BRIANN P.O.V
A week felt like a lifetime.
Seven days of blinding hospital lights,whispered check-ups and reporters camped outside the gates like vultures waiting for a headline.Every time I peeked through the window,I'd see the flashing bulbs,hear the muffled chaos. "Massilo Mason's lover hospitalized!" "Mysterious Briann Adrienno linked to the Mason tragedy!"
The world was hungry for our pain.
But finally,the doctor handed me my discharge papers.I could breathe again or at least pretend to.
When we stepped out of the hospital,the afternoon sunlight hit my face for the first time in days.But the moment I spotted the reporters,cameras flashing like lightning,my pulse spiked again.The crowd was massive,shouting questions,holding microphones,even climbing on car hoods just to get a glimpse of us.
Massilo's bodyguards which Michelle had assigned for our safety immediately formed a human wall around us,their suits gleaming under the sun as they pushed the reporters back.
"Step aside,please!" One barked. "Keep your distance!"
It was chaos,voices shouting,flashes blinding,questions slicing through the air.
> "Mr Mason,is it true your father was arrested for murder?"
"Miss Adrienno,are you the woman linked to the Mason scandal?"
"Massilo,what truly happened to Sua Adrienno —?"
Massilo pulled me closer,one arm around my shoulders.His hand was firm,protective,warm and it was the only steady thing in that storm.I could feel the tension in his body,but his voice was calm when he spoke.
"Don't look at them" He murmured close to my ear. "Just walk"
And I did.Step by step with my eyes down,pretending none of them existed.
By the time we got into the car,my heart was racing.But when we reached his mansion.I realized the chaos hadn't ended.
There were even more reporters waiting outside,at the outside of the road,cameras flashing like fireworks,voices echoing through the marble driveway.
The bodyguards leapt into action again,pushing people away as the car rolled in. "Back off! Do not cross the line!"
Through the tinted windows,I could still see their faces.The Mason name was blood in the water.
When we finally reached the front entrance,I exhaled shakily.I thought I'd feel safe once we were home,but home didn't feel like home anymore.It felt like a battlefield.
Massilo got out first and came around to open my door.He didn't say a word,just helped me up,his hand steady against my back.My legs still felt weak,so he supported me all the way into the house.
Once inside,I let out a long breath,leaning against the wall.The silence of the mansion was almost deafening compared to the chaos outside.
"I'll go to the guest room" I muttered,trying to sound casual.I didn't want to be a burden,not after everything he'd done for me.
But before I could take a step,his voice stopped me.
"No" He said firmly.
I turned,frowning. "No?"
He folded his arms,looking at me with that quiet seriousness that always made my stomach flutter. "You're not sleeping in the guest room anymore.You're staying somewhere else"
"Somewhere else?"
A maid appeared just then,bowing slightly. "Miss Adrienno, please follow me"
I blinked,confused at the way the maid addressed me,but followed her up the grand staircase.She led me through a long corridor lined with tall glass windows until we reached a door painted soft pink.She opened it with a small smile.
"Here's your new room" She said,bowing again. "Mr Massilo prepared it for you"
I stepped inside and froze.
The room was enormous,almost twice the size of the guest room.Everything — everything — was pink.The walls were a soft rose color,the curtains a deep blush,the bedspread also a pastel cotton candy shade that looked too perfect to lie on.Even the lampshades had little pink ribbons.
It was like walking into a princess's dream…or a bottle of strawberry milk exploded.
"Why does it have to be pink?" I mumbled under my breath,staring at the glowing pink chandelier above.
The maid giggled softly. "Mr Massilo said it would suit you"
My face warmed. "He what?"
Before I could protest,the other maids began filing in with boxes and bags,my clothes,my things from the hospital and even my favorite blanket that somehow found its way here.
They arranged everything neatly,too neatly while I stood awkwardly in the middle of the pink bubblegum-colored palace,feeling like I'd accidentally walked into someone else's life.
Once they were done,they all bowed and left the room quietly.
The silence that followed was oddly comforting.I exhaled slowly,rubbing the back of my neck.
How did I end up here? I wondered.
I thought of Mrs Agnes,the woman whose room I once saw in awe months ago.Her space had been beautiful,expensive,unreachable.And now…this was mine.
It didn't feel real.
It didn't feel like me.
But I was too tired to think anymore.I began undressing for a shower,letting my hospital clothes fall carelessly to the floor.I was halfway through unclipping my bra when the door swung open.
"Briann—"
"Massilo!" I shrieked,spinning around so fast I almost tripped.I was wearing only my pants.
He froze,eyes wide,standing in the doorway like a statue made of pure panic and guilt.
I grabbed the nearest thing which was a towel and wrapped it around myself,glaring at him with my face burning red.
"Do you ever knock?!" I yelled,my voice was cracking.
His mouth opened,closed,then opened again. "I...uh...I was just—" He looked absolutely mortified. "I wanted to check if you liked the room!"
"Liked the room?!" I gestured wildly toward him. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
He looked away quickly,rubbing the back of his neck like a guilty teenager caught stealing candy. "I swear I didn't mean to— I thought you were still unpacking!"
I groaned,turning my back to him. "Out! Get out before I hit you with something pink!" The words came out so sudden like a blast thrown in the air.
I heard him chuckle softly before saying, "You look...fine.I mean....good! You look—"
"Out,Massilo!"
He raised both hands in surrender,laughing now and slowly backed out of the room. "Alright,alright! I'm going!"
When the door finally shut,I sank to my knees,pressing a hand to my burning face.
My heart was racing,half from embarrassment,half from something else entirely.The way he looked at me,not like he was seeing a patient or a burden,but like I was something fragile and precious made my stomach twist in the most confusing way.
And as the sound of his fading footsteps disappeared down the hall,I found myself smiling just a little.
Because despite the chaos outside, despite the cameras and the headlines and the ghosts of the past that still haunted us both…
For the first time in a long time,it felt like home.
A pink, ridiculous, breathtaking home.