บททั้งหมดของ The Surgeon’s Revenge Deal: บทที่ 151 - บทที่ 160

GwenFuck. Fuck. Fuck.I had messed everything up. One night. That was all it took for me to prove, once again, that I had no control where he was concerned. The new name, the careful distance, the walls I had spent years building – none of it had mattered the moment alcohol and old hunger got involved. I was still the same person underneath. Weak. Stupid. Vulnerable.I sat on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands and tried to reconstruct the night in order. Pieces came back in uncomfortable flashes: the way the conversation had softened, the moment I stopped putting space between us, the feel of his mouth, the fact that I had reached for him as much as he had reached for me. What I could not remember clearly was what I had said. Had I slipped? Had I said something I should not have? Had I told him anything that could not be taken back?The not-knowing made my stomach turn.I did not go to work. I dared not.The thought of standing in the same room as him, pretending the night

GwenI watched Elias's expression shift the moment the officers stepped off that elevator. There was no panic or anything so obvious, just a fast recalibration, the look of a man rearranging his face before anyone could catch the seam."Officers." He turned toward them with easy, open hands, all warmth and reasonable concern, like a man greeting colleagues at a conference rather than police called to investigate him. "I'm glad you're here, actually. There seems to be something wrong with the frequent attacks my son has been facing. I think he is being bullied."His voice carried the same calm, steady register he'd used with me the night he broke down that door."Dr Thorne has made some serious allegations," one of the officers said, glancing between the two men. "We'll need to speak with you privately.""Of course." Elias spread his hands wider, all patience, all cooperation. "Whatever you need. I have nothing to hide."I stood in the doorway of Noah's bay, arms wrapped around myself,

GwenMy stomach did a deep dive till it touched the floor.What the actual hell?! What even gave him that idea? My eyes twitched uncontrollably behind them both, and I waited with bated breath for what Alex’s response would be. My chest constricted painfully under the tension. He glanced back to stare at me, and I saw his lips curl a bit in a very annoying smirk that spelt nothing but trouble. I knew nothing good was going to come out of his mouth, so I moved to stop the conversation from continuing any further. I opened my mouth to redirect the conversation, some frantic parental instinct kicking into gear, but Alex got there first."Your mom," he said, entirely too fond, entirely too pleased with himself, "is a very beautiful woman. I wouldn't mind marrying her at all."I stilled completely, water glass halfway to my mouth, and silently begged the kitchen floor to open up and swallow me whole. It did not oblige."But," he added, and I caught the smirk tugging at the corner of his

GwenElias called before I'd even made it back to my own apartment.I stared at his name on the screen for three full rings before I answered, Emris already occupied in the back seat with headphones on, blissfully unaware of the tension currently radiating off his mother in waves."Janessa." His voice came through warm, relieved, exactly the register he'd used in that hospital corridor. "I heard the search turned up nothing. I told you there was nothing to find.""I heard," I said carefully, merging onto the highway, keeping my eyes fixed on the road instead of letting my mind wander toward everything Alex had said in his kitchen that morning. "There were some issues with Noah's custody paperwork, though. The detective mentioned discrepancies."He paused."Bureaucratic mess," he said smoothly. "His mother's departure left things in a legal grey area for a while. Nothing sinister, just paperwork that never got properly updated. I can walk you through the whole history if it would set y

GwenThe morning of the presentation, I woke up to sunlight instead of dread for the first time in weeks.Months of dead ends and drugged wine and men who thought they could buy or break me had somehow led here, to this specific day, with Adam's data finally locked, the compound's stability confirmed across three separate trial batches, and a board full of donors who'd already seen enough at the gala to walk in today expecting good news instead of excuses. It felt almost unfair, how smoothly the last stretch had gone compared to everything before it. Almost like the universe had decided I'd earned one clean win.I was elbow-deep in my closet, staring at three dresses laid across the bed with the particular despair of someone who had spent so long thinking about research that she'd forgotten how to think about fabric, when my phone rang."What are you wearing tonight?" Alex said, no greeting at all, straight into the question like it was the most natural thing in the world to ask.I la