Wilder’s arm remained firmly around her waist as they continued walking down the corridor.
Nyxia could feel the heat of his palm through the thin fabric of her blouse, steady and unyielding.
Every time she tried to create even a small distance between them, his grip tightened just enough to stop her.
She kept her eyes forward, refusing to look at him.
Her mind was still stuck on the way he had shoved that man earlier, and the words he had spoken afterward.
I want everyone here to know that you’re mine.
The claim echoed in her head, heavy and absurd.
They were enemies.
They had never been married.
Yet here he was, acting as if he owned her without the slightest hesitation.
They finally reached the main entrance.
The automatic doors slid open, and the warm afternoon air brushed against her face.
Wilder guided her outside without loosening his hold, leading her toward the parking lot.
His other hand still carried her bag, as if he had already decided she wouldn’t be allowed to carry anything herself.
Nyxia glanced at him from the side.
“You can let go now,” she said quietly.
Wilder didn’t even look at her.
“No.”
“Wilder.”
“We’re still in public.” His voice was calm, almost casual.
“I don’t like other people getting the wrong idea.”
Nyxia pressed her lips together and stopped arguing.
There was no point.
The man was clearly doing this on purpose.
When they arrived at a black car, Wilder finally released her…
only to open the passenger door and wait.
Nyxia hesitated for a brief moment before getting in.
The second she sat down, the scent of leather mixed with a faint trace of his cologne filled the space.
Wilder closed the door, walked around the front of the car, and slid into the driver’s seat.
The engine came to life.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The only sounds were the low hum of the car and the soft click of the turn signal.
Nyxia stared out the window, watching the buildings pass by, but her thoughts refused to settle.
The weight of his arm from earlier still lingered on her waist like a ghost.
They stopped at a red light.
Nyxia’s gaze drifted to the car beside them.
A dark sedan.
Almost the same color as the one from that night.
Her breath caught.
In an instant, the rain returned in her mind.
The failed brakes.
The blur of headlights.
The violent impact.
And right before everything went black—Wilder’s face.
Calm.
Unshaken.
As if he had been waiting for it.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her seat.
“Why…?” she whispered, almost to herself.
Wilder glanced at her.
“What?”
Nyxia slowly turned her head toward him.
She carefully arranged her expression into something soft and confused, the same look she had been practicing for days.
Her voice came out quiet, almost fragile.
“I… think I remembered something.”
Wilder’s hand on the steering wheel stilled.
“Just now, when I looked at that car… I saw rain.
And headlights.
And then…” She paused, lowering her eyes as if struggling to piece it together.
“I saw your face.
Right before the crash.”
The air inside the car seemed to grow heavier.
Nyxia lifted her gaze again, keeping her tone innocent.
“Wilder… did you want to kill me?”
For a moment, everything went silent.
Wilder’s jaw tightened so sharply that the muscle along his cheek stood out.
His fingers curled around the steering wheel until his knuckles turned pale.
The calm mask he usually wore cracked, just a little.
“Don’t joke about that,” he said, his voice low and rough.
“I’m not joking.” Nyxia tilted her head slightly, still maintaining that confused, almost childlike expression.
“I really saw you.
You weren’t scared at all.
Why?”
Before Wilder could answer, a loud series of honks erupted from the car behind them.
The light had already turned green.
Wilder clicked his tongue in irritation, stepped on the gas harder than necessary, and the car surged forward.
Nyxia quietly observed him from the side.
The way his brows were drawn together, the tension in his shoulders, the way he refused to look at her …
every small reaction was noted carefully in her mind.
He’s hiding something.
The realization settled deep in her chest.
If Wilder had deliberately claimed to be her husband, then there had to be a reason.
And if he wanted to play this game… then she would play it too.
A small, almost invisible smile touched her lips.
A few minutes later, Wilder suddenly turned into a small street and parked in front of a quiet cake shop.
Without explaining anything, he took out his phone and made a call.
“Prepare my room,” he said curtly.
“And dinner for two.
I’ll be there soon.”
He ended the call, got out of the car, and disappeared into the shop.
Nyxia watched his back through the window.
Seeing him still visibly irritated gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.
For once, she wasn’t the only one thrown off balance.
When Wilder returned, he was holding a neat paper bag.
He opened the car door, placed it on her lap, then started the engine again without a word.
Nyxia looked down at the bag, confused.
She opened it carefully.
Inside was a small box.
When she lifted the lid, the familiar sweet scent rose up to meet her.
Cheesecake.
Her favorite.
Nyxia froze.
She stared at the cake, then slowly lifted her eyes to Wilder.
He was focused on the road, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting loosely on the gear shift.
His expression had returned to its usual unreadable state.
“What is this?” she asked quietly.
“Your favorite,” he answered simply.
“You looked like you needed something sweet.”
Nyxia’s mind went blank for a moment.
How?
How could Wilder “her enemy” know that she loved cheesecake?
Magnus had been with her for three years and had never once bought it for her.
Not on her birthday.
Not on any ordinary day.
Yet the man sitting beside her, the same man she had hated for years, had remembered.
She closed the lid of the box slowly, her fingers resting on top of it.
For the first time since waking up in the hospital, Nyxia didn’t know what to feel.
Suspicion.
Confusion.
And something else she refused to name.
She turned her face toward the window, hiding her expression.
Fine, she thought quietly.
If you want to act like my husband so badly…
Then I’ll make sure you regret it.