Chapter 6 Do Not Disturb His Rest

"Nicholas has a brain tumor? How could I not know!" Diana's grip tightened on Mike's hand. "Scott, you can't be serious."

Her hands were ice-cold, trembling uncontrollably.

Neither in her past life nor this one had she known Nicholas was sick.

Someone in his position had the best private physicians, annual physicals—how could something like this slip through?

Hell, he was always dragging her to medical appointments she despised, and she'd throw fits every single time.

Why hadn't he been looking after himself?

Scott saw her panic, glanced at the unconscious Nicholas, and his voice grew heavy, "We found it three years ago, right around when you started..."

He didn't finish, but Diana connected the dots instantly.

When she'd fallen for Derek.

Fresh on campus, she'd been completely swept away by Derek. He wasn't conventionally handsome, but there was something magnetic about his brooding intensity—like he was above it all. And they kept bumping into each other everywhere.

With Mandy pulling strings behind the scenes, Diana had fallen hard and fast. She'd gotten that ridiculous perm, transformed herself into some anime character, even got a spray tan—anything to catch Derek's attention, to convince him they were soulmates.

The memories made her stomach turn. "Why no surgery? After three years, it has to be benign, right?"

"It is, but it's in a bad spot." Scott's shoulders sagged. "Frontal lobe. Small tumor, but it's pressing on nerves. You must have noticed his personality shift around then?"

Diana went still.

She could barely remember the old Nicholas anymore.

Once, he'd been this gentle, refined guy who lit up whenever he saw her—all warmth and tenderness.

When had he become so volatile? So intimidating that people crossed the street to avoid him?

Right around the time she'd gone full cosplay obsessive.

But she'd been too busy resenting him—hating how he tried to stop her from wearing those outfits, from going to events, from hanging out with her new crowd. She'd never noticed he was falling apart.

High school biology came flooding back: frontal lobe damage affected judgment, emotional control, impulse regulation. If something was growing there, Nicholas's transformation suddenly made terrible sense.

Realizing she'd been completely oblivious, too wrapped up in Derek to care, Diana felt tears burning her eyes.

Scott saw her breaking down and rushed to reassure her. "There's a new drug that can slow the growth, reduce the blackouts. The doctor's getting it now."

"Has anyone pushed him to have surgery?" Diana moved to his bedside, clutching his hand as tears splashed onto his skin.

Scott felt a flicker of hope.

If Nicholas woke up to find Diana crying over him, he'd be walking on air.

But the reality of the situation crushed that optimism. "Too risky in that location. With the company expanding like crazy, he won't risk being out of commission."

"Stubborn idiot!" Diana raised her hand to smack him, then settled for pinching his cheek. "What matters more—staying alive or closing deals?"

The family doctor returned, now completely unfazed by Diana's appearance.

After administering the injection, everyone exhaled in relief.

Diana ventured carefully, "Is there any way to cure this completely?"

"Surgery's the gold standard," the doctor said matter-of-factly. "At his age, recovery would be optimal. There's also acupuncture, theoretically."

"Acupuncture actually works?" Diana perked up.

The doctor still looked unsettled by her makeup. "In theory, yes, but you'd need a master practitioner. I've heard the old York family had techniques like that, but those secrets probably died out generations ago."

The York family?

Diana filed that away without comment.

If they could avoid surgery altogether, it was worth investigating.

Nicholas would be out for a while, so Diana escaped to the bathroom.

Yesterday's passion had left its mark all over her body, and everything ached. Thinking about Nicholas's... impressive anatomy made her face flame with embarrassment.

But this time had been different. Maybe because she'd actually participated instead of just enduring it, the experience had been... surprisingly good.

Diana sank into the hot bath, desperately trying not to replay every detail of their car encounter.

Mandy's theatrical makeup dissolved easily in hot water. After several rinses, Diana's real face emerged.

The woman staring back from the mirror bore no resemblance to the horror show from this morning.

Flawless skin, perfect proportions, delicate features framed by glossy hair that fell to her waist—pure, ethereal beauty.

Freshman year, she'd been crowned the ultimate campus goddess: innocent face, killer body.

Too bad she'd never appreciated what she had, letting Mandy convince her to hide it all under layers of costume and character.

Diana dried off quickly, afraid of waking Nicholas. She barely towel-dried her hair—no way was she risking the blow dryer.

The walk-in closet was a shrine to every phase of her style evolution.

Nicholas had stocked it with everything she'd ever shown interest in, even the cosplay pieces she'd rejected.

The thoughtfulness of it all made her chest tight.

She grabbed a simple white sundress and had barely finished dressing when voices carried from the hallway.

"Nicholas? Yo, Nicholas! Since when do you nap in the middle of the day?" Henry Montague burst through the door. "What are you—Jesus Christ!"

Henry's jaw hit the floor.

The vision before him was straight out of a magazine: luminous eyes, perfect smile, silky hair cascading over delicate shoulders. Pure angel.

Had Nicholas finally ditched that nightmare and upgraded to heaven?

Before he could process further, Diana shoved him back into the hallway and shut the door firmly.

"Hey there, gorgeous. I'm Nicholas's buddy—need to see him about something."

Henry's whole demeanor had shifted to smooth operator mode.

He was so fixated on the beautiful stranger that he missed the staff's horrified expressions entirely.

Diana stared at him in disbelief.

This was the same Henry who usually treated her like something he'd scrape off his shoe. What was his deal today?

But with Nicholas still unconscious, she pushed him toward the stairs. "He needs rest. Come back later."

Henry blinked, something nagging at him.

Why did this girl's voice sound familiar?