Tyler POV.
Anne, sensing I was about to lose my mind, quietly slipped out and returned a few minutes later with the doctor in tow. He was the same middle-aged man with silver streaks in his hair, looking more tired than ever, like he'd already lived three lifetimes today.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands clenched into fists, trying to steady the roaring in my head. I didn't even wait for the doctor to ask anything.
"Call him," I said, my voice rough, cold. "Whoever brought me here. Tell him I'll take the damn deal."
The doctor blinked, a little taken aback, but then nodded slowly, like he had been expecting this the whole time. Like this was just another box he needed to check off before moving on to the next unfortunate soul.
Anne stayed by my side, her hand brushing against my arm in silent support, but I could feel her trembling. I wasn't the only one scared. I just happened to be the one signing away my life.
"Are you sure?" the doctor asked, his voice low, almost... sad.
I looked him dead in the eye. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
He gave me a sad little smile that wasn't a smile at all. "No," he said simply. Then he turned and pulled out his phone.
As he stepped outside to make the call, I leaned back against the pillows, feeling the weight of what I'd just done crush down on me.
There was no going back now.
The doctor came back into the room, his face as unreadable as before. He glanced between us, clearing his throat.
"Mr. Han is on his way."
Eric practically jumped to his feet like the chair had suddenly caught fire. "I better leave," he said quickly, running a hand through his hair.
Anne narrowed her eyes at him immediately. "Why? Coward," she spat.
Eric looked like he wanted to disappear. "He's my boss!" he hissed. "I don't know if this time Anne will vigorously attack him, and then he'll find out I'm his employee and fire me. Please, no."
Anne scoffed loudly. "Coward."
Eric straightened, glaring at her. "Too much talk for someone who's homeless and whom I'm sheltering for free."
Anne's eyes flew wide open, like she had just witnessed a murder.
"How dare you!" she shrieked, stepping toward him like she was ready to throw hands.
Before she could reach him, I jumped between them, waving my arms like a maniac. "Guys, guys! Remember Han is on his way! I've agreed already!" I yelled, voice cracking from the tension. "What's the plan?"
Eric didn't miss a beat. He cast a cold look at Anne. "Maybe you should ask your smart girlfriend of yours," he muttered before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Anne just stood there, staring blankly at the door. Slowly, her face crumpled into pure fury as she turned to me.
"You see what you've caused, Tyler? He called me homeless!"
"You looked for it!" I shot back without thinking.
Her mouth dropped open. "Tyler, what the hell? Are you seriously taking his side now?"
"Anne" I started, reaching for her.
She cut me off sharply. "You know what? I'm leaving."
Without another word, she spun around and stormed out after Eric. I watched her go, guilt gnawing at my insides. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the headache forming.
"Babe..." I called out weakly, but she was already gone.
.....
Before I knew it, after too much thinking and way too much pacing, my body gave up. I slumped back onto the bed, mind still racing, but my body had other plans. Sleep pulled me under fast and hard.
I didn't even know how long I had been out until that feeling came — a shift in the air, a heavy, almost suffocating presence hovering in the room. My senses immediately went on high alert. My body stiffened before my mind even caught up.
Slowly, cautiously, my eyes slid open.
The first thing I saw was a pair of whiskey-brown eyes staring down at me — cold, unreadable, but strikingly beautiful in the worst way possible.
Tall. Masculine. Perfect features that looked like they'd been carved out of stone by a very, very angry god. His black hair was slicked back neatly, not a strand out of place, and he wore a sharp black suit like it was part of him. Every inch of him screamed power, control, and something even darker.
My dry throat barely cooperated. "Mr. Han?"
His lips twitched — not a smile, but something more dangerous. "Han," he corrected coolly. "Just Han."
I pushed myself up to sit, feeling absurdly small under his gaze. It was like being inspected by a lion deciding whether I was worth the effort to kill.
"You agreed," he said simply. Not a question. A fact. Like he already knew. Like he always knew.
I nodded, my mouth suddenly too dry to form words.
He stepped closer, the sound of his shoes against the floor sharp and deliberate. "You understand what that means, don't you?"
I swallowed hard. "Yeah," I managed to croak out. "I understand."
Han tilted his head slightly, those whiskey eyes scanning me. "You don't look like you do."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. What was I supposed to say? That I knew signing my life over to a devil wasn't the brightest idea? That I was doing this just to survive?
"You are now my bodyguard," Han said, his voice low, dangerous, final. "You now work for me, you lay your life down for me and be ready to protect me anytime-anyday after you have gone through the appropriate training."
A shiver ran down my spine at how easily he said it, how absolute it sounded. There was no room for argument. No escape.
Anne's voice echoed somewhere at the back of my mind — devil. Monster. And she was right. This wasn't just about a job. This is damn risky.
Han reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, sleek black phone and a file he has been holding.He tossed it onto the bed beside me like he was throwing scraps to a dog.
"Everything you need is in there. Instructions, contracts. You'll be discharged tomorrow morning."
I blinked at the phone, half-expecting it to bite me.
"And Tyler?" Han said, his voice sharp enough to cut glass. I looked up at him.
"You screw this up," he said, "and it won't be the government you have to worry about."
I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding and stared at the phone.
What the hell had I just gotten myself into?