12 Arc One (11)

"What?" Nicholas stared at the pair in disbelief.

"The doctor has already agreed and we've renovated the downstairs for your wheelchair. You're being discharged on Friday and we'll look after you from here. Okay?" Louisa was bubbling with the thrill of helping her friend and saviour, but it took all Nicholas' willpower to muster up a feeble smile.

Live with them? With Gabe? Did she not know she was sending him to his death? He snuck a look at the man standing behind Louisa with one hand on her shoulder. Now that his secret was out, Gabe tried to involve Nicholas more with his business. While bedridden, Nicholas had been presented with a laptop and multiple files related to Gabe's business accounts, all under the guise of 'distracting' him from the pain. As if mob work could distract him from the emotional pain of his previous mission attempt! Nicholas found himself in a dilemma though; the original would never have refused the opportunity to work more intimately with his secret crush but the work he was doing tied him to the Family and now, if they sank, so would he.

None of the files had been directly incriminating and Nicholas could only take that as Gabe still not fully trusting him. Which was fair enough. Nicholas didn't exactly want to be trusted by a mob boss.

As Louisa continued to expound on her plans to assist with Nicholas' rehab, the two men made eye contact and the glint in Gabe's eyes made Nicholas shift uneasily in his bed.

What on earth had he done to make the Male Lead look at him with such determination?

The day Nicholas was discharged, his mission progress dropped to 65%. Looking at the stairs leading into the multi-level house he wondered if the decrease was due to the sudden risk of breaking his neck while falling down stairs.

When Louisa said they'd renovated to accommodate a wheelchair, she'd only been half right. There was no ramp access into the house so Gabe had to carry Nicholas up the stairs, where he gently placed him on the couch before returning for the wheelchair. In no position to It also meant Nicholas couldn't leave without going the same route.

Fortunately, he had no need to go upstairs.

The downstairs guest room had hand rails and a shower chair installed in the ensuite, while all furniture had been removed from the bedroom and the bed pushed to the side against the wall. There was enough room for Nicholas to manoeuvre his wheelchair around the room and he could even go to the toilet by himself. Which was more of a relief than he'd ever have though possible— by the time he was being discharged from the hospital, Gabe had taken to sending the nurses away and helping Nicholas with the daily routines of bathing… and toileting. It was one thing to let a nurse manhandle him, that was their job after all, but letting the male lead see him naked and vulnerable was something completely different.

Especially when the male lead was surprisingly enthusiastic about making sure Nicholas was clean all over.

He was also extremely hands on with Nicholas' physio and daily exercises.

(Author Note: Short chapter before we start heading into the darker recesses of this Arc. This is going to be the only warning given through the story about themes etc. Not every relationship in this arc is healthy, and not every decision is a clear cut, black and white choice. This story is all about exploring the grey areas of life.)