Once a Love Fool Now a Leading Lady (Kylie rehbein and Axel Bowen) novel Chapter 10

Kylie hadn't even finished calming Crispin down before he hung up on her.

She was just about to call him back when Axel's name popped up on her screen.

Her stomach dropped. She hesitated for a beat, then answered.

"Come to Odonsa."

That was all he said—flat, cold, a command masquerading as a sentence—before the line went dead.

Kylie stared at her phone for a long second, then exhaled. She was going.

But not for Axel.

She was going for AeroX. For Crispin. For the project she had hunted down, nurtured, and fought tooth and nail for. The project she'd bled over, rewritten countless proposals for, negotiated until her voice went hoarse.

Walking away now would feel like throwing all that into the trash.

It also meant canceling her session with Dr. Truman. She could already picture his disappointed frown when she missed treatment again.

So she swore to him that once things settled down, she'd be all in on the treatment.

By the time her plane touched down in Odonsa, the storm had rolled in full force. Torrential rain hammered the runway, and cold air cut through her thin jacket straight to the bone.

She hadn't packed properly. She hadn't eaten. And the familiar ache in her stomach was back with a vengeance.

Still, she gritted her teeth, grabbed a cab, and went straight to the hotel.

It was past midnight by the time she checked in.

Exhausted as she was, she still needed to talk to Axel. If they didn't get aligned before facing Crispin, the entire negotiation could implode.

With her hair still damp from the rain, she dialed Axel from her room.

It rang. And rang. And rang.

When someone finally answered, it wasn't Axel.

"Axel, Ms. Rehbein is calling," a woman's sweet voice announced.

Rhea.

A moment later, Axel's muffled response came through the hiss of running water.

Rhea relayed it, dripping politeness. “Ms. Rehbein, Axel's in the shower. Maybe call back later?"

Kylie froze, throat tightening.

"It's nothing urgent," she managed. "I won't disturb Mr. Bowen."

She hung up quickly.

Outside, the rain kept pounding the windows—steady, relentless, echoing like a heartbeat against the cold glass.

Kylie stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, her reflection pale and hazy in the dark. Odonsa was colder than Slegate. Colder in every possible way.

Another cramp twisted hard in her abdomen. When she finally dragged herself to the bathroom, she realized her period had started—almost a week early, and far more painful than usual.

By the time she called the front desk for painkillers and pads, she was drenched in cold sweat.

The staff arrived, took one look at her, and went pale.

“Ms. Rehbein, you don't look well. Should we take you to a hospital?"

Kylie shook her head weakly. "I'm fine. The medicine will help."

They exchanged worried glances. "If it gets worse, please call us immediately."

"I will," she lied.

She didn't.

She spent the entire night curled up in bed, riding out waves of pain.

By morning, her skin was ghost-pale. Makeup couldn't hide how drained she looked.

The only thing on her mind was that Axel hated employees showing up looking weak while working. She wasn't about to make things harder for herself.

So she forced herself downstairs on time, heading to the hotel restaurant for something light.

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