جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

Chapter seventy-oneEmily By nine in the morning, I had already rejected two proposals, signed fourteen documents, and argued with a department head who believed reducing maternity ward expenses meant cutting the number of nurses on duty.Apparently, my marriage hadn't made me any less difficult to work with.Good.I dropped the report onto my desk and rubbed my forehead."You're going to give yourself a headache."Xena stood in the doorway, holding a file against her chest."I already have one.""Then perhaps you should stop reading reports as if you intend to murder them."I gave her a look.She smiled and walked in."Mr. Francis wants to see you in the boardroom. Apparently, some of the directors have questions about the current administrative arrangements.""Questions?""That's the word he used.""And what did his face say?"Xena considered it. "That you should probably take your coffee with you."I reached for my cup."Wonderful. Nothing says a productive morning like a room ful

Chapter seventy-threeEmilyI had seen the bracelet before.I was certain of it.The problem was that every time I tried to remember where, the memory slipped away from me like water through my fingers.I sat behind my desk at Gifted Hands Hospital, staring at the photograph Daniel had sent me the previous evening. The image was grainy, the man's face hidden by the angle of the camera, but the black bracelet around his wrist was clear enough.A thin band.A small silver emblem.Nothing particularly remarkable about it, and yet it had been bothering me since Seth showed me the photograph.I enlarged the image on my laptop, hoping a closer look would trigger something. The silver emblem remained blurry, its shape impossible to identify."Come on, Emily," I muttered. "You've seen it somewhere."I closed my eyes.A dark vehicle.Someone standing beside it.A wrist moving as a door opened.Then nothing.I exhaled sharply and leaned back in my chair.My head was beginning to ache.I had spe

Chapter seventy-fiveEmilyI couldn't stop thinking about Seth's words.I don't want this marriage to remain a contract.They had followed me out of his hospital room and stayed with me long after I returned to my office. I had expected him to argue, tease me, or somehow turn our conversation into another competition.Instead, he had admitted his mistakes and given me something I hadn't expected.A choice.He wanted our marriage to become something real, but he wasn't demanding that I love him in return.And somehow, that made everything more complicated."Emily?"I looked up to find Xena standing beside my desk."Are you listening to me?""Of course.""What did I just say?"I glanced at the documents in front of me."Something about the hospital?"She sighed dramatically. "You're hopeless."I smiled. "What do you want?""To know why you've been smiling at your paperwork for the past five minutes.""I'm not smiling.""Right. And I'm the queen of England."I threw a pen at her. She dod

Chapter seventy-sevenEmilyI was beginning to understand that peace in my marriage came with a price.Sometimes, it meant ignoring the way Seth looked at me when he thought I wasn't paying attention. Other times, it meant pretending my heart didn't race whenever he called me my wife.And occasionally, it meant reminding myself that one kiss didn't erase all the reasons I'd been afraid to trust him.Still, I couldn't deny that something had changed between us.I was thinking about that when Xena walked into my office, holding a folder against her chest."Your husband called."I looked up from my laptop. "And?""He wanted to know whether you'd eaten breakfast."I blinked. "That's all?""No. He also asked whether you were planning to visit him today, whether you had enough work to keep you busy, and whether you were still having those headaches."I stared at her.Xena smiled slowly. "Interesting, isn't it? The same man you once described as an arrogant, self-important nuisance now wants

Chapter seventy-nineEmily By the time I returned to Seth's room that evening, the hospital corridors had grown quiet.Most of the day's visitors had left, and the nurses were beginning their night shifts. I had intended to go home after checking on a few patients, but somehow, my feet had carried me back to the man who had occupied far too much of my thoughts lately.Seth was awake, sitting against his pillows with a book resting on his lap.He looked up as I entered."You're back."I placed my handbag on the chair. "I forgot something."His eyes narrowed playfully. "What?""To check whether you're following your doctor's instructions.""That's unfortunate. I was hoping you'd say you missed me."I rolled my eyes. "Don't flatter yourself.""Too late. I already have."I tried to maintain a serious expression, but his smile made it difficult.That was becoming a problem.Before our marriage, I had considered Seth Hernandez the most irritating man I had ever met. His calm confidence had