"Sweetheart, wake up!"

Emily heard a very familiar voice calling for her as something warm came in contact with her freezing cheeks.

It was currently the starting of June and the weather was anything but cold, then how come she felt like she was freezing from head to toe.

"Angel, you can hear my voice, right? Come on, open your eyes and leave that dark world of your past. It's not good for you to sleep any longer than you already had. Wake up!"

The soft familiar voice once again called her as she felt warmth covering her freezing hands.

She struggled to open her eyes, feeling a strong pull that called her back to the dark and cold world that was waiting for her but she did not want to return there any more. She was scared of that place and never wanted to go there ever again.

Something soft and warm touched her forehead which made her breathing increase and her heart flutter as she felt a familiar sensation taking over her freezing body.

It did not take her long before her eyes finally flew open and met with another dark place. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust and she realized that someone was covering her eyes with their hands.

"The room is filled with a soft light. Let your eyes slowly adjust to it." Kaiden told her in a soft tone as he pulled his hands away from her face, letting her eyes finally see the light.

Emily's eyes landed on the man who was sitting beside her on the bed. And as her eyes roamed around the room, she realized that she could not recognize the place.

Soon enough the memories of all that happened before she passed out, returned and she immediately sat up as she remembered an unconscious and bleeding Mark.

Her sudden act of sitting up made her hiss as pain shot through her head, making the darkness appear in front of her eyes as she felt a little bit dizzy.

Kaiden's hands immediately held her as he helped her to sit against the headboard of the king-size bed.

He passed her a glass of cold water which made her realize that instead of freezing, her body was super hot and she was even covered in sweat. The discovery puzzled her but she did not have the time or patience to think about her own condition.

"How's Mark? Is he alright? I need to go and find him. I...."

"Emily..."

Kaiden stopped her as he called her name softly. His hands stopped her from moving as she was about to throw away the duvet and jumped down the bed.

"What?" She sounded a little bit frustrated as she realized that the man was clearly stopping her from meeting her brother.

"You can't." That's all he said as his hands squeezed hers while he looked at her with warm and soft eyes which made her feel as if he was looking at her with pity, even though she knew deep down in her heart that she was only trying to make herself feel frustrated towards everything that was happening.

She was about to ask him why she could not be with his brother who was currently struggling for his life when she suddenly recalled the words of the woman whom Domenic called Crist's assistant. And she indeed was Crist's assistant. Emily had met her once or twice when she visited the Mansion due to some important matters which her brother, Crist, needed to handle even on his off days.

"What did she meant? Why did she say that I'm dangerous for him? What was she trying to say?" She asked as she looked at Kaiden in order to search for the answers that she wanted to know so desperately but at the same time, there was a part of her that was afraid of the answers. A part that knew she won't be able to handle the truth.

"Am I dangerous?" The question slipped through her lips as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Kaiden immediately cupped her face in his hands as he wiped her tear and made her look at him as he spoke.

"You are not dangerous, not for him. But you are dangerous for yourself. You need to stop questioning yourself all the time. Whatever nonsense that woman spouted was far from the actual truth. You are here with me because Domenic really doesn't want you to see Mark in such a poor condition. Once he's in a good condition, I'll take you back to the Alessandro mansion and no one will dare to keep you away from your bother. Just stop thinking too much. He's better than before but still unconscious. You should trust Shadow's powers and Sam's medical skills. They won't let anything happen to Mark."

Emily let his words sink in and she realized that something inside her relaxed when she got to know that Mark was still alive and breathing.

She did trust Shadow and Sam, and the thought made her relax even more.

Kaiden once again handed her the glass of water that somehow had returned to the bedside table at some point. This time she quietly accepted it and took a huge sip to coll her throat.

"Good. Now you should take a bath and then we'll have dinner. It's already past seven o'clock and your body and mind need some nutrition to work any further." He said with a small smile on his lips as he took the glass from her hand and placed it on the bedside table.

Emily's eyes once again looked around the room and finally returned to the silver-haired man sitting there in front of her eyes.

"Where's this place?" She asked as she noticed how unkempt his appearance was. He looked nothing like the cold, aloof, and powerful Kaiden Sullivan whom she had come to recognize.

"You are currently in my apartment near the Academy. Now, no more questions. You need to take a bath because you are covered in blood. Here, let me help you."

Emily did not get the chance to speak at all because the next moment, she found herself in the arms of Kaiden Sullivan as he lifted her from the bed and started walking towards a door located in the farthest corner of the room.