All Chapters of Cruel Love Back in His Hands : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

"Hey Kristine, you got a minute?" Kristine looked up from her computer. Nathan stood at her desk, coffee in hand, smiling like nothing had happened. "Nathan. You're back." "Got in last night. Rough trip but productive." He set the coffee on her desk. "Two sugars, no cream. Thought you could use it after the week you've had." Kristine stared at the coffee. "Thanks." "Can we talk? My office?" "Sure." She followed him down the hall. Nathan's office looked the same as always. Clean desk, expensive artwork, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Seattle. He closed the door and sat down. "I heard about the HR meeting. The company chat post. Are you okay?" "I'm fine." "Kristine, I'm serious. That post was completely out of line. Do they know who did it?" "Not yet." "I asked IT to look into it. See if they can trace the account." Kristine blinked. "You did?" "Of course. You're my sister. Someone harassed you. I'm not going to just let that slide." "I thought—I mean, I wondered i

George had been different for three days. Quiet. Distracted. He'd pick up his phone, stare at it, then set it down without calling anyone.Kristine noticed. "You okay?""Yeah. Fine.""You don't seem fine.""Just stressed about work.""Want to talk about it?""Not really."That was the pattern. Every time she asked, he shut down. she tried to help, he pulled away.By Friday, Kristine had had enough.She showed up at his apartment after work. Knocked until he answered."Kristine. I wasn't expecting you.""I know. Can I come in?""Yeah. Of course."She walked inside. The apartment was messier than usual. Empty coffee cups on the counter. Papers spread across the dining table. George looked exhausted."When's the last time you slept?""I don't know. Tuesday maybe.""George, you can't do this to yourself.""I'm fine.""You're not fine! You've been distant all week! You barely talk to me anymore!""I've been busy.""Busy avoiding me."George ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not avoiding

"Pack a bag. We're leaving."George looked up from his laptop. Kristine stood in his apartment doorway holding an overnight bag."What?""You heard me. Pack a bag. We're going away for the weekend.""Kristine, I have work tomorrow.""Call in sick.""I can't just—""Yes you can. You have vacation days. Use them.""Where are we even going?""Does it matter? Away from here. Away from the hospital. Away from all of this."George hesitated. "I don't know if that's a good idea right now.""It's the best idea. You've been miserable all week. You need a break.""I need to focus on rebuilding my reputation.""You need to remember why you do this job in the first place. And you can't do that when you're drowning in other people's opinions."George looked at her standing there, determined and beautiful and refusing to take no for an answer."Okay.""Okay?""Yeah. Let's go.""Really?""Really. Where are we going?"Kristine grinned. "It's a surprise. Just pack warm clothes."Twenty minutes later,

Isabelle sat in her high-rise office overlooking downtown Seattle, scrolling through social media. She'd spent the morning researching Kristine Davis.Creative Director at Caldwell Technologies. Five years at the company. Multiple awards for her design work. Photos of her and George looking disgustingly happy together.And most importantly, Nathan's stepsister.Isabelle clicked on a photo from the birthday dinner. Nathan had his arm around her shoulders, smiling at the camera. But his eyes weren't on the lens. They were on Kristine, who was laughing at something George had said.That look. Isabelle had seen it before. The way Nathan watched Kristine when he thought no one was paying attention. The way his entire body oriented toward her in every room. The way he tensed whenever George touched her.Nathan Caldwell was in love with his stepsister.And that was a problem.Isabelle had spent three months cultivating this relationship. Three months of playing the perfect girlfriend. Smart

Kristine walked into the Monday morning meeting and immediately knew something was wrong. Her name wasn't on the project board.The Henderson Medical Platform redesign she'd been leading for three months was listed under someone else. James Parker from the UI team.The pharmaceutical client interface she'd pitched last week now showed Rebecca Torres as lead designer.Even the smaller projects she'd been managing were gone. Reassigned."What's going on?" she whispered to Lucy."I don't know. The board changed this morning."Nathan stood at the front of the room. "Good morning everyone. Before we start, I want to address some project reassignments."Kristine's stomach dropped."As you can see, we've redistributed several major projects across the team. This is to better balance workload and ensure we're utilizing all our talent effectively.""Wait." Kristine stood up. "The Henderson project is mine. I've been leading it for three months.""I know. And you've done excellent work. But Jam