Chapter 343 Death Is Not An Option
Chapter 343 Death Is Not An Option
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“He vanished after dropping her at the hospital,” Harlan replied, a faint crease forming between his brows. The disappearance struck him as odd, though he kept the thought to himself.
“Harlan, go home,” Quinn urged once Laura and Weston had gone. “You followed me to Doria, then kept watch two more days in this ward. Your parents must be worried. Ge
some rest.”
“I already spoke with them on video,” he said. “They know I’m staying here to look after you.”
“But-”
“Remember when I caught that fever on base? You sat by my bunk all night until the heat broke,” Harlan reminded her. “I’m simply returning the favor”
Quinn fell silent.
“Rest for now. I’m heading to the Ministry of Defense to file–the DNA report and confirm we located Rowan. I’ll be back once the paperwork’s done.”
Quinn nodded. The military had chased leads on Rowan for months; at last, there was something solid to deliver.
When Harlan left with the folder, the room felt suddenly cavernous and too quiet.
Propped against her pillows, she opened her phone and scheduled a visa appointment with practiced taps.
She needed to heal fast; once the paperwork cleared, she would head to Celosia without delay.
Across town, Gavin Huxley–house physician to the Whitethorn family–studied Julius over his spectacles. “Your insomnia is mainly psychological. Keep upping the dosage, and one day the pills will kill you. See a therapist.”
Julius lowered his gaze, thumb caressing the sandalwood bracelet. “Until Quinn is back at my side, no shrink can fix what’s wrong inside me.”
“She’s only a woman, Julius. The world is full of options. You could find another to suit you,” Gavin pressed.
A dry laugh escaped Julius. “Suit me? I searched for years and discovered only her.”
And he knew, with bleak certainty, no one else would ever compare.
“Stay trapped like this and you’ll choke on your own devotion,” Gavin warned, voice softer now, heavy with the concern of an old friend.
“Your father once tried to persuade mine to let go of the woman he loved.” Julius‘ voice flowed like winter rain–soft, cold, impossible to stop. “Tell me, did any of that pleading work?”
Gavin’s breath caught. For a heartbeat, he simply stared at him, the question striking harder than any scalpel he had ever wielded.
For generations, the Huxleys had served as private physicians to the Whitethorns. Gavin’s own father had
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18:37 Mon, 25 Aug 2
Chapter 343 Death Is Not An Option
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worked beside Julius‘ father, Joaquin, and–out of friendship–had begged the older man to reconsider.
It changed nothing. Joaquin stormed forward, seized the marriage he wanted, and tragedy followed like night after a blood–red sunset. Every day since, Gavin’s father had carried the weight of that failure like a stone in his coat pocket.
“You swore you’d never become him,” Gavin said, forcing steadiness into his tone. “If that’s true, then you have to release whatever you’re still feeling for Quinn.”
“Exactly. I will never walk my father’s path,” Julius murmured. “That’s why I refuse to use force to keep Quinn near me. What I want is her willing heart–the warmth we once shared, nothing less, nothing stolen.”
“So you’ll keep driving yourself in circles?” Gavin asked, the words edged with equal parts worry and exasperation.
“I didn’t come for philosophy.” Julius tossed a brown bottle across the desk. It landed, rattling against glass instruments. “Change the medication. This one’s useless to me now.”
“Fine. But stop swallowing pills like candy,” Gavin warned. “Whatever happens, follow the dosage I give you.”
The thought of Julius one day overdosing frightened Gavin more than any medical emergency ever had.
Relax, Julius said, a faint, almost wistful smile crossing his face. “Death isn’t an option yet.”
Quinn was still alive. Because of that single fact, Julius could not bear the idea of leaving this world.
After a full week confined to a hospital bed. Quinn was finally discharged. Her injured shoulder kept her left arm nearly useless, but day–to–day tasks remained manageable.
During those seven days, Julius never once appeared, his absence a silent echo in every white corridor.
The emptiness left Quinn with a tangled feeling–relief twisted with something that tasted like loss.
She understood that faint ache all too well: some part of her still hadn’t cut the last thread binding her to Julius Give it time, she told herself, one day the thread will break on its own.
Harlan drove Quinn from the hospital, reciting after–care instructions to Laura the entire way. Even after delivering Quinn to Laura’s place, he stayed until night pressed against the windows before finally leaving.
“Looks to me like Harlan is rather devoted,” Laura said, raising an eyebrow. “Have you truly never considered him?”
Tve told you–I’m not ready for romance,” Quinn replied. “Finding my brother is the only thing that matters right now.”
She knew at last that Leander was Rowan–her long–lost brother–yet she had not brought him home.
“When will you fly to Celosia to see him?” Laura asked
“As soon as my visa is approved–two days, maybe three–I’ll be on the first plane out,” Quinn said.
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18:38 Mon, 25 Aug
Chapter 344 Firm Resolve
