บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire's Legal Wife : บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 76

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard this place so quiet,” Ashley said softly, breaking the stillness as she stood by the window. Duke looked up from the couch, where he sat with his sleeves rolled up, jacket forgotten somewhere on the floor.“It’s quieter when the world is waiting to decide if you deserve it,” he replied, attempting a faint smile that did not quite reach his eyes.Ashley turned, arms folding loosely over her chest. “You keep saying that like we’re standing trial for loving each other.”Duke exhaled. “In some ways, we are.”She crossed the room and sat beside him, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. “We’ve survived worse than judges and headlines.”Her voice was steady, but her fingers twisted together in her lap.He glanced at her hands. “You’re nervous.”“I’m human,” she answered. “And tired.”Duke nodded slowly. “So am I.”He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Do you ever think about how strange it is that after everything, we ended up here again? Same wal

“You didn’t think I would come without asking, did you?”Alexandra’s voice slid into the hospital room like cold perfume as she closed the door behind her. Duke stirred slightly on the bed, monitors humming beside him. Ashley straightened from the chair, instinctively stepping closer to him as if her body alone could shield him. “You shouldn’t be here,”Ashley said evenly, keeping her tone calm despite the tension coiling in her chest.“This isn’t a place for games.” Alexandra smiled faintly, slower than usual, the sharp confidence dulled by dark circles under her eyes.“Games? I’m exhausted, Ashley. I didn’t come to fight.”She glanced at Duke’s pale face.“I heard he collapsed again.” Ashley crossed her arms.“You hear a lot of things.” “I hear truths people try to bury,”Alexandra replied, pulling a chair closer but not sitting yet.“May I?” Ashley hesitated, then nodded once. Alexandra sat, folding her hands together, unusually restrained. “I owe you both an apology,”Alexandra said

“Then let’s do the test.” Duke’s voice was steady, even if his eyes weren’t, fixed on the clinic receptionist as if this decision might physically anchor him. “Today. No delays and negotiations.”Ashley looked at him sharply. “Are you sure?”her voice low, careful, because the walls here felt too thin and the world outside too loud.“I’m tired of shadows,” he answered, finally turning to her. “I won’t let lies keep breathing between us.”The private clinic smelled faintly of antiseptic and polished marble, the kind of place built for discretion and quiet scandals. Yet nothing about this moment felt private. Ashley could feel it in her chest, the strange pressure of being watched even when no one was looking directly at her. Phones buzzed in handbags. Eyes flicked. Whispers traveled faster than truth.A nurse approached them with a clipboard. “Mr. Austen, Ms. Larsen, if you’ll follow me.”Ashley’s hand hovered near Duke’s for half a second before she let it fall. Not because she didn’t