Chapter 162 Damian??

Chapter 162: Chapter 162 Damian??

Evelyn watched Noah shaking so badly that she immediately became alarmed. She had already called the doctors, but the moment they tried to approach him, Noah nearly exploded.

"Get them off me! Out! Now!"

His voice echoed through the hospital room. The nurses froze. One of them instinctively took a step backward.

The doctor in charge of Noah’s treatment, however, refused to budge. The elderly man had known the Evernight family for years, and despite Noah’s obvious panic, he remained stubbornly beside the bed, trying to administer the necessary treatment.

"I understand that this may be because of the accident," he said slowly, maintaining his calm tone. "But you will get through it. Just let us help you."

Noah stared at him as if the man had completely lost his mind. "Are you kidding me?" He looked down at himself. "Do I look sick to you?"

He reached toward the IV line attached to his arm, intending to yank it out. But before he could, a splitting headache suddenly exploded inside his skull.

"Ah!"

Noah grimaced. His hand immediately flew to his forehead. His fingers brushed against something wrapped tightly around his head.

A huge bandage.

He froze. His breathing slowed.

Something wasn’t right. No. Everything was wrong.

He slowly touched the bandage again, his brows furrowing. Why was he here? Why was he in a hospital?

And why—

He looked toward the corner of the room. His sister was standing there. Evelyn.

The girl was staring at him as though she had just watched some strange creature crawl out of a television.

Noah stared back. Then his nose wrinkled. There was a strange smell filling the room.

Flowers. Way too many flowers.

The scent was so strong that his stomach turned. He almost vomited.

"What the hell..."

Noah looked around the room properly for the first time. Bouquets were everywhere. Huge arrangements of flowers had been packed onto the floor, placed on tables, pushed against the wall, and practically filled every available space. There were so many that Noah felt as if he was suffocating.

"Are you guys trying to murder me?" He pointed toward the flowers. "Or is this some kind of burial? Because those flowers are outrageous!"

Evelyn blinked. The doctor blinked. Even the nurses standing at the corner of the bed looked at one another. None of them wanted to be the one dealing with this patient.

Finally, Evelyn spoke. "But Noah..." She looked genuinely confused. "This is how you like being woken up. Sick or not, this is what we’ve always done whenever you end up in the hospital."

Noah’s irritation immediately faltered. "What?"

"You always complain if there aren’t flowers." She pointed toward the ridiculous collection around the room. "You say the hospital looks depressing without them."

Noah stared at her. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then realization slowly crept across his face.

This was his old life. His old world. His old hospital. His sister. The Evernight family. His wealth. His identity. Everything.

His mind struggled to process it. Was he really back? That couldn’t be possible. It simply couldn’t.

What about Killian? What about Eugene? Damian? Marcus? Lysander? Lamia?

His heart suddenly tightened. Were all of them just dreams?

No. No way. Those memories were too vivid.

The battles. The palace. The demons. The witches. The Book of Shadows. The Heavenly Sword. The Moonlight Alphas. Lysander. Lamia. The pain. The blood. The way Damian’s arms had held him. The way Eugene had looked at him. The way Killian had called him little kitten.

Everything felt far too real to have been nothing more than a dream.

"You mean..." Noah looked down at himself. "I do?"

Evelyn frowned. "You do what?"

He barely heard her. He was beginning to remember. This was his original life. The life he had lived before everything changed. The life where he had everything he could possibly want. Clothes. Cars. Bags. Jewelry. Money. Power. The Evernight name. Billions sitting under his name.

He had been a young, glamorous heir who had never needed to worry about food, shelter, or survival. Everything had been handed to him.

And yet, at this moment, none of it felt important.

His eyes lowered. He had everything here. Everything except them.

"Someone is playing with me," Noah muttered.

Evelyn’s expression changed. "Playing with you?"

"No." He shook his head. "No, those couldn’t have been dreams." His voice became quieter. "They can’t just disappear."

Evelyn stared at him.

Noah continued talking to himself. "There were too many things. Too many people. Too many things happened." He touched his chest. "I remember everything."

Evelyn’s face slowly paled. "Has my brother gone insane?" She looked at the doctor. "Has he gone mad already?"

The doctor immediately placed both hands on her shoulders. "That’s not it." He spoke quickly. "The situation he was in was critical. It’s possible that he sustained a minor concussion, which can cause confusion, memory distortion, strange dreams, and—"

He didn’t get to finish.

Evelyn grabbed him by the neck.

"You have one job!"

Several medical personnel rushed forward immediately. "Miss Evernight!" "Please let him go!"

Evelyn’s eyes were furious. "I don’t care how high your position is or how important you are in this hospital." Her grip tightened. "All I know is that you have one duty, and that is to help my brother!"

The doctor struggled to breathe.

"So that he doesn’t go insane!"

The other doctors tried pulling Evelyn away.

"If you nearly terminate my brother’s life because of your incompetence, I will sue every single one of you!" Her voice rang through the room. "And you know damn well I’m going to win!"

The doctor gulped.

Evelyn finally released him. The poor man stumbled backward, rubbing his throat. "Don’t you dare test me," she warned.

Then she turned around. "Noah?"

Silence.

Her eyes widened. The bed was empty. The IV line was hanging loose. Blood had already begun pooling around the area where Noah had pulled himself away.

"Fuck!" Evelyn’s face changed immediately. "Noah!"

She rushed out of the room. She searched frantically until she finally spotted him.

Noah was standing in front of a large hospital mirror. He wasn’t even aware that blood was dripping down his arm. He was staring at his reflection. His eyes were wide. Completely stunned.

The face staring back at him wasn’t Ashton.

The delicate features were gone. The silver eyes were gone. The purple hair was gone. The soft, almost ethereal appearance that had become so familiar to him had disappeared.

His hazel eyes were back. His red hair was back. His sharper facial structure was back. His original face.

Noah touched his cheek. His fingers trembled.

"This..." He stared at himself. "This is me."

The person in the mirror looked cold. Almost intimidating. There was none of the delicate beauty Ashton possessed. Ashton could look innocent even when he was scheming. That face had always given him an almost unfair damsel-in-distress appearance.

Noah, however... Noah’s original face looked like it belonged to someone who could ruin a person’s life without blinking.

He stared at himself for several seconds. Then his expression slowly fell.

He missed Ashton. That realization hurt more than he expected.

It wasn’t his original body. He knew that. He knew Ashton had been another person. But somehow, after everything they had experienced together, that body had begun to feel like home.

And Ashton had something Noah’s old life never had. His mates.

The people who had driven him insane. The people who had protected him. The people who had fought for him.

Damian. Eugene. Killian. Marcus.

And then there was Lysander.

Noah’s chest tightened. He couldn’t just return to his old life and pretend none of them existed. He couldn’t.

"I don’t want this." His hands moved to his head. "I don’t want to go back."

The hospital room blurred.

"I want to go back."

He didn’t even know what he was saying anymore. Back to the danger? Back to the demons? Back to the supernatural world?

Yes. Because somehow that terrifying world had become more alive than this one.

His old life had everything. But it had no Lysander. No Damian. No Eugene. No Killian. No Marcus. No Lamia. No Rose. No Oliver.

And the thought of never seeing them again made his heart ache.

"No..." Noah shook his head. "I have to remember." His voice became desperate. "I have to remember everything."

His memories suddenly felt strangely distant. Like water slipping through his fingers. He could remember the palace. Then the memory blurred. He could remember Lamia. Then his face became difficult to picture.

Noah’s heart raced. "No, no, no." He pressed his palms against his temples. "Don’t disappear."

He didn’t know whether he was talking about the memories or the people inside them.

"I have to remember."

Evelyn finally reached him. "Noah!" She immediately noticed the blood covering his arm. "Oh my God!" She rushed toward him. "Look at your arm! You’re bleeding!"

Noah barely responded. His vision was becoming blurry. The blood loss was finally catching up with him. His body swayed.

"Noah!" Evelyn reached out.

But before she could grab him, another arm wrapped firmly around his waist.

Noah’s body froze. A powerful arm held him securely. Muscles pressed against his back. He slowly turned his head.

And his jaw dropped.

That face. That damn face.

Noah stared. His heart nearly stopped. It was Damian Whitmore.

"What..." His voice barely came out. "How?"

The man holding him looked exactly like Damian. The same face. The same build. The same presence.

Noah’s mind immediately raced. Then another memory struck him. The accident. The beginning. The truck. The impact.

He remembered being hit. He remembered falling. And then... someone had caught him. A gorgeous man. Damian.

Noah’s eyes widened. "Oh fuck..."

His thoughts were becoming scrambled. "Damian was the guy that..."

He couldn’t finish. Was this really a coincidence? Was Damian from that world somehow connected to his original world? Or had his memories been altered? Was he dreaming again? Was this another illusion?

Noah couldn’t tell anymore. His consciousness was fading.

Then a deep, heavenly voice reached his ears. "I’ll help you." Noah’s eyes fluttered. "I’m a doctor too."

Before Noah could respond, the man lifted him effortlessly into his arms. A bridal carry. Noah’s head rested against Damian’s chest. His eyes remained fixed on that familiar face.

Evelyn, who had been about to interfere, suddenly stopped. She stared at the scene. Then she slowly shook her head.

Of course. It was always men. That was how you caught Noah.

Even half-dead, confused, bleeding, and possibly suffering from a concussion... apparently, all it took was a handsome man carrying him bridal-style.

Evelyn sighed. "Unbelievable."