Chapter 19: Falling for Someone Else's Wife?

Something flickered, brief and unreadable, in Nathan's eyes.

But he said nothing.

The snow kept falling, heavier by the minute.

Having grown up alongside him her whole life, Lily could read the agitation under his silence perfectly.

She lowered her eyes.

Her mouth curved, faint and knowing.

Can't quite let her go, can you?

The door banged open.

Ryan rushed in. "Mr. Pierce Melissa's collapsed in the snow outside."

Nathan shot to his feet.

Catching himself, he took a breath, turned back to Lily. "I need to go check on this. Lily the company just went public, we can't afford anything close to a scandal like a death on our hands. I'll come back and check on you. Get some rest."

He and Ryan hurried out, one after the other.

Lily lay back against the pillow, sniffing, her sinuses aching like they'd been packed with hot coals.

A small, humorless smile crossed her face.

She was deaf. Not stupid.

But Nathan had never bothered to notice the difference.

Grandma's still in surgery. How am I supposed to lie here?

She pushed the blankets off and got up.

Bracing herself against the wall, she made her way, step by unsteady step, toward the operating room.

Just past the nurses' station, she caught a burst of hurried footsteps behind her.

A hospital. Not exactly unusual.

She didn't think much of it and kept moving.

Then the footsteps stopped, and Nathan's voice rang out. "Doctor she collapsed, right here in the snow!"

Lily didn't turn around. Didn't slow down.

In her thin hospital gown, she walked on alone toward the operating room.

Click.

The red light overhead went dark.

The door opened, and Dr. Simon Hale stepped out, mask pulled down around his chin, revealing a young, exhausted, handsome face. "Surgery went well. The stent placed cleanly, the blockage's cleared. Vitals dipped a couple times mid-procedure, but she stabilized on her own. She's tougher than she looks."

Successful.

The word she'd needed to hear most. Tears broke loose the instant it registered. "Thank you, Dr. Hale thank you so much."

She bowed to him, a full ninety degrees.

Utterly sincere.

He caught her gently by the shoulders and helped her upright. "The next month is critical for recovery, though. At her age, keeping her emotionally settled matters just as much as the physical care."

"No major swings in emotion not excitement, not anger, not grief, not even overwhelming happiness. Anything intense could spike her blood pressure, trigger arrhythmia, cause clotting around the stent, or send her right back into heart failure. All of this work, undone."

Lily's stomach dropped. She nodded fast. "Understood I'll remember every word. When can she come out? Can I see her?"

Before he could answer, the operating room doors opened again, and a nurse wheeled out a gurney with Eleanor on it, tubes and monitors trailing from every direction, eyes shut, face pale.

Lily surged forward instinctively.

Simon caught her arm. "She's headed to the CCU for post-op monitoring. No visitors for the first twenty-four hours. Once she's stable, she'll move to a regular room."

Lily nodded through fresh tears. "Okay."

"Thank you, Dr. Hale. Thank you, truly."

She bowed to him again.

His eyebrow lifted. "A doctor's job is compassion, that's all. If anything comes up, just reach out to Adrian Sterling. He can get in touch with me."

Lily pressed her lips together.

Simon cleared his throat, dropping his voice. "What's the actual story between you two? He's not exactly known for getting involved in other people's business, so I have to wonder if he's"

He didn't finish.

"Mom!"

Toby's voice cut through, Trevor walking him over.

Lily quickly wiped her face and turned, crouching to catch him as he ran into her arms.

She held him close. "Great-grandma's surgery went perfectly, sweetheart. No need to be scared."

Simon watched the two of them, something visibly twitching in his expression.

Neither said goodbye.

He simply fled.

Downstairs, Simon was startled to find his cousin's car already waiting for him.

Strange.

Genuinely bizarre.

He climbed in. "I figured you'd have left already. Didn't expect you to wait around."

Adrian set down his tablet, gaze steady. "How did it go?"

Simon grinned, all confidence. "Cousin Simon doesn't lose. I'd wrestle Death itself for a patient on the edge like that. Total success. She should be conscious within twenty-four hours." He paused. "I've got a question for you, though."

Adrian looked at him.

Simon's grin sharpened, eyebrows tilting up mischievously. "You've got a thing for the granddaughter of the woman I just operated on. Don't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Adrian said flatly.

Simon laughed. "Come on. You don't offer someone two hundred million to fund a research facility just to bribe them into personally handling one emergency surgery unless there's a reason."

Adrian didn't bother explaining further.

Simon kept going, undeterred. "Except turns out she's got a kid. Which means she's definitely married. So if you're planning to steal someone's wife, looks like you're getting a two-for-one deal. Bit of a bargain, honestly. Never figured you for the type to fall for a married woman, though"

Adrian's head was starting to pound.

He pressed two fingers to his temple. "Enough."

Simon backpedaled instantly. "Fine, fine 'falling for someone's wife' does sound bad when you put it that way. How about this instead: the person you happen to like is currently, unfortunately, someone's wife. Better? Makes you sound a little less pathetic, at least."

Adrian turned and fixed him with a look.

Simon felt a chill crawl up his spine. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Adrian glanced toward the trunk. "Go grab something out of the back for me."

"Sure," Simon said, climbing out obediently.

He'd barely turned around to ask what he was even fetching when the black Cullinan pulled away from the curb, brushing past close enough to catch the edge of his coat.

Simon jabbed a finger after it, indignant. "Hey!"

He nearly laughed out of sheer disbelief.

Melissa dabbed at her eyes. "Brother, how's Grandma?"

Nathan rubbed his temples, worn thin. "Still don't know. I told you to go back and wait for word."

Melissa's head dropped.

Tears kept coming. "I was scared. And I feel awful about it. Brother, I swear I didn't mean for any of this I was fighting with my sister, and when Grandma got involved, she was the one helping Lily against me."

"It all happened so fast honestly, I don't even know for sure if it was me who pushed her, or if it was my sister who did it in the chaos..."

Melissa bit down on her trembling lip until it went white, sobs shaking through her, cheeks streaked with tears like frost-touched petals.

Nathan sighed and reached out to wipe them away. "Just focus on resting. I'll handle everything. If you keep running around out here, you're going to end up hurting yourself worse."

Melissa wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into him. "I just want Grandma to be okay. I'd give up ten years of my own life for that. I'd give up both my legs, if it meant she pulled through."

Nathan pinched her cheek gently. "You're ridiculous."

The door opened.

Ryan stepped in, head lowered. "Sir this just arrived. It's the formal complaint from your wife's lawyer. She's filing intentional-injury charges against Melissa."

Melissa's hand shot out, gripping Nathan's sleeve, voice trembling. "I don't care if it makes my sister feel better about all this."

Nathan held out a hand.

Ryan passed him the document.

He skimmed it quickly. "Stay put and rest. I'll take care of this."

Nathan carried the complaint to Lily's room.

"I just spoke with the doctor," he said. "Grandma's out of danger. Thank god."

Lily said nothing.

He sat down beside her. "I'm just as worried about Grandma as you are, Lily. But Melissa didn't mean for any of this to happen. She's practically your sister you grew up together. I think you should show a little mercy here and drop the charges.”