All Chapters of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

73 Chapters

Chapter Thirty One

By the time Nate was pulling up in his parking spot beside the trailer at the Starlight pipeline, he felt thoroughly overwhelmed and ready to snap. It wouldn’t be the best way to approach his father, so he took a few deep breaths, letting the engine cool now that he’d drawn the key out and tucked it into the sun visor over his head.When he finally did get out of his Lexus, he walked over to the stack of pipes set yards back from the trench. Construction workers bid him good morning as he passed. He nodded in response, though his gaze was locked on the new materials. To the naked eye, they appeared to be the new, platinum-coated steel cylinders that Mira had advocated for. When he stopped by seven chemical barrels and waved the construction manager over, he could tell by the labeling on the side of each barrel that it was also the correct, eco-friendly material.As he questioned the manager, a friendly guy who aimed to please, and as he tried to follow the man’s explanation, Nate coul

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Two

When Mira stepped out of the limousine, she was confronted with how loud the crowd was. A drone of echoing voices billowed across the dusty construction site, indicating the press conference was twelve yards up the trench.Intimidated and having refused the white cane that Dr. Fitzpatrick had offered her during her last appointment where he sealed her fate that she would never see due to the most critical optical nerves having been damaged beyond repair, Mira hesitated to venture towards the commotion.Thankfully, Hector and Jenny, two trusted members of One World, approached, calling out her name. “I’m glad you both could make it,” she said.“Of course,” said Hector, taking her arm. “It looks like everyone is gathered this way.” “What’s all this about?” Jenny asked curiously“Truth be told, I’m not sure,” she said, as they made their way towards the crowd. “How many people are here?”After a brief moment, he said, “It looks like five media outlets, and I would say about two hundred

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Three

When Mira woke the next morning she felt a strange mix of elation and dread. She almost couldn’t believe the Starlight Energy pipeline was going to be built far out in East Bellevue. It was the biggestaccomplishment of her career, and there was nothing to fear. Nate had signed the contract. This was happening. As thrilled as this made her, it wasn’t reason enough for her to forget the damning prognosis she had received from Dr. Fitzpatrick. Vital nerves behind her eyes were too damaged for Seattle Mercy to feel confident about giving her donor eyes.The board felt they couldn’t risk wasting two good eyes should her surgery go badly, and it would, according to her doctor. Nate was acting as though he wouldn’t let Dr. Fitzpatrick’s opinion on the matter stop him. But Nate ’s determination to somehow secure donated eyes without the help of the hospital wasn’t exactly realistic, as far as Mira was concerned.Opposites might attract, but Mira knew she and Nate couldn’t be more different.

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Four

While Mira sat in his exam room and endured similar tests as those he had conducted a few days prior, Nate stepped out to make a few calls, the reason for which he had been somewhat secretive about.As Dr. Fitzpatrick was finishing up, she asked, “What do you think the likelihood of Nate finding me donor eyes will be?”The doctor released a sigh then said, “I really couldn’t tell you.I have never endeavored anything so ambitious. All I can tell you is the likelihood of whether or not your body will accept or reject your new eyes, and the degree to which you might be able to see once they are in.”“So what’s the likelihood?”“I’ll have an idea once I examine the photos I’m taking. I should know in a day or so. Bear in mind, though, that we have three battles. The first is making sure the donor is, in fact, a match. I explained to you earlier that this aspect could be tricky to navigate. Then your body has to acceptthe eyes. And then after the nerves attach and heal, we’ll have to clo

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Five

Nate was due at the new Starlight site in East Bellevue, and though Mira had planned on making the drive with him to take pictures of the new site to document her achievement, she was completely shocked that Carter had been in the Escala the night she was attacked.Like Frank Wright, Carter wasn’t one to wear dress shoes, and Mira would like to think she would recognize him in some way his stature, his smell, his vibe but just because she hadn’t, didn’t mean itwasn’t him. Even though Mira had her suspicions as to who might be at the top of this twisted pyramid, she felt the first step toward solving the mystery would be to confront Carter. Why had he been there that night? She wasn’t looking forward to this. It had been so hurtful of him to take Nate ’s medical records to the press, completely disregarding her order not to. And if that hadn’t been bad enough, she still hadn’t dealt with his betrayal. Hearing Carter and Layla feed the press twisted truths mixedwith lies at the pres

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Six

She didn’t know how to break it to him that his father had drugged him all those years ago and was the person behind her terrorizing attack.Nate immediately announced how thrilled he was that, in his words, by this time tomorrow she would be able to see. Every time she tried to get a word in on the subject of Porter and his dark plans to control just about everyone around him, Nate would once again bubble over with glee that he had found her a donor“a match!” he kept saying, as though it were a miracle.It was. She didn’t deny it, but similar to that morning, Mira was boiling over with conflict.By the time they got back to the Escala after leaving East Bellevue and eating a five-course meal at a five-star restaurant on the west side of Seattle, Mira had given up on telling Nate about Porter and all she’d learned with Carter and Layla earlier that day. She would take the night, get good rest, go through her surgery tomorrow, and then when she was welland ready, she would explain to

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Seven

When Mira woke, gradually regaining consciousness, she couldsee nothing. Groggily, she lifted her hand to her eyes, though her arm feltheavy as cement. Touching gently, she felt a thick band of gauze wrappingher head and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she couldn’t “see.”Thegauze was preventing her from seeing. Vaguely, she remembered Dr.Fitzpatrick had told her it could take the majority of the day for her eye toheal, but by nightfall she would be able to take the bandage off and tellwhether or not the surgery had been a success.Her hospital room felt warm, and for a moment she listened to thewhir of the vent pump crisp air into her room. It was quiet, though sheheard voices murmuring far beyond her door, perhaps nurses talking,doctors briefing the families of patients on their conditions, patients andloved ones reuniting after surgery, which made her wonder. Where wasNate ?Feeling along the armrest of her hospital bed, she found a fewbuttons on the console.

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Eight

Angling her hand against the side of his head to brush her fingers through his hair, she was startled to feel gauze.“What?” she heard herself say, even though she hadn’t meant to speak out loud.Gently, she felt his face with both hands. Gauze was wrapping his eyes, and instantly she knew why. At the same time, she couldn’t believe it.“Mira ,” he said groggily, waking up and catching her hands with his. “Nate , you didn’t,” she whispered, shocked. He sat up so he could be eye level with her.“Nate , tell me you didn’t,” she demanded, confused as to how this was supposed to make her feel. No one should sacrifice so greatly for her, yet she was grateful he had. “Finding a donor was proving impossible,” he explained. “I’m a lot of things, but patient isn’t one of them.”“So you...?”“I insisted Dr. Fitzpatrick test me to see if I was a match, and when I learned I was, the decision was easy.”“Easy? How could it be easy?” M“It just was.”He drew in a deep breath then sighed. “You ca

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter 39.The next day, Mira and Nate drove out to the Starlight Energy pipeline in East Bellevue where the rest of One World was scheduled to meet them. Davey Construction, its managers, and its employees had been hard at work assembling the new piping materials in the trench that had been dug along the new route as approved by the city.When Nate pulled the SUV up to the executive trailer, Mira spotted her team getting out of the Jeep and a few other vehicles.“I’m going to get them started on taking photos,” she told Nate as they climbed out of his SUV.“I’ll be in the trailer,” he said in response before heading towards it.It was great to see Jenny, Hector, and the others. Mira smiled wide at the look of surprise on their faces as she made eye contact with each and every one of them.“You can see!” said Jenny, throwing her arms around Mira and giving her a big hug. Mira urged her back so she could look at her, then said, “I can. One eye, but it’s better than nothing.”“How did

Last Updated : 2023-09-26

Chapter Fourty

Five years ago. Dan. His brother was late, the restaurant was crowded, noisy, the kind of fashionable look at me I have arrived place he loathed, and Dan wished he had made an excuse, stuck to his original plan to have a sandwich at his desk as he worked through the evening. A rush of cold air as the door opened behind him gave him hope that his ordeal would soon be over, but as he turned he saw that it wasn’t Nate but a young woman rushing to get in out of the rain. She paused momentarily, framed in the entrance, spotlit by the bright lights of the cocktail bar against the darkness outside. Time stretched like elastic. The earth stopped turning. Everything slowed down. He felt as if he could count every one of the raindrops sparkling in her corn gold hair. It was tousled, as if it had been caught by the gusting wind that she seemed to have brought into the restaurant with her, stirring everyone so that they turned to look. Kept on looking. Maybe it was because she was laughing

Last Updated : 2023-10-31

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