Captive of The Beast Alpha: Drugging the CEO Was a Mistake.-Chapter 31: Naya: Falling apart.

There were two pictures of me displayed side by side.

The first showed me and Hansel walking into the hall hand in hand, both of us looking elegant and like a real couple.

The second image made me wince. It showed Isabella on the ground, tears in her eyes, while I stood over her, with the camera capturing what appeared to be an aggressive stance.

The news anchor’s voice filled the room.

"Many attendees at the exclusive DOE Foundation fundraiser were surprised to learn that the woman on Hansel Ward’s arm was actually Naya Rivers, daughter of the late legendary actress Stephanie Rivers. The younger Rivers has been kept largely out of the public eye, with her mother making only light mention of her existence and rarely exposing her to media attention. However, sources at the event report that Ms Rivers was involved in an altercation with her stepsister, Isabella Rivers-Moore, who is currently battling terminal cancer. Witnesses say Ms Rivers pushed the ailing woman, causing her to fall and sustain minor injuries..."

Hansel didn’t let it go on. He turned off the TV.

I turned to face Hansel, wondering what reaction would be best. I didn’t even know what to feel.

"Basically, everyone knows who you are now," he said quietly. "But the story they’re telling isn’t exactly in your favour."

"The narrative is that you pushed a sick woman out of jealousy over a man," Margaret said, finally looking up from her laptop. "Your stepsister’s tearful confession and plea for forgiveness at the event was caught on multiple phones and has been shared extensively on social media. The public perception is that there’s been some ongoing struggle between you and Isabella over Caleb Moore."

Hansel started to say something else, but a violent cough suddenly shook his frame. He doubled over, pressing a hand to his chest as the coughing fit continued.

Andrew pushed away from the window and walked to the centre of the room, continuing where Hansel had left off. "There’s good news and bad news in all of this. The good news is that some people have come forward to say you and Caleb dated back when you were both in acting school together—before he had any connection to Isabella. Several of your old classmates have backed up that claim on social media, which helps establish that you were with him first."

"That’s good, right?" I asked, though I was barely paying attention to what Andrew was saying. My eyes kept drifting to Hansel, who was still coughing, his face getting redder with each painful-sounding hack.

"It helps," Andrew agreed. "But there’s also a group saying that no matter how bitter you might be about your ex leaving you, it doesn’t justify pushing a sick woman. They’re calling you cruel and heartless, saying you lack basic human compassion."

I nodded, but the words were going over me without really sinking in. All I could focus on was the way Hansel’s hands were shaking as he reached for a glass of water on the coffee table, the way his breathing sounded laboured even after the coughing finally subsided.

"It’s just talk," I said absently, still watching Hansel with growing concern. "It’ll die down in a few days, won’t it? People have short attention spans for this kind of thing."

"True," Andrew said. "But the real problem is that you attended that fundraiser on the arm of Hansel Ward. Since yesterday evening, Apex Entertainment’s stock price has been in a steady decline. We’ve had multiple shareholders calling to complain, and several major investors are threatening to pull out because they think the company is planning to sign you on as an actress. They don’t want to be associated with someone who’s being portrayed as a bully who attacks sick women."

I nodded again, but I’d stopped listening entirely now. Because I wasn’t looking at Andrew anymore. I was staring at Hansel, and what I saw scared me more than any PR crisis or stock decline.

His face had gone from pale to almost grey, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead despite the ice pack he’d been using. His hands gripped the edge of the settee so hard his knuckles had turned white, and his breathing came in short, shallow pants, as if he couldn’t get enough air.

"Hansel," I said, cutting off whatever Andrew had been saying. "Seriously, are you alright? You don’t look fine to me."

Everyone in the room turned to look at him, and I saw Margaret and David exchange worried glances.

"I’m fine," Hansel said, but his voice was a whisper now. "I just need to lie down for a while. We can continue this later."

He started to stand up, pushing himself off the settee with tremendous effort. For a moment, he stood, swaying slightly on his feet. I held my breath, wishing I could walk up to him and hold him or something.

Just when I thought he would be fine, his eyes rolled back in his head, and his legs gave out completely.

"Hansel!" I was moving before I even realised it, rushing forward to try to catch him as he fell.

But I wasn’t fast enough. He hit the floor hard, his body going completely limp the moment he made contact with the hardwood.

The room erupted into chaos. Mina was screaming his name, Margaret was shouting something about calling an ambulance, David was on his phone, presumably doing exactly that, and Andrew had dropped to his knees beside Hansel, checking for a pulse.

I stood there frozen for a second, my heart hammering in my chest as I stared down at Hansel’s unconscious form. His face was even paler now, almost translucent, and there was something wrong about the way he was lying there.

Then my paralysis broke, and I rushed to him too, dropping to my knees on his other side, my hands reaching out to touch his face. His skin was burning hot despite how cold he’d looked, and when I pressed my fingers to his neck, I could feel his pulse racing erratically beneath the skin.

"What’s wrong with him?" I demanded, looking up at Andrew. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

Andrew’s face was grim as he loosened Hansel’s collar, giving him more room to breathe. "He’s been working himself to exhaustion. Hasn’t slept in two days, barely eaten, and he’s been taking way too many suppressants to try to manage—" He cut himself off abruptly, like he’d been about to reveal something he shouldn’t.

"To manage what?" I pressed, my hands still on Hansel’s face like I could somehow anchor him to consciousness through touch alone.

"Nothing," Andrew said quickly. "It’s stress. He’ll be fine once we get him medical attention."

But I could see the lie in his eyes, and the worry that went deeper than just concern for a friend who’d fainted from exhaustion.

This was something else. Something more serious than overwork and lack of sleep.

"Can we lie him properly?" I asked Andrew. "I know some basic first aid, I can administer that to him while we wait for the ambulance."

"The hell you’ll not!" Mina suddenly screeched, yanking my hand from Hansel’s face and pulling me forcefully to my feet. "Did you poison him again? Is this your handiwork?"

"Mina!" Andrew called out sternly, but Mina wouldn’t listen to him. Her eyes were shooting daggers at me.

"Tell me, you dirty bitch."

I’ve met girls like Mina all my life. They were always the self-entitled girls attached to highly inaccessible people. It gets to their head a bit, and they start acting like protectors when they’re not.

I ripped her fingers from my shirt, smoothening down the wrinkles that had formed. "I know you don’t hate me, and I’m willing to tolerate you not trying to hide that hate, but the next time you put your hands on me like that, you’d be surprised by my reaction."

"You have a lot of nerves for a murderer," she retorted, looming over my face. "Don’t push me, Naya Rivers and for your good, don’t touch him either.

"Really?" Andrew called out. "Ladies, real mature. Hansel is fighting for his life, and both of you are acting like children. Mina, for fuck’s sake, grow up."

"I would when she leaves him alone," Mina clapped back, glaring at me one last time before brushing past me back to where Hansel lay, but not before I heard her mutter. "Fucking human."

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and David ran to the door. He came back a while later with a grey-haired man, clutching a bag in one hand and a stethoscope in the other.

"Doctor Morgan?" Andrew rose to his feet and moved forward to greet the man. "I didn’t expect to see you so soon."

"Hansel had called earlier," the man said, scanning the room. His eyes widened slightly when they saw me before they rested on Andrew. "Let’s take him to his room. I’ll check him there." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Why?" The word left my lips before I could stop it.

Everyone stopped to stare at me. Doctor Morgan arched a brow in my direction.

"He’s fighting for his life. I was expecting an ambulance, not a doctor. He needs to be at a hospital now."

Morgan wanted to respond, but Andrew lightly tapped his shoulder, and the man nodded. Then he turned to David, who nodded, and together they walked to where Hansel was and raised him.

Hansel was a big man, so it took some effort, and Andrew, Mina and Margaret joined before they successfully took him to his room. While I stood there wondering if they were alright.

Did they want him to die?