Brianna nodded, reaching for her bag. Since it was going to be getting a marriage certificate, there was no need wasting anymore time here.
It wasn't like she had a wedding when she married Lucian.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
When she reached for her phone: [Madam Colburn is awake. She is requesting for you and Lucian to come see her. Now.]
Brianna was experiencing tonic immobility.
Meanwhile, Keenan, who felt he had been rude to his "fiancé" with his failed attempt at impressing her, went to apologize.
But the only thing Brianna could see and hear, was the message glowing from her screen. How would she begin to explain to a fragile woman that her favorite grandchild was dead?
Someone who was expecting Lucian to be the first person by her side while she wakes up.
Brianna knew there was no way she could lie out of this; and there was no way she would ignore the Dowager's request.
She groaned outwardly, running a hand through her hair and closing her eyes. She needed to go to the hospital even if that meant she'd kill the innocent dowager with her news.
Brianna didn't know her display had left Keenan completely heartbroken. He couldn't help but think he had made Brianna feel this way. He didn't know how to fix it, neither did he know how to get her attention, but he knew he needed to talk to a professional.
Supreme Master Northstar.
The deity followers from across the globe seek reverence from whenever in time of desperate advice. He entered the 'Northstar Forum' app, typing a quick message and hitting send.
By the time Brianna left the Colburn mansion, she was standing outside like a lost soul, waiting for the Uber. She was hoping for a supernatural intervention, maybe the universe making the Dowager change her mind.
She raised her hands towards the incoming driver.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Brianna's eyes widened as she fumbled for her phone. Maybe the universe had answered her quiet prayers.
Instead, a push notification from a hidden, charcoal-gray app glowed on her lock screen. It was the 'Northstar Forum.'
She had built the interface back in college for a behavioral study~a digital confession booth to track the 'obsessive tendencies' of the masses. She never expected it to turn into a global phenomenon where millions treated her anonymous handle like a god.
[Direct Message: Little Wolf]
[Supreme Master, I am lost. I have made the greatest mistake of my life. I hurt the woman I desire, now she doesn't want me. I tried talking to her, but she made it clear she didn't want to talk to me. She won't even acknowledge my presence. What should I do?]
Brianna exhaled a loud, frustrated breath, her thumb hovering over the Delete button. This was the problem with the "Supreme Master" persona~millions of 'Little Wolves' with broken hearts and zero common sense.
She was about to face a woman whose heart might stop the moment the truth came out, and here was a stranger crying about a woman who wouldn't look at him.
Fine. A creative distraction.
She typed back with one hand while the car door swung open.
[Little Wolf, the woman you desire doesn't want your apology; she wants your impact. If she ignores you, it is because your presence is too small. Be creative. Be bold. To prove your love, you must be the force she cannot ignore. Do not take 'no' for an answer.]
There, Brianna thought, hitting send as she stepped into the Uber. That should keep him busy.
Upstairs, Keenan stared at his screen, his heart thudding against his ribs. The Supreme Master had spoken. "Be creative. Be bold," he whispered, his eyes turning to the retreating taxi.
He finally understood. He had been too passive and 'childish.' He needed to be a wolf.
...
Brianna pulled her car into the hospital's indoor garage. After the chaos at the mansion, she took the Uber home to get one of her cars.
She sat in the driver's seat for a moment, while her phone sat in the center console, glowing with the text that had just arrived.
[Senior Mrs. Colburn: I forgot to tell you that the hospital called. I've given the order. Cremation is set for Saturday morning. They need a family witness for the final intake tonight. Go there.]
Brianna's fingers had trembled as she typed the reply: [I'm at work. I have an interview in less that a minute. I'll go there tomorrow.]
A blatant lie. But Brianna couldn't stand in a cold basement and watch them tag Lucian like a piece of evidence. Not when the ghost of his heartbeat was still haunting her fingertips.
She shoved the phone into her pocket, stepped out of the car, and walked toward the private elevator. This wasn't the main hospital. This was the entrance to the Colburn Wing~a multi-million dollar medical fortress dedicated entirely to the Dowager's failing health.
She swiped her key card on the elevator.
Ding.
Brianna was met with the scent of lilies and high-end disinfectants. This floor had research labs where scientists spent Colburn money trying to solve the Dowager's "case," and a private surgical suite that had only ever seen one patient.
As Brianna walked down the hall, she couldn't help but wonder how she'll pretend to Madam Colburn while the grandchild she breathed and lived for was scheduled to be turned to ash in less than twenty-four hours.
She stopped at the room door.
Closing her eyes, she forced her breathing steady and pushed her guilt into a dark corner of her mind, before stepping into the room.
The Dowager was propped up in her bed, talking to a man in a sleek suit.
When her eyes landed on Brianna, the elderly woman's face transformed. A weak but genuine smile spread across her pale features. "Brianna. You're here."
Brianna's heart felt weak. Up close, the woman looked pale. The sickness was clawing at her again.
"Sol..." Madam Colburn whispered, her eyes searching the empty space behind Brianna. "Where is my Sol?"
It was jarring to hear. To the world, Lucian was a devil in a bespoke suit, a man of cold violence. To this woman, he was simply Sol~her sun.
Brianna closed the door, forcing her voice to remain steady, though her throat felt like it was full of glass. "He... he's sick, Grandmother. He didn't want to bring the infection into your wing."
The Dowager's face fell instantly. Her hand went to the phone on her nightstand. "I see. That's why he's not picking up. My poor boy..."
She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure, and looked toward the lawyer.
"The surgery was unsuccessful," Madam Colburn removed her glasses and dropped it on nightstand. "Again. The team... they are just useless. None of them can replicate the results from four years ago."
She sighed, staring out the window. "No one has been able to find Dr. Briony Ashcroft. I've put a price on the doctor's head~five million for a name, ten for a location. That doctor is the only one who truly understood Cortalis Degeneration."
Since the doctor was the only survivor from the first team to successfully perform surgery for Cortalis Degeneration of the brain, rumors of the doctor's suicide or madness were legends in the medical world.
The lawyer stepped forward then, placing a thick folder in Brianna's hands. "The Dowager has a request, Mrs. Colburn."
Brianna opened the file. Her eyes scanned the legal jargon, freezing when she reached the core clause: A Permanent Marriage Contract.