The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 346

Franklin shot a vigilant glance out the door. "Come inside."

Riley walked in.

Franklin closed the door.

They went to the living room, and Franklin looked at Riley with a grave expression. "Mr. St. John has been injured."

Riley's heart suddenly seized. "How did he get injured? Where is he hurt? Is it serious?"

"He's been in a coma for two days."

Riley felt as if something was brutally crushing her heart, sending waves of agonizing, twisting pain through her chest. "Where is he?"

"In the bedroom."

Riley immediately rushed toward Sebastian's bedroom. Pushing the door open, she was hit with a heavy smell of antiseptic, laced with the faint, metallic scent of blood.

The curtains were drawn tight, sealing out all light, but the room's lamps were on. Sebastian lay on the massive bed, surrounded by various medical machines monitoring his vitals on the nightstands.

Beep, beep, beep...

The machines emitted a rhythmic beeping. It was a sound Riley was intimately familiar with. She worked in a hospital; she heard it constantly and interacted with these machines daily. She thought she was entirely immune to the noise.

But in that moment, the sound felt like a sledgehammer, violently pounding against her heart, leaving her chest numb and aching with every strike.

Riley walked to the edge of the bed.

Sebastian's face was as pale as paper on the sheets, even his lips drained of any trace of color. Thick gauze was wrapped around his head, and there were multiple bandages on his arms and legs. The man whose face was usually so cold and formidable now radiated a quiet, terrifying sense of powerlessness.

In Riley's heart, Sebastian had always been like an invincible superman. It felt like no matter how insurmountable the problem, he could resolve it effortlessly. She had never imagined him falling, or lying in bed so incredibly weak and covered in injuries.

The contrast was far too jarring, so massive that she couldn't process it.

"How... how did this happen?"

The moment she opened her mouth, a choked sob slipped out, accompanied by a rush of tears.

Franklin's eyes gradually reddened. "There was a traitor on the inside. Mr. St. John was set up. His car was forced off the road into the forest. The car was destroyed, and he barely made it out alive."

If his boss hadn't been so cautious and alert, discreetly leaking him some intel beforehand and purposefully driving into the forest to stall the attackers and buy time for a rescue, he would likely be dead right now.

Franklin didn't say the rest out loud, afraid of terrifying Riley.

The car was destroyed, and he barely made it out alive. Those words sent a violent tremor through Riley's body. Her heart felt as if it were being ripped apart, the pain so intense she couldn't breathe. She bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from wailing out loud.

After a long time, she finally managed to suppress her turbulent emotions. She wanted to ask Franklin if Sebastian was going to be okay, but it felt like something was entirely blocking her throat. She opened her mouth several times, but could only manage a single syllable. "Is... is..."

Franklin vaguely guessed what Riley wanted to ask. "Zach said Mr. St. John isn't out of the woods yet."

Riley's legs gave out, and she stumbled.

Franklin caught her just in time, guiding her to sit on the edge of the bed before silently stepping out of the room.

Buying her medicine in the middle of the night, applying it for her...

Carefully finding a way to gift her a car without making her feel burdened...

It was too much. He had done far too much for her.

Riley sat on the edge of the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. He treated her so well, yet she had come here fully intending to hand back the car keys and draw a clear line between them.

She slowly reached out, and for the first time, boldly grabbed Sebastian's hand. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Tear after tear splashed onto the slightly cool skin of his hand.

Winona's words from not too long ago suddenly echoed in Riley's mind again: Riley, you should date Sebastian. Don't end up regretting it looking back, like I am.

She regretted it. She truly regretted it.

What did status matter? What did background matter? In the face of his survival, it was all utterly meaningless.

As long as he woke up, she would do anything. Absolutely anything.

It took a long time for Riley's emotions to finally stabilize. She walked out of the room and went into the living room.

Franklin looked at Riley, her eyes swollen and red from crying. He opened his mouth to comfort her, but with Sebastian hovering between life and death, he found that any words would just feel incredibly empty.

Riley sat down on the sofa. When she spoke, her voice carried a raspy hoarseness from her tears. "If his condition is this severe, why isn't he at the hospital?"