All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Sacrificial Wife: Forced to Bear His Heir: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Sophia POVBarely twenty seconds pass before another staff member appears at Ethan's elbow across the room, and I watch him get ushered over, unhurried, his hand already reaching to unbutton his jacket as he crosses the floor. He slides into the seat beside me without a word of greeting, reaching for the wine already poured at his place and taking a slow sip like he's got nowhere else he'd rather be."Dr. Hart." An older man settles across from us, silver-haired, easy in his own skin the way people get after decades of being the most important man in every room he enters. His wine glass is already half empty, a second one waiting behind it. "I've heard excellent things about you.""Thank you." I manage something close to a real smile. "It's good to be back on the floor, actually.""I know exactly who you are." He leans in, lowering his voice like he's handing me something valuable. "Best diagnostic mind that department's seen in fifteen years. Sharp, thorough, never cuts a corner. Tha

Sophia POVThe hand around my arm is too rough to belong to anyone I know."Well, hello." A man drops onto the stool beside me, drink already sloshing in his hand, his fingers closing tighter around my forearm than a stranger has any right to. "Look at this. Sitting all alone, dressed like that. You are so beautiful, you know that? Come on, let's drink up together.""She's not alone, she's with me." Nora's voice comes sharp from the stool beside mine, her hand already closing over the man's wrist like she can pry him off me by sheer will. "Get your hand off her. Now.""Nobody asked you." One of his friends steps in behind her before she can get another word out, a hand landing heavy on her shoulder and hauling her back and up out of the seat like she weighs nothing at all. "Sit down and mind your own night, sweetheart, this doesn't concern you.""Let go of me... Sophia..." Nora's protest cuts off into a startled sound as they drag her chair back another foot, wedging her out of reach,

Ethan POV"Empty." I say the word like it's poison in my mouth, spinning to face Jonathan the second he steps into the doorway behind me. "The room is empty, Jonathan. Explain to me how a woman with an injured wrist walks out of a hotel suite with a full security detail on this floor and nobody notices.""Sir, I—" Jonathan starts, but I don't let him finish."Don't." I close the distance between us in two strides, and he doesn't flinch, which only makes me angrier. "I want every camera on this floor pulled right now. I want to know exactly which one of your men was supposed to be posted outside that door, and I want him standing in front of me in the next ten minutes.""Yes, sir." He's already talking into his earpiece before he finishes the sentence, snapping orders at whoever's on the other end, and I watch two more of his men come sprinting down the hallway toward the service stairwell.I storm past him into the empty suite, flipping on every light like brightness might change

Sophia POV"You're supposed to keep that wrist elevated," Ethan says, reaching over without asking and sliding another pillow under my arm. "Not letting it hang off the side of the bed like that.""Sorry." I catch myself the second the word is out and let it go, watching him fuss with the angle until he's satisfied. "It's hard to remember when I'm half asleep.""Then I'll remind you every time I catch it." He drops back into the chair beside my bed, the same chair he's claimed every evening this week, tie already loosened, jacket slung over the back like he lives here now. "The nurses said you tried feeding yourself soup left-handed this morning and wore half of it."I laugh before I can stop myself, a small, surprised sound. "It wasn't my finest moment. In my defense, the soup started it.""Sure it did." The corner of his mouth twitches like he's fighting a smile of his own. "Eat with your good hand next time. Or ask me. I'm not going anywhere tonight.""All right." I let myself rela

Ethan POV"You're gripping the door handle hard enough to dent it, sir." Priya glances over from the driver's seat, her eyes flicking to my hand and back to the road. "Might want to ease up before you take the whole thing off its hinges.""I'm fine." I let go anyway, flexing my fingers, staring out at the streetlights blurring past too slow for how fast my mind is racing. "Just drive faster.""I'm already ten over the limit." She takes the next turn a little sharper than she needs to, which tells me she's more worried than she's letting on. "Can I say something, sir? And you won't fire me for it?""Depends on what it is.""The way you spoke to Mrs. Vale before we left." She keeps her eyes on the road, careful, like she's choosing every word twice before it leaves her mouth. "That felt harsh, even for you. She looked like she'd been crying before we were even out the door.""She'll survive." The words come out sharper than I mean them to, and even I hear how thin they sound the second