บททั้งหมดของ THE HEIRESS GAME;REBIRTH AND RUIN: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 65

Adeline's POVThe eggs were a mistake.I had not even cracked them. I had taken them out of the refrigerator with the full intention of being a functional adult who ate food, and then the smell had hit me the moment I set the pan on the hob.Warm and sulphurous and completely unremarkable in any other universe.And I had put the eggs back, turned the hob off, stood in my father's kitchen with one hand on the counter, and decided that this was not going to happen today.The headache had started somewhere on the drive back from the hospital.By the time I reached the house it had moved from background noise to the particular pressure behind the eyes that meant business. I trudged upstairs. I did not eat. I did not shower. I did not do the sensible thing of changing properly and drinking water and being responsible about any of it.The last thing I remembered with any clarity was sitting on the edge of the bed.The next thing I knew was the phone.Ringing.Loud and insistent and entir

Adeline's POVThe police took an hour.Not to arrive. They arrived fast, blue light strobing through the balcony door within minutes of Natasha's call, boots on the gravel, voices at the gate. The hour was the questions. Two officers, one with a notepad who wrote everything down with the focused patience of someone who had learned long ago not to be surprised by anything.And one who coordinated the handover of the intruder from Daren with the brisk efficiency of someone transferring a package rather than a person.I answered everything they asked.What time did I hear the sound. What direction. How long between the first noise and the balcony door opening. Did I recognise the intruder. Had I received any prior threats.That last one required a longer answer.The officer with the notepad wrote for quite some time.Dare stood to one side throughout, hands clasped, contributing precise and factual information when asked and nothing whatsoever when he wasn't. I watched him and thought:

Adeline's POVI changed back into my jeans in the examination room cubicle with the efficiency of someone who needed to be out of this building before she had time to think about what the building now knew about her.Casual top. Jeans. Weekend clothes, chosen this morning with the intention of not looking like someone who was going to a hospital to confirm a pregnancy.The paper the doctor had handed me was folded into my bag.I was not thinking about it.I was thinking about the Devon meeting tonight, and the Cheung presentation on Tuesday, and whether Isaac had heard back from the anonymous woman.And every other thing that existed in the world that was not the folded piece of paper in my bag.Natasha waited for me in the corridor and fell into step beside me without a word, which was the correct thing to do and I was grateful for it.We walked toward the lift.The doors opened.And Mikhail stepped out.The universe, apparently, had a sense of humour.He was in a dark jacket, tablet