A sudden pain struck Nolan's chest. It came and went in an instant, yet the force of it unsettled him.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind. Why did Allison sound so serious this time? Could it be that she truly stopped loving him?
The thought barely formed before Hollie, still in his arms, began crying. "This is all my fault," she said through sobs. "I never should have dragged you into this situation..."
Her voice trembled as she continued, "I shouldn't have listened to my mother and grandmother and moved into the presidential residence. If I had known Allison couldn't accept me and the baby I'm carrying, I would have left long ago with the child to..."
For a split second, she almost said that name in front of Allison, but she stopped herself and quickly changed her wording. "At least he would have taken good care of us."
Nolan released Allison without hesitation and turned his attention to Hollie. "What nonsense are you saying?" he said firmly. "I promised that I would protect you and the child for the rest of my life. Just trust me."
Seeing that she had pulled his attention back, Hollie touched her swollen cheek and cried even harder.
"Nolan, you should just let me go," she said weakly. "After all, Allison grew up in an orphanage. She has a strong and wild temper. She even dared to hit me right in front of you. I really don't know how I can protect my baby with her nearby..."
Being an orphan had always been Allison's vulnerable point.
Hollie, by contrast, came from a wealthy family, and she had no intention of ignoring that weakness.
"She wouldn't dare hurt you and the baby!" Nolan said with anger rising in his voice. "If she had any sense at all, she should be taking care of you until the baby is born safely."
As he spoke, his hand moved toward where Allison had been standing, but his fingers closed on nothing.
Confusion crossed his face. He turned, only to realize that Allison had already left.
All he caught was the sight of her back as she walked away without hesitation, disappearing soon.
Something inside his chest suddenly felt empty, and a strange panic rose in him.
He pushed Hollie aside and rushed forward. "Allison, come back!"
Before he could go further, someone stepped in front of him. "Mr. President, the Vice President has arrived," said Erick Hewitt, Nolan's assistant, who hurried over to stop him. "Mr. Flynn coming here at this hour may not mean anything good."
"Let him wait," Nolan said as he continued forward without slowing down.
Seeing that, Hollie hurried after him and caught his arm to stop him. "Nolan, you should focus on what's important right now."
Phyllis got Hollie's signal immediately. She rushed toward the door. "I'll bring Miss Fulton back."
Allison had not gone far.
The fever burned through her body, and she walked without shoes. Each step sent pain through her feet, and cold sweat soaked her back.
Still, she kept moving. She had already decided to leave, and she refused to turn back.
Her sight grew dim, and her body began to sway. At last, her strength gave out, and she collapsed toward the ground...
Just before the darkness took her completely, she felt two strong sets of hands catch her.
One pair belonged to Derek Flynn, the current Vice President and Nolan's political opponent. If Allison had not helped Nolan gather support before, Derek would have become the President.
The other pair belonged to the eldest prince of Flesdia, Simon Lawson, a royal who showed little interest in ruling the country and focused only on the arms trade.
Even as she fainted, Allison felt a wave of embarrassment. Nolan's rival had witnessed her collapse. A foreign guest had seen her in this state as well.
What she did not know was the identity of that foreign guest; he was actually her brother. And she was the missing princess of the Flesdia royal family.
"Wake up!" Simon called out urgently. "It's me. I'm your brother. Look at me."
He held Allison's burning body in his arms while pain filled his chest.
The Flesdia royal family rarely had daughters. When Allison was born, she had been treasured by everyone in the family for three years.
Then, a palace intrigue took her away. For twenty years, she remained lost.
Simon, along with his parents and two younger brothers, had spent those years searching for her. At last, they found her.
But he hadn't expected their first encounter to happen like this, while Allison was in such a pitiful state, clearly having been mistreated.
Rage surged through Simon. He was ready to confront Nolan on the spot and stand up for his sister without hesitation.
Even though the man was the President of this country, Simon would not allow him to harm his sister.
"Prince Simon!" Derek stepped forward quickly to stop him. "The princess has a high fever. She needs medical care right away."
Simon wanted to ignore him. Anger had taken over his thoughts. Seeing that, Derek spoke again with urgency. "If you delay her treatment, aren't you worried she could suffer brain damage or something worse?"
Only then did Simon stop to think clearly. Without a word, he tightened his hold on Allison and was about to take her to the hospital.
"Hold on." Derek suddenly noticed the thin clothing Allison was wearing. He removed his coat and placed it over her.
Phyllis arrived just in time to see the scene. Her eyes lit up as she pulled out her phone and secretly took several photos.
Originally, she had planned to have Allison beaten while she was sick and then thrown out of the presidential residence.
But now, she had something even better—Allison entangled with another man. And that man happened to be Nolan's sworn enemy.
To Phyllis, this looked like the perfect scandal. If Nolan saw these photos, Allison would be finished.
Satisfied with what she captured, Phyllis hurried back to report everything to Hollie. She did not notice what happened after she had taken those photos. Simon suddenly grabbed Derek's coat from Allison and threw it aside.
"Don't even think about taking advantage of her," Simon warned. He wrapped his own coat around his sister and carried her to his car.
Derek stood there, watching. The handsome man simply gave a small smirk and shrugged.
He bent down, picked up his coat, brushed the dust, and slipped it back on. Then, he inhaled slowly.
The fabric still carried the faint scent of the woman whom he was interested in.
