All Chapters of Discarded by My Family, I Proved Them Wrong: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Sean rose from his seat. He looked at Valena without a flicker of doubt, then took her hand gently and held it firmly in his."We talked about this a few hours ago, Valena," he said calmly. "I know that news hurt you. But you are not strong enough right now, and you know exactly what is waiting for you in Aethelgrad."Valena looked away from him. Her fingers slipped out of his grasp one by one, like someone letting go of her last hold on the edge of a cliff."My condition," she repeated softly. Her voice was low, almost without tone. "It's always my condition.""Valena...""From the very beginning, that is what you have always said." She lifted her face, and her eyes, which had been wet a moment ago, now glittered sharply. "You're not strong enough yet. You have to rest. You can't go out alone. I am not a child, Doctor. And I am not a patient who can only nod."Sean was stunned. He had never heard her speak in such a tone."I have never thought of you that way.""Then why do you decid

Valena's knees gave way before her sentence had finished echoing in the air.Her thin body pitched forward, losing its hold on the door frame, and Sean had moved before his mind could catch up. In two long strides he caught her in both arms, taking the weight of a girl far too light to have just threatened to walk alone into the night."You're insane," he whispered hoarsely. "You are completely insane, Valena."Valena did not answer. Her breath came in ragged gasps against Sean's chest, and cold sweat beaded at her temples. Sean carried her back into the room, past the wheelchair that still stood untouched in the corner, and laid her on the bed with careful hands. He drew the blanket up to her shoulders, then sat on the edge of the bed, forcing air into his lungs as though they refused to work on their own.The room was bathed in the pale blue light from the window. On the nightstand, the daisies in their glass looked like a fragile white stain among the shadows."I can't take you the

"Madam Estelle!"The voice rang out between the rows of rain-soaked headstones and struck Julie's ears like a whip. Her fingers, still clutching the phone, trembled, and the darkened screen reflected her own pale face back at her. The call had been cut off, and in her heart she could only hope that Valena had not been able to see anything more.Leovan crossed the wet grass in long strides. His coat was soaked through, his hair clung to his forehead, and his eyes burned with a sharpness, as though Julie had just committed an unforgivable wrong."What are you doing here?" He was breathing hard. His gaze dropped to the small bunch of white daisies on the red earth, then rose again to the phone in the woman's hand. "Who were you calling just now? And tell me, where is Valena really?"Julie held her phone tighter and bowed her head low. Fear had left her long ago. What remained was a deeper anxiety, for a girl on the other side of that screen who had just buried her grandmother from thousa

The wheels of the plane touched down on the runway of Machrie Terrai Avenue Airport with a gentle jolt that was almost imperceptible.Leovan sat in the window seat, both hands clenched over his knees, his eyes fixed on the dark green expanse veiled in thin mist beyond the glass. He had not slept since the funeral. His coat was still damp, his hair disheveled, and in his jacket pocket, the small velvet box had been gripped for so long that its corner had left a mark in his palm.The private investigator he had hired outside the cemetery gate had worked faster than he expected. In less than three hours, the man had traced the records of the special departure lane at Aethelgrad airport. One name was listed on the dawn flight that had left right after that stormy night: *Dr. Sean Weiss and companion*, destination *Machrie Terrai Avenue*. Leovan had indeed booked three tickets to different cities as decoys, but the message he had sent to Sean earlier was an hour late. A single manifest tha

Chapter 40At four in the afternoon, the light above the operating room door went dark.Sean peeled off his latex gloves with a weary motion, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his forearm, and walked out toward the changing room. The surgery had lasted nearly six hours, complicated and grueling, but it had succeeded. The junior doctors behind him whispered in awe. He only gave a brief nod and said nothing.The twenty steps to the changing room felt like a thousand. For some reason, since morning his chest had felt unsettled, as if something were pressing just beneath his ribs.He opened his locker and reached for his phone.The screen lit up. Seven missed calls from Rafael. One unread message.Leovan had landed. He knew.The color drained from Sean's face. The phone nearly slipped from his grip.Still in his surgical gown, without so much as a glance at Director Voss calling after him from the end of the corridor, Sean ran. He took the emergency stairs two at a time,