บททั้งหมดของ Falling For My Boss: บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

Why was she not picking up my calls?Corinne stood still in the middle of her small apartment, her phone pressed to her ear, listening as the ringing faded out again until it reached the mechanical voicemail tone.She lowered the phone and glared at the screen. “Straight to voicemail again,” she hissed.Her fingers trembled with a mix of rage and pure, cold fear. Madison never ignored her. They were a team. They had a plan, and everything depended on timing.Corinne dragged a hand through her hair and turned in a circle, her eyes scanning the small living room: the couch, the coffee table, the half-drawn curtains. “Pick up, you stupid bitch,” she whispered, her thumb stabbing the call button one more time.It rang once. It stopped. Madison had manually rejected the call.Corinne’s chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. “Fuck!” she screamed, hurling a throw pillow across the room. It hit a lamp, sending it wobbling dangerously.Since the day she and Madison decided to destroy Lau

Colt ran. His shoes slid on the shiny hospital floor as he pushed through the heavy glass doors of the emergency room. His chest burned with every breath, and his heart felt like it was trying to break out of his ribs.The smell hit him immediately. It was that sharp, cold smell of bleach and medicine, mixed with something metallic — blood. It made his stomach turn. He looked around wildly until he saw a familiar face.Mia was huddled in a plastic chair in the corner of the waiting room. She looked small, her elbows on her knees, her face buried in her hands, and her shoulders shook with every sob.“Mia!” Colt called out. His voice was thin and shaky.She looked up. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her cheeks were streaked with tears she hadn’t bothered to wipe away. When she saw him, she stood up so fast her chair fell back. She ran to him and grabbed his jacket, clutching the fabric as if she might fall if she let go.“She’s inside, Colt,” Mia cried, her voice breaking into a thous

The heavy double doors to the surgical wing finally slid open with a mechanical hiss.Colt was on his feet before the doctor even cleared the threshold. He had spent the last few hours trapped in a living nightmare. Time in a hospital waiting room felt strange; it seemed to have stopped entirely, yet the seconds raced by in a blur of panic. Mia was a shell of herself. She had cried until her eyes were nothing but swollen, red slits, her face buried in her hands so many times that Colt had lost count. He hadn't sat down once. He had paced the floor until his legs ached, staring at the same patterns in the linoleum, then at the clock, then at the wall, then at nothing at all.The doctor pulled his surgical mask down as he approached. He looked exhausted. His shoulders were slumped, and his blue scrubs were speckled with tiny, dark spots of dried blood. He held a clipboard against his chest like a shield.Colt stepped forward, but he couldn’t speak. Words felt too heavy for his throat.

“Mother, please. It’s too early for this.”Colt rubbed his temple, his fingers pressing hard against his skin as a dull ache bloomed behind his eyes. His head felt heavy, his body still soaked in hospital air and sleepless hours. He hadn't showered, hadn't slept, and he certainly wasn't ready for a battle in his own foyer.“I’m not in the right state of mind for your lectures,” he added, his voice barely a rasp.“Not in the mood?” she asked, her voice sharp. “Really, Colt? That’s the best you can do?”She took a few steps toward him, the sound of her designer heels echoing off the marble floor.“I have been calling you since last night,” she continued, her eyes narrowing. “I called, I texted, and I reached out to your office. You avoided me. You treated your mother like a nuisance. So I had to drive here myself to see if you were still functioning.”Colt let out a long, ragged sigh, dropping his hand from his face. “I was at the hospital. My phone wasn't my priority.”“What is this I’

Corinne sprawled across her bed, one leg dangling off the side of the bed. She held her phone loosely in her hand, her thumb moving over the screen with no interest. She was bored, restless, and mostly anxious about the stack of bills on her kitchen counter.Her mind was a million miles away when a sharp, clear notification sound cut through the quiet of the room.She frowned, sitting up slightly, her eyes narrowing as she tapped the screen.Deposit Alert: $5,000.00Her breath hitched in her throat. She shot upright so fast that the mattress bounced beneath her.“Shit,” she whispered, her heart beginning to gallop.“Shit. Shit! No way.”Her eyes widened as she reread the text message. “Just like that?” she breathed. “Five thousand? She actually did it.”A wild, shaky laugh burst from her. She jumped off the bed and spun around in a circle, her bare feet slapping the floor. The relief was so intense it felt like she was floating.“Yes!” she shouted, pumping a fist into the air. “Yes!