When Ryan stepped into Kai's room, he stopped so abruptly that it felt as though he had walked straight into the aftermath of a storm. The entire room looked wrecked. Pieces of shattered glass lay scattered across the floor, broken showpieces were strewn near the walls, and the mirror on the wardrobe had been completely destroyed, leaving only jagged fragments clinging to the frame.
For a few seconds Ryan simply stared, stunned by the destruction, trying to process how the quiet, controlled Kai Arden could have reduced his own room to something that looked like a battlefield. His eyes then shifted and landed on the two figures sitting on the floor near the bed.
Kai was leaning slightly against the bedframe, his posture heavy with exhaustion, and Alina sat beside him close enough that it was clear she had been there for a while. Ryan could not see their hands from where he stood, but there was an unmistakable closeness between them that made him pause.
The moment Alina noticed Ryan standing at the door, she reacted instinctively. Her fingers quickly loosened from Kai's bandaged hand and she rose to her feet a little too suddenly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have. The movement was subtle, but Ryan noticed the awkwardness immediately.
He didn't comment on it. Instead, after a brief moment of silence, he cleared his throat and spoke quietly. "Alina… can you come outside for a minute?"
She nodded and stepped out of the room with him, gently pulling the door nearly shut behind her so Kai wouldn't overhear their conversation. The hallway outside felt tense, and Ryan didn't waste time.
"Everyone's here," he said.
Alina frowned slightly, unsure what he meant. "Everyone?"
Ryan rubbed his forehead, looking both tired and irritated at the same time. "All the staff. The office team. His makeup artists, stylists, production crew… even the drivers. They're all downstairs in the living room."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Why?"
Ryan leaned back against the wall in the hallway, folding his arms as he looked at Alina. His voice dropped slightly so Kai wouldn't hear them from inside the room.
"Over the past few weeks, Kai has barely been coming to the office," Ryan began slowly. "And even when he does show up… he's not the same."
Alina frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"He's quiet," Ryan said. "Not the normal quiet. Distant. Distracted. Sometimes he just sits in meetings and doesn't say a word. That's not like him."
Alina listened carefully.
"At first the staff thought maybe he was just having a bad day," Ryan continued. "You know how it is. Everyone has those days. But then it kept happening. One day turned into a week… then weeks."
"So they started asking questions?" Alina asked.
Ryan nodded. "They kept coming to me. 'Is Mr. Arden alright?' 'Did something happen?' 'Should we check on him?' They were genuinely worried."
"And what did you tell them?" she asked.
"I kept postponing things," Ryan replied with a tired sigh. "Told them he was busy. Said he had meetings outside. Sometimes I said he had traveled for work."
Alina crossed her arms slightly. "But they didn't believe it."
"Not for long," Ryan said. "Everything was still under control until one of the drivers mentioned something."
Her eyes narrowed. "What did he say?"
"That Kai got into a fight with someone." Ryan continued, "The driver didn't even realize it was a big deal. He just mentioned it casually while talking to a few people. But that was enough."
"For them to start worrying," she finished.
"Exactly," Ryan said. "Everyone in the company knows Kai. He doesn't lose his temper like that. So the moment they heard about a fight, they assumed something serious must have happened."
"And that's why they came here?"
Ryan nodded. "They didn't want him dealing with whatever it is alone. So they all gathered together and came straight here… even after I tried to stop them."
"They're all downstairs right now waiting to see him," Ryan finished.
Alina stood silently for a moment, absorbing the situation. Then she spoke in a calm but firm tone. "That's dangerous" Ryan frowned slightly..
"Kai is not in the right state of mind right now," she continued. "If they see him like this, they'll panic even more. And if that panic reaches outside, the rumors will get worse."
She turned toward the staircase. "I'll go explain things to them."
Ryan quickly reached out and stopped her. "Wait a second. What exactly are you going to tell them if they ask why you're here?"
"I'll tell them I came to check on him too," she replied without hesitation.
Ryan glanced down at her clothes and raised an eyebrow. She was dressed casually, in comfortable clothes that didn't really look like something someone would wear for a formal visit.
"But your clothes…" he said skeptically.
Alina followed his gaze briefly before looking back up at him. "I'll manage," she said simply, and before he could argue further, she walked downstairs.
The moment she entered the living room, every conversation stopped. Nearly the entire staff had gathered there, sitting and standing in small anxious groups. As soon as they saw her, quiet murmurs began spreading across the room.
"Isn't that Alina?"
"What is she doing here?"
"Did she come with Mr. Arden?"
"Was there some meeting today?"
The whispers grew louder as more people noticed her presence. Alina could easily read the curiosity on their faces, and she knew that if she didn't address it immediately, they would start asking questions that would only complicate the situation.
Before anyone could speak directly to her, she raised her hand slightly and addressed them calmly.
"Before any of you ask what I'm doing here," she began with a composed expression, "I should probably clear that up first."
The murmuring gradually died down as everyone focused on her.
"I was also here to visit him," she continued. "Ryan informed me earlier that Mr Arden wasn't feeling well, and since I happened to be nearby, I thought I should stop by and check on him myself."
Some of the staff members nodded slowly, their confusion easing a little. Still, the worry on their faces remained.
"I didn't expect to see all of you here," she added with a small understanding smile, "but I can see why you came."
One of the makeup artists stepped forward first, her face full of concern. "Miss Alina… we've been really worried about him."
"He hasn't been himself lately," the woman continued. "When he comes to the office he barely talks."
Another employee nodded immediately. "Yes. Sometimes he just walks past everyone without saying anything."
"And meetings end quickly," someone from the production team added. "He usually discusses everything in detail, but recently he just… leaves."
Alina listened patiently to each of them. A stylist spoke next. "We thought maybe he was just tired at first."
"But then it kept happening," another staff member said. "That's when we started worrying."
Alina nodded slightly before speaking in a calm, steady voice "I understand why you're all concerned but I just came from upstairs." she said gently. Immediately everyone fell silent.
"How is he?" one of the stylists asked anxiously.
"He's exhausted," Alina explained gently. "Mr Arden has been pushing himself far too hard these past few months. The doctor advised him to take a few days off completely."
"Doctor?" someone repeated nervously.
Alina quickly reassured them. "It's nothing serious. Just exhaustion and mental strain. The doctor was very clear that he needs rest — no meetings, no work discussions, and definitely no stress."
A few of the employees exchanged relieved glances. "That sounds like him," one of the stylists said with a small laugh. "He never stops working."
"Exactly," Alina replied with a faint smile. "Convincing him to slow down was the hardest part."
A man from the technical team hesitated before speaking. "But… we heard something about a fight."
The room grew quiet again. Alina handled it smoothly. "Yes, there was a small misunderstanding about it ."
"So it wasn't serious?" the makeup artist asked.
"No," Alina said calmly. "But the situation created unnecessary stress. That's another reason the doctor insisted he rest quietly for a few days."
One of the employees sighed in relief. "We thought something terrible had happened."
"No," Alina reassured them again. "He's just exhausted."
Another staff member shook his head with a small smile. "Honestly, getting Mr Arden to take a break is probably harder than finishing any project." A few people laughed softly.
"That's exactly what the doctor said," Alina replied lightly.
Her calm explanation slowly eased the anxiety in the room. The staff began exchanging relieved looks. A few of them even laughed softly when she added that everyone knew how stubborn Kai could be when it came to work and how difficult it was to convince him to slow down.
"If he sees all of you gathered here right now," she said gently, "he'll only feel guilty for worrying you." That thought clearly affected them. None of them wanted to make Kai feel worse.
"You all care about him," Alina continued softly. "And he truly appreciates that. But the best way to help him right now is to give him the quiet rest the doctor asked for."
Gradually the tension in the room faded. People began nodding in agreement, relieved that nothing more serious had happened. The panic that had driven them all to rush to the house started to settle into calm reassurance.
Upstairs, Kai remained in his damaged room, unaware that an entire house full of people had come together simply because they cared too much to leave him alone in his pain.