

Was she offering him hope… or was she simply another trap?