Chapter 344 Firm Resolve
Chapter 344 Firm Resolve
“What?” Laura’s eyes widened. “That soon? But your shoulder-”
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“The wound is fine,” Quinn cut in gently. “I just… need to see Rowan, and understand why he chooses to remain with the Fane family.”
Laura leaned forward. “Does Harlan know?”
“I haven’t told him yet, and I’d rather you didn’t either.” Quinn shook her head. She feared that the moment Harlan learned the news, he would volunteer to trail her all the way to Celosia–binding his future to hers out of stubborn devotion.
Before she had understood the true weight of Harlan’s feelings, the possibility seemed harmless, almost quaint. Now every gesture of his felt like another debt she could never repay, interest compounding with each breath she drew.
Laura lowered her voice to a teasing whisper. “By the way–what’s going on with you and Julius? You’ve been in the hospital all week, and he hasn’t shown up once.”
Quinn let out a dry laugh. “We broke up, Laura. Him staying away is exactly what I’d expect.”
Laura sighed, sounding half–relieved, half–perplexed. “Makes sense, I suppose. I thought that chartered jet he arranged to fly you home meant he still cared–like he couldn’t let go.”
Quinn shrugged, though Laura couldn’t see the motion. “I was his ex, that’s all. He did me a favor- nothing more.”
She exhaled, as though handing down a verdict. Whatever had once bound her to Julius was over–ashes scattered on a wind that would never circle back.
Two days later, a snag surfaced. Her visa application stalled without warning, flagged only as “pending issues.”
–
Quinn returned to the agency, demanding answers. The clerk offered bright smiles and empty chatter about the weather and holidays. Cornered at last, the woman whispered that the order had come from somewhere higher up.
“Higher up?” The phrase rattled inside Quinn’s mind like a loose screw. Someone powerful didn’t want her traveling to Celosia–but who, and for what reason?
As she stepped outside, a black sedan glided to a halt, its paint swallowing the afternoon light.
Fabian emerged from the driver’s seat, smoothing his jacket. “Ms. Bridger, Mr. Whitethorn would like to see you.”
Quinn folded her arms. “There’s no reason for us to meet, Fabian. We ended things; the cleanest path is distance.”
Fabian’s expression remained fixed. “If you hope to see that visa approved, I suggest you grant him an
audience.”
A chill rippled through her; the clerk’s cryptic hint echoed back.
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18:38 Mon, 25 Aug W
Chapter 344 Firm Resolve
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Could Julius be the one jamming the paperwork? She swallowed the thought, slid into the back seat, and stayed
silent.
The sedan stopped beneath the steel–and–glass tower of the apartment, the place she and Julius had once called home.
Fabian opened the rear door. “Mr. Whitethorn is waiting upstairs.”
Quinn stepped out, crossed the silent lobby, and entered the elevator. Moments later, she stood before the apartment door.
The familiar walnut door blurred her vision with memories. For a heartbeat, time seemed to double back on itself. She pressed the bell. No answer. Is Julius not inside? But Fabian brought me here…
Drawing a steady breath, she tapped the old access code–the rhythm still engraved in her fingertips.
Beep.
The lock clicked open.
Even the security code was unchanged, as if the keypad itself refused to admit that anything between them had ever shifted.
Quinn pressed her palm to the familiar panel and heard the quiet click, then pushed the door wide and stepped inside.
Silence draped the place. When she reached the living room she found Julius settled on the couch, a full coffee service laid out on the glass table while he tended to the kettle like a ritual.
Fragrant steam curled through the air.
“That visa of mine–did you have your people hold it hostage?” Quinn asked as she strode forward, her voice crisp enough to slice through the quiet.
“Yes,” Julius said at once, the admission dropping as casually as a pebble into still water.
Quinn’s–eyes narrowed, dark lashes cutting a sharp line beneath her brow. “Why would you do that?” Her anger vibrated at the edges of every syllable.
“You are injured,” Julius replied, his tone maddeningly calm. “A trans–ocean flight to Celosia is the last thing your body needs.”
“My body is none of your business,” Quinn shot back. “I know exactly how bad the wounds are, and the airline has already cleared me to fly.”
“I hope you could recover before going anywhere,” Julius said, fingers steady over the porcelain lid. “But if you are desperate to see Leander Fane, I can have him delivered–tied and gift–wrapped–right in front of
you.”
“Julius Whitethorn!” Quinn cut him off, a fierce slash of sound. “We are finished. You have no reason to do any of this, and I do not need you meddling in my life.”
The motion of his hand stilled above the kettle. After a long, silent beat, he resumed and said, “And if I refuse to let you go until you are fully healed?”
Chapter 344 Firm Resolve
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“Then I will ask someone in the Ministry of Defense to intervene. The visa will arrive all the same. Jexburgh does not bend to the Whitethorn family.”
His brows knit, a crack in his usual composure. “Do you really care so little for your own body?”
“This has nothing to do with you,” she answered, voice cold enough to frost the rim of the cup. –
When the coffee was ready, Julius lifted the cup and offered it to her. “Taste it. See if it suits you.”
“I didn’t come here to drink coffee,” Quinn replied, refusing the veneer of civility he tried to drape over the situation.
“If you drink it, your visa is yours,” Julius promised. “Unless, of course, you despise me so thoroughly you cannot stomach a single cup poured by my hand.”
Quinn accepted the cup and, without hesitation, downed the coffee in one breath. “I do not despise you,” she said, wiping a stray drop from her lip.
“Let us hope you feel the same in a moment,” Julius murmured, almost to himself.
“What?” Quinn began, but the word fractured as the room pitched. A sudden dizziness slammed into her, forcing her to grab for balance while the walls blurred.
In the next heartbeat, Julius‘ arm wrapped around her waist, steady and unyielding, and she collapsed against the firm plane of his chest.
Her eyelids grew impossibly heavy. Somewhere at the edge of consciousness, she heard his voice, faint and far away, weaving through the dark.
“Quinn, even if you come to hate me, I will still…” His words followed her into the gathering black.
