LOGINTalia pressed her back against the door and turned her face away, doing everything she could to avoid looking at Quentin. But the harder she tried, the more aware of him she became.She could tell that he was angry, but she didn't have the energy to manage his feelings right now. She met his gaze and firmly said, "Quentin, I need to go back. Move."She tried to push past him and reach for the door handle, but the second her fingers touched it, his hand closed around hers. Then, he leaned in and kissed her.She didn't know if it was skill or something else entirely, but the moment his lips met hers, every ounce of resistance drained out of her body like air leaving a balloon. Within seconds, she went limp in his arms.His hand settled on the narrow curve of her waist and pulled her forward until there was no space left between them. His other hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, tracing a slow path up her back until his palm pressed flat against her skin.Talia flinched, unsure
Talia was halfway to the door when Henry called after her. "Talia, you're a doctor. You know how rare a bone marrow match is. This isn't something money can fix."And if money could have fixed it, Henry had more than enough to save himself a thousand times over.But leukemia didn't care about money.Talia stopped in the doorway. She stood there, rigid and unmoving, for a long time before she slowly turned back to face him. "You can't give up."Henry's eyes were empty, drained of everything. "Talia, because of you, I wanted to be the best version of myself. I thought I could protect you. I thought I could make it so you never had to hold back in this field, so you could just be yourself. But I overestimated myself."Talia stormed back to his bedside, furious. She leaned over him and nearly shouted."I told you, I won't let you give up. I haven't even started my doctorate yet. You're supposed to help me pick my research topic. Or are you telling me you don't want to do that anymore
Talia understood immediately. She was a doctor, after all. She didn't need Joel to spell it out for her. Henry's leukemia had been confirmed.The silence stretched on for a long time before she could bring herself to ask, "What about survival rates?"Joel shook his head. "It's too early to talk about that. Right now, the priority is finding a compatible bone marrow donor."Talia rolled up her sleeve without hesitation. "Test mine."Joel looked at her with something close to admiration. "Henry's lucky to have a friend like you."But just outside the office door, Henry stood with his back pressed against the wall. He had heard everything.He'd suspected it from the moment he was admitted, but as long as the biopsy results were pending, he could cling to a final sliver of hope. Now, even that was gone.He wasn't sure if what he felt was despair or acceptance. There was no grief, no panic, just a strange, hollow stillness.About ten minutes later, Talia walked back into his room.
Talia woke at dawn the next morning, when the sky was only just beginning to lighten.That day was the third day after Henry's bone marrow biopsy, and the results were due.She didn't linger in bed for even a second. The moment her eyes opened, she was up and moving. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and headed downstairs.Garrett was already at the table, reading through a stack of documents. Talia greeted him on her way past. "Morning."He glanced up at her but didn't respond. It wasn't until he noticed that she seemed to be heading for the door that he spoke. "Where are you going this early?""Henry's in the hospital. I'm going to check on him."She didn't elaborate on what was wrong, and Garrett assumed it was nothing serious, so he didn't press further. "Just don't stay out too long.""I won't," Talia called back as she left.She took a cab straight to the hospital from the Stewart residence, stopping along the way to pick up breakfast and fruit. When she walked into
The sudden stop threw Christian and Nancy forward against their seatbelts. The screech of tires cut through the intersection loud enough to turn heads.Three men standing together near the curb all looked over at the same time.The one in front pinched out his cigarette and flicked it neatly into a trash can. Every motion was smooth and unhurried.Quentin strolled over to the edge of the road and stopped about 15 feet from Christian's car. With his arms folded and a grin stretching from ear to ear, he leaned in just enough to be heard."Mr. Lane, what a coincidence. That's twice tonight. Driving a little distracted, aren't we? Something on your mind? You really should be more careful."Lucas and Seamus spotted Christian's car and followed Quentin to the curb.The moment Quentin finished speaking, Lucas jumped right in. "Seriously, though, Mr. Lane. Our boy Quentin's looking out for you here. If you get banged up, that's one thing, but you've got a beautiful woman in that passenge
The wineglass exploded against the wall with a sharp crack that made William flinch. The two other men at the table kept their heads down, neither of them willing to get caught in the crossfire.William slowly lifted his gaze to meet Christian's. "I don't mean anything by it."His detached, indifferent tone only made Christian angrier. "If you don't want to celebrate your birthday, then you can get the hell out, too."William didn't hesitate. He stood, grabbed his jacket, and draped it over his arm.He looked at Christian one last time. "Yeah. I probably should."Then he turned to the other two men and said, "Let's go."They practically leapt out of their chairs, grateful for the excuse, and all but fled the room.William walked out without looking back. As he stormed through the door, he slammed it shut behind him hard enough to rattle the frame.Nancy's heart jumped at the sound.In the very next second, Christian grabbed the bottle of red wine off the table and smashed it a
Talia gave a faint smile and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson."Millie waved a hand dismissively. "There's no need to be so polite. We'll be family soon anyway."Talia wasn't sure how to respond, so she turned to Quentin.Seeing her look at him, Quentin shrugged nonchalantly. "I simply mentioned
Talia turned and glanced at the hospital bed. Yvonne's face was rosy, and her eyes were wide and bright. She didn't look sick at all.As she thought it over, she figured that Yvonne was probably faking it.And so, feigning helplessness, she turned to the doctors and said, "In that case, let's go a
When Henry locked eyes with Talia, he quickly smiled.Talia returned a soft smile, then pressed her lips together before asking, "Is there something urgent?"Henry didn't want to hide it from her, so he answered truthfully, "There's an emergency surgery I need to do."Talia looked at him with con
Talia, wearing only a thin undershirt, carefully checked Millie's upper body.After confirming that there were no other open wounds, she said to Henry, "No more bleeding points."Henry pressed down on the wound, his face drenched in sweat and his hands slick with blood. He looked at Talia and said







