Chapter 83

The line went dead. Evelyn Sullivan stared at the darkened phone screen, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Every executive in the boardroom held their breath, watching her.

"Meeting adjourned." She closed the folder, her voice eerily calm.

Tyler Laurier slammed his documents onto the table with a loud bang. "CEO Sullivan, are you treating this company as a joke? The project is already a week behind schedule!"

Her heels clicked sharply against the floor as she turned. "Director Laurier, the South China project you oversaw last quarter lost twenty million. Shall I review the details for everyone?"

Silence filled the room.

Tyler's face turned ashen, veins bulging in his neck. "There were extenuating circumstances!"

"And my rejection of your new proposal is also based on circumstances." She grabbed her bag and strode out, leaving stunned faces in her wake. "Dismissed."

The sterile scent of disinfectant stung her eyes in the hospital corridor.

The VIP suite door flew open. Ethan Sullivan sat propped against the headboard, reviewing documents, his casted leg suspended in a brace.

"Forty-seven minutes late." He didn't look up, his pen scratching harshly across the paper.

Evelyn tossed her bag onto the sofa. "There was a pileup on the road."

"Liar." His gaze finally lifted, darker than the night outside the window. "The traffic app shows clear roads from MY Fashion Group to the hospital today."

Her fingers paused on her blazer buttons.

"Dr. Howard said my leg—" Ethan suddenly hurled the files onto the nightstand, sending the metal tray clattering. "Might never heal properly."

Her nails dug into her palms.

"And?"

"So the divorce papers are void." His eyes locked onto her paling lips as he enunciated each word. "Until I recover, you're moving back to Grand View."

The wail of an approaching ambulance grew louder outside.

"I can hire the best physical therapists for you."

"I want you." His hand shot out, gripping her wrist. The IV needle tore free, blood splattering the white sheets. "Every morning and night, watching me struggle like a useless cripple."

The heart monitor shrieked an alarm.

Nurses rushed in to find Evelyn pressing gauze to his bleeding hand. Their eyes met in the chaos, and she saw the near-delirious obsession swirling in his gaze.

"Fine." The word was barely audible.

At the discharge counter, Dr. Howard hesitated before handing her a stack of test results. "Mrs. Sullivan, actually, Mr. Sullivan's nerve damage—"

"I know." She stuffed the papers into her bag and turned—only to collide with a wheelchair in the hallway. Ethan sat with a tablet on his lap, MY's stock chart glowing on the screen.

In the car returning to Grand View, he broke the silence. "You'll take the master bedroom."

"What?"

"I'll stay in the first-floor guest room." He watched the receding sycamores outside. "So you can't sneak out at night."

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. The rearview mirror reflected her red-rimmed eyes. Storm clouds gathered on the horizon, heavy with impending rain.