Valeria saw him, too, as if in slow motion. The way Nick was looking at her, gasping for air and staggering. His eyes were lost and he had turned as pale as a ghost. What she hadn't expected was for him to go face first into the ground. “Call an ambulance,” she said to Alan as she went over to check on him, turning a deaf ear to Miranda's pathetic cries. “Nicky! What's wrong with him? Nicky!” “Shut up already!” Layla ordered her, coming up beside them. “He just fainted, he didn't get hit by a truck.” “It looks like a nervous breakdown. The paramedics will attend to him as soon as they arrive,” said the doctor with professionalism as he took off Nick’s tie and opened his shirt a little to make sure he was breathing. “Why don't you attend to him? Aren’t you a doctor? Or are you just a fake?” Miranda shouted at him. “I'm an off-duty doctor, and I've had several glasses of champagne,” Alan replied, annoyed. “And I'm responsible enough to know when I'm not fit to practice my professio

Nick didn't know exactly how he had gotten from Valeria's office to his apartment, only that he was barely aware he was moving. He could still feel Valeria's fingers stamped against his face, but that wasn't the worst thing that had happened to him. The worst thing was knowing that he had dug his own grave and was now throwing the dirt on himself. Valeria was right about one thing: it had been his decision to believe in Miranda and not her, but he couldn't blame Miranda for trying to help him. They had known each other for many years. If the guy in the lab had given her those results, it wasn't her fault... And now he was in a worse position than between a rock and a hard place, because he had already deliberately hurt Valeria, and there was nothing he could do about that. His conscience could not afford to hurt anyone else. Valeria hated him, and Nick didn't know what to do to change that. She might never harbor good feelings for him again, and he completely deserved it. He tried

“I asked you a question!” Nick roared, furious, as he walked towards them. “You and who else?” Anna turned as pale as a ghost. Valeria knew perfectly well what she was talking about, but she didn't expect Mr. Bennet to be listening in. “It was—It was an expression, Mr. Bennet. You misunderstood—” “I misunderstood?” Nick asked, putting himself between her and Valeria. “So the exact words that came out of your mouth were not ‘We should have gotten rid of you long ago’? Did I get it wrong?” Anna stepped back, nervous. He had listened perfectly well, so she could get a very clear idea of what was going to happen. “You and who else should have gotten rid of Valeria a long time ago? Answer me!” Nick demanded, but he only saw her press her lips together as a clear sign that she wasn't going to say a single word. “I'm warning you, Anna! I will not tolerate a behavior like this against Valeria, so you better answer me,” he threatened her. “She's not going to tell you anything, Mr. Bennet,

She couldn't say that everyone had heard that conversation that had been played on Valeria's cell phone, but at least two dozen people had heard it, and that was enough to spread the gossip. Miranda looked petrified and about to explode while Valeria put her cell phone away and looked at Nick. “That was a low blow.” But, incredibly, Nick smiled at her. “You can't say I didn't warn you,” Valeria replied, and suddenly she felt Nick's arm reach out in front of her, saw him turn half his body, and tuck his shoulder to take Miranda's blow. “You'd better get out of here now, troublemaker,” he said in her ear. “Things are going to get ugly, and I don't want anything to happen to you.” Her gaze swept around the room looking for the twins, but she realized they were closer than she thought. He gently pushed Valeria towards them. “Please take Valeria home... And thank you for bringing her,” he murmured, turning around to face the seven-headed monster Miranda had become. The twins looked a

“‘Situation?’” That single word had made Nick jump up like a spring. “Did something happen to her?” he asked, startled. “Well, I… uh... I think she wants to go to the bathroom,” Layla replied, and Nick almost fainted from relief. “You really need to work on your news-breaking, mother,” he said, annoyed. “That's not a situation. Just call the nurse.” Layla pointed to the two nurses on duty. They probably didn't weigh a hundred pounds between them. “Valeria is groggy from the sedatives. She looks like she just got drunk on straight whiskey,” Layla replied. “Do you think either of them can carry her to the bathroom?” Nick made a sympathetic gesture and followed his mother into Valeria's room. She was laughing. Her IV had already been removed, but the sedatives were still wearing off. “Of coooourse not!” she said as soon as she saw Nick come through the door, put his jacket aside, and rolled up his shirt sleeves before approaching her. “There's no one else, and I'm just going to