Jordan had Nina transferred to an ultra-private hospital.
The entire floor was sealed off for her alone.
Two lines of bodyguards in black stood in the hallway, all broad-shouldered, all sharp-eyed, the kind of men who made the air feel tighter just by standing there.
Nina’s condition actually wasn’t that serious.
It was mostly the result of pushing herself too hard for too long, then getting hit with too much emotional shock at once.
That combo had triggered a high fever and left her body weak and drained.
Jordan stayed there in person, watching the doctor hook up her IV, then turned around and told the kitchen to prepare light liquid meals for her.
He handled every tiny detail himself, like he wanted to repay twenty years of guilt in one go, no holding back.
On the afternoon of the third day, a bodyguard came in to report that someone was here to see her.
“Roland Calnan, Vice President of Uppergate,” the bodyguard added.
“He says he knows Miss and the Crown Prince’s identities, and that he has something important to discuss.”
Jordan’s face darkened instantly.
His hand had already moved toward the gun at the back of his waist.
“How does he know?”
“Let him in.” Nina leaned against the headboard, her voice calm and steady.
“Jordan, in Uppergate, there’s basically nothing Roland Calnan can’t dig up.
Since he dared to say it out loud, that means he came prepared.
He’s got cards in hand.”
Jordan hesitated for a moment, then finally signaled the bodyguard to let him through.
Still, he stayed rooted by Nina’s bedside, not moving an inch.
The ward door was pushed open, and Roland walked in at an unhurried pace.
He was wearing a smoke-gray bespoke suit today, no tie, with two buttons at the collar left undone.
The whole look gave off that relaxed-but-dangerous vibe, the kind that screamed trouble in a very expensive package.
On that strikingly handsome face was a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
His slightly upturned eyes narrowed, and when his gaze landed on Nina’s pale face, a trace of pain flashed through them so quickly it was almost invisible.
“Your Highness, Princess,” he said, dipping slightly into a flawless court bow.
Then he turned to Jordan.
“Your Highness, Crown Prince.
Sorry for the sudden visit.”
Jordan said nothing.
His face was cold, his whole body taut with tension, like a lion guarding its cub and ready to rip someone apart at any second.
“Vice President Calnan really does have impressive sources,” Nina said, still leaning against the pillow, her eyes cool and distant.
“But this ‘princess’ you’re calling me—exactly which country’s princess do you mean?”
“Naturally, the most noble little princess of F Country.” Roland straightened, took out a gilt-edged business card from his pocket, and placed it lightly on the bedside table.
“No need to test me, Your Highness.
Since I’m here, I’m not planning to play coy.
During those years I was running for president, I investigated every single person connected to Ethan, top to bottom.
Nina’s past was full of questionable gaps.
On top of that, the F Country royal family has been searching across borders for their lost child for twenty years.
Overseas, that’s not exactly a total secret.
Put the pieces together, and the answer is basically obvious.”
Nina’s gaze turned colder.
“If you came here just to show off your intel network, you can leave.”
“Don’t be so harsh.” Roland dragged over a chair and sat down, completely ignoring the murderous look Jordan was giving him.
“I’m here to help when it actually matters.
Ethan, that bastard, wants a fake divorce from you because of Tiffany.
Princess, you did so much for him, and this is how he pays you back.
Tell me straight—aren’t you angry?”
“Whether I am or not is my business.”
“Ms.
Harlow, Ethan only secured his position as president because of all the sacrifices you made in silence over the years.
And the second he’s stable, he turns around and pressures you into divorce for Tiffany.
The Ashford family has blood debts owed to the Harlow family, and Ethan chose to look away for the sake of the cabinet’s finances.”
Roland leaned forward, a calculating gleam flashing in his upturned eyes.
“You and I should join forces.
I have plenty of damaging information on the Blackwells and the Ashfords.
You have the support and power of the royal family.
Together, we can bring Ethan down and make the Ashfords pay for what they’ve done.
Isn’t that the best possible ending?”
The hospital room went silent for a few seconds.
Nina suddenly laughed.
There was open mockery in that smile.
“Roland Calnan, what do you take me for?
A handy knife?
Or just another chess piece you can use to take down your political enemies?”
“Of course not—”
“Ethan betrayed me.
I was blind, fine, I admit it.” Nina cut him off.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word landed clean and hard.
“But I’m not going to turn myself into someone else’s pawn just to get back at him.
Vice President Calnan, I appreciate the thought, but teaming up?
Not happening.”
The smile on Roland’s face froze for a split second.
He really hadn’t expected this.
A woman who had just been gutted by love should’ve been angry, emotional, reckless.
That was the normal script.
He had assumed she would want revenge so badly she wouldn’t even stop to think.
After all, according to everything he had dug up, Nina had loved Ethan for eight whole years.
“So the princess really is different.” He got to his feet, lifting a hand to smooth the cuff of his suit.
“I was presumptuous.
However…”
He paused, his gaze settling on Nina’s face.
“If you change your mind, come to me anytime.
Also, as an apology, I left a little gift behind my card.
You may find it interesting.”
With that, he turned and walked out.
Jordan let out a cold snort.
“That fox is definitely up to no good.”
Nina picked up the business card.
Sure enough, a tiny storage card was attached to the back.
She didn’t check it right away.
She just slipped it casually into the drawer.
Right then, the phone on the bedside table rang.
A name flashed across the screen: Ethan.
Nina looked at the name, her eyes flat and still, not even the slightest ripple in them.
Jordan reached over to grab it.
“Let me answer it for you.
I’ll tear that bastard apart—”
“No need.” Nina pressed mute and watched the screen light up, then dim again.
“He’s not worth it.”
The call rang three times before it finally went dead.
Jordan turned to her, his expression tightening.
“Nina, that bastard definitely won’t let this go that easily.
From here on out, we need to be fully prepared.”