The estate always felt different when Ronan was gone.

Lighter.

The staff relaxed. The guards joked. Yan became twice as annoying. And you encouraged all of it.

Which was exactly how you ended up racing bodyguards across the courtyard.

One second you were laughing.

The next, your foot caught on abandoned training gear.

You hit the ground hard.

And a few hours later, a doctor was informing you that your arm was fractured.

The injury itself wasn't the problem.

Ronan was.

The moment someone informed him, he'd abandoned his meeting and driven straight to the hospital.

The door to your room slammed open.

Ronan entered first.

Kolya followed.

Yan followed behind him looking like he was attending a funeral.

Ronan's eyes immediately found the cast on your arm.

Then your face.

Then the cast again.

The room went silent.

"What happened?"

"I fell."

His stare remained fixed.

One of the guards cracked under pressure.

"She was racing."

Traitor.

The room somehow got quieter.

"Racing."

You winced.

"A little."

"You fractured your arm."

"Technically."

Ronan looked moments away from losing his patience.

He checked your face, your shoulders, your other arm, making sure nothing else was wrong before finally turning toward the collection of guards standing against the wall.

And everyone immediately looked terrified.

Yan took a step backward.

Kolya sighed.

Because they all knew that look.

Ronan took a step toward them.

Then another.

The guards looked ready to start writing wills.

"Ronan."

Nothing.

You reached out with your good arm and grabbed the back of his suit jacket.

Immediately, the room froze.

Including Ronan.

Because very few things could stop him when he was angry.

You were one of them.

Slowly, he looked back at you.

"Don't."

His jaw tightened.

"They were responsible for you."

"I tripped."

"They let you run."

"I'm an adult."

"They should've stopped you."

You tugged on his jacket again.

"Look at me."

Reluctantly, he did.

You pointed at your cast.

"I'm fine."

"You fractured your arm."

"I noticed."

Behind him, Yan nearly laughed before Kolya elbowed him.

Hard.

You tugged on Ronan's jacket once more.

"Come here."

A long silence followed.

Then, thankfully, he turned away from the guards and returned to your bedside.

The collective relief in the room was immediate.

One guard actually sat down.

Yan looked seconds away from thanking you personally.

Ronan settled beside you, one hand immediately finding your uninjured arm.

Still angry.

Still irritated.

But no longer about to put someone through a wall.

For everyone else in the room, that was considered a win.