Chapter 393

Richard was quiet for what felt like forever.

Nina picked up on the weird vibe and glanced at him. "What's up with you?"

Richard used to be all over her, dropping the marriage bomb more than once, but Nina always dodged it gently.

She'd been burned by a bad marriage before and was seriously spooked.

Even though she knew Richard wasn't Charlie, she was still crawling out of the wreckage of her last marriage and just didn't have the guts to dive back in.

Nina figured there was no rush; they had all the time in the world.

But after the whole Black Family mess, something shifted in her.

Richard was a drifter, just like her, with no place to call home. She knew how badly he wanted to settle down.

When she saw Richard get hurt for her, all her doubts vanished. Even if Richard was a blazing fire, she'd jump in without a second thought.

Richard's fingers played with Nina's hair, twirling it around before letting it go. After doing this a few times, he finally spoke up, "Didn't you want to wait until your career was solid before talking about marriage? Why the sudden change?"

Nina replied, "That was the old me. Now I just want to get hitched; I want to marry you. We're not getting any younger; it's time to settle down."

Richard stayed silent, his deep eyes becoming even more unreadable.

Nina's heart clenched, and she blurted out, "Don't you want to?"

She thought Richard would be over the moon, but he was way too calm.

"I do," Richard said earnestly, "I even dream about marrying you."

He pulled Nina into his arms, gently running his fingers through her hair, slowly sharing his feelings, like he was picturing their future.

Richard said, "I want to have a little yard, plant some fruit trees, put up a grape arbor, and have a swing. In the summer, we'll chill under the grape arbor. You'll be lounging in a wicker chair, smiling at me, and I'll be pushing our kid on the swing."

"That sounds amazing." Nina's lips curled into a smile, but then she remembered something, a flicker of worry in her eyes.

"Yeah, it would be perfect." Richard's arm around her tightened a bit.

Nina snapped back to reality. "Bella's wedding is coming up soon. After their wedding, we can start planning ours."

Richard looked down at Nina's hopeful smile; the words he wanted to say swirled in his mind but stayed unspoken.

Late at night, Isabella had dozed off on the couch.

Suddenly, she heard the door open and jolted awake. She jumped up and ran to the door.

"Seb." Isabella rushed over and hugged him.

Seb wrapped his arm around her waist, burying his chin in her neck. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I was waiting for you." Isabella stepped back, noticing the exhaustion etched on Seb's face. Her heart ached. She cupped his face with both hands, looking into his eyes. "You look beat. You okay?"

Seb took her hands and kissed them. "I'm fine."

Isabella offered, "How about I run you a bath?"

Seb nodded. "Sure."

They headed upstairs.

Isabella went to run the bath while Seb shrugged off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt, and slumped onto the couch.

The sound of running water filled the bathroom; Seb's headache was pounding.

Bradley had said today's hypnosis was a success, but Seb's headache was worse than ever, not the usual relief he felt after treatment.

Plus, Seb had no memory of the hypnosis session, his mind a blank slate. Unlike before, he didn't see Anna in this hypnotic dream.

The pain intensified; Seb gritted his teeth. He pulled a bottle of pills from his suit pocket. The pain was so bad his whole body was shaking, especially his hands.

"Seb, the water's ready." Isabella's voice came from the bathroom.

Seb jumped, dropping the pill, which rolled to Isabella's feet.

He quickly hid the pill bottle behind his back.

Isabella was startled too.

She knew Seb was secretly undergoing treatment and taking meds. She'd never confronted him, always pretending not to know.

But now, she'd caught him red-handed.

After a moment of awkwardness, Isabella bent down to pick up the pill. She walked over to Seb, pretending to be clueless. "What's this?"

Seb visibly relaxed. He took the pill from her. "Vitamins."

"Oh." Isabella nodded. "I'll get you some water. It's not good to swallow it dry."

"Okay." Seb took the pill from her, his fingers curling around it.

Isabella poured him a glass of water, watched him swallow the pill, then handed him clean clothes. "Go take your bath."

"Okay." Seb got up and headed to the bathroom.

Isabella glanced at the suit jacket on the sofa, then turned her head towards the bathroom. She reached into Seb's pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills, just as she suspected.

She unscrewed the cap and poured out two pills, identical to the one she had picked up earlier.

The large letters on the bottle stung her eyes.

Isabella muttered, "Painkillers."

Seb came out of the bath; Isabella was leaning against the headboard, scrolling through her phone.

He walked over, lifted the blanket, and lay down. Closing his eyes, he looked exhausted.

Isabella turned off her phone and the bedside lamp, then snuggled into his arms.

In the quiet night, Isabella felt a sudden urge. Her hand slipped under Seb's shirt, her fingertips gently caressing his skin.

Soon, Seb responded, flipping over and pressing her beneath him.