All Chapters of He Chose My Sister, So I Married His Enemy: Chapter 261 - Chapter 270

Grace met us at the door before we'd even parked properly, no time wasted on pleasantries, gesturing us inside with the particular urgency of someone in the middle of something she couldn't pause for our arrival. The office phone rang twice before we'd crossed the threshold, one of her staff members answering with visible strain in her voice, trying to explain gently to whoever was on the line that registration hadn't actually opened yet despite what they'd seen online."That's the fourth call this morning," Grace said, leading us further inside. "We've had two people come in physically as well. One woman brought her daughter's paperwork already filled out, ready to submit, because she genuinely believed we were opening today."I watched Grace handle the woman herself a few minutes later, patient and honest, explaining clearly that the announcement hadn't come from New Ground and that she couldn't yet promise a firm date, while still treating the woman's disappointment with visible ca

The funding representative had nearly reached the door when I asked her to wait. She turned back with one hand still resting on the handle, while the regional partner lowered himself into his chair again with the weary expression of a man expecting another argument. Claire and Grace stayed where they were, watching me carefully."I'm not keeping the original launch date," I said. "More money wouldn't make this team ready faster, and the possibility of losing money doesn't change that. But a delayed launch doesn't have to mean we do nothing until the full programme opens."The funder released the door and faced me properly. "What are you proposing?"I pulled the abandoned notepad toward me, turning to a clean page. "The partner already has people asking for help. We can start weekly information sessions here without calling them New Ground enrolment. People can learn what support currently exists, get referred to services that are already operating and leave their contact details if th

I made it back to the regional site with just enough time to finish the pieces of the revised proposal that genuinely needed my attention, leaving the rest of the budget preparation squarely in Claire's hands. She glanced at me twice while I gathered my things, checking the clock on the wall a third time before I'd even finished packing my bag."You keep looking at the time," Claire said."I have somewhere to be.""You never have somewhere to be. You usually stay until the office empties around you." She said it without any real accusation, more curious than critical, and I felt a small, private satisfaction at being able to answer her honestly."Tonight's different.""Clearly." She waved me off with the particular ease of someone entirely capable of handling what remained without me hovering over her shoulder. "Go. I've got the rest of this."I left when I said I would, no last-minute crisis pulling me back through the door, no email demanding one more response before I could reasona

By the time the week finally ended, I found Damien already home when I walked through the door, and before I'd gotten past the second sentence of describing my day, he'd crouched down and started loosening my shoes without asking, pulling them off one at a time while I stood there mid-sentence, entirely derailed. "You're not even listening.""I'm listening. I'm also freeing your feet. Both things can happen simultaneously." He straightened and pulled me against him, kissing me until whatever remained of my sentence dissolved entirely, and I noticed, pulling back, the particular exhaustion sitting behind his eyes that matched my own."You look tired too.""I am tired. Thoroughly." He let me lead him toward the sofa this time, and I pulled his tie loose the way he usually did for me, working the knot free while he watched with something warm and grateful in his expression.We ended up tangled together with the last of yesterday's leftovers, both of us too exhausted to bother with anythi

Claire was waiting at my desk Monday morning with a stack of requests that had clearly arrived over the weekend, the approval apparently having traveled further and faster than I'd expected. "Readiness review scheduling, a partner briefing request, an invitation to speak at a public sector event next month, and two calls from other regional organizations asking about the model." She set them down in a neat row. "People want to talk to you specifically."I went through them properly, not reaching automatically for every invitation the way I might have a few months earlier. "The partnership conversation with the second organization, send that to Grace. She's better positioned to speak to their operational questions than I am.""And the public sector event?""Decline it. It doesn't materially help the launch, and I'd rather spend that day on the actual pilot preparation." I flipped through the remaining requests. "The budget follow-up from the smaller foundation, that's within your autho