Seeing Amara practically lose her mind with worry over Keith sent an incredibly sour feeling straight to Finnian’s core.

He asked the nurse for the room number and led the way down the hall.

Inside the private suite, Keith was sitting up in a hospital gown. Thick layers of white gauze were wrapped securely around his neck, hiding the burns, but the sheer bulk of the bandages made it obvious how bad the damage was.

Wincing against the discomfort, he carefully turned his head to speak to his parents, who were hovering by his bedside.

The door swung open, and the moment Keith spotted her, his face lit up. “Ama, you’re here!”

But as soon as he noticed Finnian walking in right behind her, his bright expression darkened considerably.

What the hell was Finnian doing here?

Oh, right. Finnian bankrolled Letters from Yesterday. He probably caught wind of the incident immediately and rushed over to play the hero for Amara.

Did that mean they had been waiting together this entire time while he was under the knife?

Keith narrowed his eyes as a dozen thoughts raced through his mind. He was the patient here; this was his turf. He didn’t bother hiding his annoyance. “Mr. Everly, fancy seeing you here.”

Finnian offered a cool, unimpressed glance. “I came with Ama to check on you.” Hearing him call her “Ama” sent an immediate rush of goosebumps down her arms. It was her nickname. Elysia, Keith, her dad, and Mr. Kevin Everly all called her that. When they used it, it felt entirely normal, but coming from Finnian, it felt jarringly intimate. Why did it feel so incredibly strange? Probably because he had literally never called her that before.

She automatically shot him a bewildered look, utterly baffled as to why he was suddenly acting so familiar.

In truth, a brief flicker of awkwardness crossed Finnian’s own eyes the moment the nickname slipped out.

Hearing Keith use it so casually had sparked a jolt of pure jealousy, prompting him to claim the same level of closeness.

But the moment the syllables rolled off his tongue, his heart gave an unexpected, chaotic flutter.

Ama… it sounded so natural. So sweet. He decided right then and there that he was going to use it a lot more often.

Amara quickly pulled her gaze away, deciding to ignore him.

She couldn’t begin to fathom what kind of power trip he was on, figuring he was just being unpredictable again.

Ret

Pushing the weird moment aside,, she zeroed in on what mattered. She hurried to the bedside. “How are the burns? Ar Are they treatable? Are you in a lot of pain?”

Seeing her panic-stricken

expression, Keith offered a comforting smile. “They cleared away the damaged tissue. Now we just keep it bandaged with the medicated ointment until the new skin heals over. I’m going to be fine. Stop worrying.”

The attending physician was still in the room, quietly discussing the prognosis with Nathan.

Amara turned to the doctor, jumping into the conversation the second there was a pause. “Doctor, is the scarring going to be permanent? Can it be fixed?”

Considering he’d taken a direct hit from boiling water, she knew there would be a scar. Her only concern was whether it could be removed entirely.

“There will undoubtedly be some initial scarring, given the severity of the burns, the doctor explained. “However, there is no need to panic. Once the tissue has fully healed, he can undergo laser scar revision. Modern

medicine has come a long way; we can completely erase scars

of this magnitude.”

Amara finally let out a massive sigh of relief.

Keith made his living in front of a camera. His appearance was his livelihood.

Permanent scarring was simply not an option.