The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 264

Lucie and Elio froze, caught off guard by what just happened.

Over at the nurse’s station, the nurses looked genuinely panicked. “Mr. Heath, are you alright? Mr. Heath?”

“Somebody go get help!”

Elio let out a snort of laughter. “What? He fell down all on his own. That’s not on us.”

Lucie, feeling a little vindicated at last, glanced at Elio. “Let’s get out of here. The last thing we need is him blaming us for this.”

Elio nodded, smiling. “You’re right. People like him? Better steer clear.”

With that, Elio scooped Lucie up and walked away, not bothering to look back.

Down at the bottom of the stairs, Steven was a mess—blood trickling from his scalp, a nasty bump already rising at the back of his head. But honestly, the physical pain was nothing compared to how he felt inside. Humiliated and furious, he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

He’d falle so hard, and Lucie hadn’t even blinked. She just left, tossing a few cold words over her shoulder.

“Lucie—”

Two nurses rushed over. “Mr. Heath, are you okay? Mr. Heath?”

Steven was so angry and upset he couldn’t even catch his breath. His vision swam, then everything went black.

“Mr. Heath! Please wake up!” One of the nurses frantically pinched his philtrum.

Another nurse, a big woman with thick glasses, shoved her aside. “He’s out cold—he needs mouth-to-mouth!”

Without hesitation, she took a deep breath, her mouth still full of the spicy, lingering smell of her recent lunch. She pinched Steven’s nose, parted his lips, and gave him a full blast of breath.

Steven shot upright, coughing and gagging, his stomach turning.

The nurse was already inhaling again, ready to go for round two.

Steven blinked his eyes open and was met with a pair of plump lips pressing down on his. It wasn’t the kiss that got to him—it was the overwhelming stench of garlic and chili that made him retch.

“What are you doing?” Steven shouted, shoving her off and scrubbing at his mouth.

The nurse just looked at him with genuine concern, her cheeks pink. “You fainted, Mr. Heath. I was giving you CPR…”

Steven just glared. “Get away from me!”

He struggled to his feet and stormed off, his whole day in shambles, angrier than ever.

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