"I... I re...ject Bryce Jones as my... m... mate."
Even through the obvious struggle, Vincent forced the words out.
The hope and resolve Bryce had only just begun to nurture splintered apart before they had the chance to become anything at all.
Vincent had actually rejected him.
A broken groan escaped his throat as his knees crashed against the cold, tiled restroom floor. Both hands flew to his chest, clutching at it desperately as though he could keep something from being torn out of him, as though holding on tightly enough might stop whatever was ripping from him.
"Bryce?" Heather called, panic breaking through her voice as she hurried toward him. "What’s happening to you? Oh God..." She dropped to her knees beside him, her trembling hands hovering helplessly over him, too frightened to touch him.
"Help!" she screamed, her gaze darting wildly toward the door before returning to Bryce. She looked completely torn, unsure whether to run for help or stay with him as his condition deteriorated with every passing second.
Pain exploded through Bryce’s chest with such terrifying intensity that it felt as though something deep inside it was being ripped apart.
His stomach lurched violently, nausea twisting through him until he thought he might vomit. It was far worse than he had ever imagined.
How deep did the roots of this bond run?
How could something invisible inflict agony so unbearable?
His fingers dug desperately into his chest, as though they could somehow reach the source of the pain and tear it out before it destroyed him.
Was he... going to die?
The thought had barely crossed his mind before the last of his strength gave out, and his body crumpled onto the cold, tiled floor.
"Are you having a heart attack?" Heather cried, her voice cracking as panic overwhelmed her. "Help! Somebody, please!"
The restroom door flew open.
Several employees rushed inside, only to freeze at the sight before hurrying toward Bryce.
"What happened to him?"
"Call an ambulance!"
"Move back! Give him some room!"
Within moments, word spread through the company that an employee was dying inside the restroom.
Footsteps thundered through the corridor as more people crowded outside the restroom, craning their necks to see what was happening, while others had already pulled out their phones, snapping pictures and recording videos.
Bryce barely registered any of it.
Each breath scraped through his lungs, each heartbeat sent another wave of unbearable agony crashing through him. His vision blurred, his hearing faded beneath the pounding of his own pulse, and through half closed eyes he caught two familiar figures stepping through the crowd.
Vincent.
Leah.
The employees instinctively moved aside, opening a path as the two of them made their way toward him.
Vincent looked as though he had lost his sense of direction, his complexion unnaturally pale, his breathing uneven, but...
He wasn’t suffering.
Not like Bryce was.
Why?
The question echoed weakly through Bryce’s mind even as the pain threatened to drag him into darkness.
Vincent bent down without a word and scooped Bryce into his arms before striding toward the elevator. It arrived to the ground floor almost immediately.
By the time he stepped out of the building, the ambulance had already pulled up to the entrance. The paramedics hurried toward them with a stretcher.
Vincent carefully laid Bryce onto it, and within seconds they wheeled him into the ambulance before the doors slammed shut behind them and it sped away.
Vincent didn’t turn back toward the building, instead, he strode straight to a sleek black luxury car parked nearby.
Leah hurried after him.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
"No one went with him." Vincent yanked the driver’s door open himself, waving his chauffeur away before the man could reach the car. "Who exactly is supposed to be there if something happens? And what if whatever is happening to him isn’t normal? What if he exposes our existence?" He slid behind the steering wheel, "We need to be there."
Leah climbed into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind her. Her movements were clipped with barely restrained frustration.
"He’s pretending, and you know it. Since when has severing a mate bond ever looked like that? Why are you standing here perfectly fine? It only unsettled you for a minute." She folded her arms tightly across her chest. "I know because I’ve gone through it myself. That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be."
Vincent’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"You rejected your mate?" He turned to look at her. "Why have you never told me that?"
"I didn’t think it mattered," Leah replied dismissively.
Vincent said nothing.
He shifted into gear and accelerated as he chased after the ambulance.
Several minutes later, the flashing lights ahead suddenly came to a stop.
Vincent braked hard behind it.
The rear doors swung open, and the paramedics climbed out.
Before either of them could approach, Vincent was already out of the car.
"What happened?"
"He regained consciousness," one of the doctors answered. "He insisted he was fine and refused to come with us even after convincing him to stay for further examinations. But the tests we’ve completed so far haven’t revealed anything abnormal."
The doctor had barely finished speaking when Bryce stepped out of the ambulance.
Without sparing Vincent so much as a glance, he walked down the road as though no one was standing there.
"You’re free to go," Vincent said to the doctors, they exchanged brief looks before climbing back into the ambulance.
Vincent then turned toward Bryce.
"Get in the car."
Bryce didn’t even slow down.
"I said, get in the car."
The command landed with unmistakable irritation, but Bryce continued walking as though the words had never reached him.
Leah finally stepped out of the car, a scoff escaping her lips.
"Just leave him alone." She looked at Vincent in disbelief. "I already told you he’s pretending because he wants your attention. You’ve already severed the bond, so why are you still indulging him?"
Vincent remained where he was, watching in silence until Bryce flagged down a cab and climbed inside. Only then did he turn and head back to his car.