He picked up his overcoat, preparing to drape it over Rebecca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s movement was firm, leaving no room for refusal. As\u00a0<\/p>\n
the coat covered her, a wave of warmth washed over her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even for someone as strong as Rebecca, being cared for so\u00a0<\/p>\n
attentively at this moment made her nose tingle a little.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two of them just sat there in silence, neither saying another\u00a0<\/p>\n
word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It seemed Adrian had really come just to take care of her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s mind was getting more and more confused. Was\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s reason for doing this simply that he wanted her?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But a talented and handsome young man like him wouldn\u2019t lack for excellent, beautiful women.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did he like her?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca didn\u2019t have the confidence to believe someone could\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 228\u00a0<\/p>\n
fall for her in such a short time, especially while she was\u00a0<\/p>\n
pretending to be someone else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t quite figure Adrian out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor Shaw.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as the IV was about to finish, Rebecca finally spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t turn to look at Adrian, just said softly, \u201cWith the\u00a0<\/p>\n
recent policy changes, several of our pharmaceutical\u00a0<\/p>\n
companies are competing for the R&D agency rights for a new\u00a0<\/p>\n
drug. I heard that Lingri Pharmaceuticals has been in contact\u00a0<\/p>\n
with you. Is that true?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he heard Rebecca speak, Adrian\u2019s eyes clearly lit up for a\u00a0<\/p>\n
moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But after hearing what she said, he almost laughed out of\u00a0<\/p>\n
exasperation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had held it in all night, and it was still about work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn what capacity are you asking this question, Rebecca? As the\u00a0<\/p>\n
future head of the Whitman group?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 228\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOr\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned his head, forcing Rebecca to meet his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSome other capacity?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her heart skipped a beat, and Rebecca instinctively tried to look\u00a0<\/p>\n
away, but Adrian raised his hand, cupping her face and keeping\u00a0<\/p>\n
her from looking away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s palm was hot, almost scorching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, the pulse in his palm synced with Rebecca\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
racing heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She froze, unable to speak for a long moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian leaned in closer, his voice bewitching, \u201cRebecca, why\u00a0<\/p>\n
aren\u2019t you answering my question again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her heart started beating faster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca was choosing her words and had just uttered a\u00a0<\/p>\n
syllable when the nurse came over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you say anything when it was done?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 228\u00a0<\/p>\n
The blood is backing up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian looked down, immediately frowned, and jerked his hand\u00a0<\/p>\n
back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The nurse removed the needle for Rebecca, reminding her to\u00a0<\/p>\n
take her medicine and stick to a bland diet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca listened distractedly, her mind still circling around\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s earlier question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hadn\u2019t noticed the blood backing up, so after removing the\u00a0<\/p>\n
needle, the nurse had Adrian help apply pressure, still\u00a0<\/p>\n
grumbling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of boyfriend are you? Letting your girlfriend come to\u00a0<\/p>\n
the ER alone is one thing, but you didn\u2019t even notice the blood\u00a0<\/p>\n
backing up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPress it firmly. Don\u2019t let the injection site keep bleeding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian didn\u2019t argue, just listened silently and nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the two of them walked out of the ER together, a cold\u00a0<\/p>\n
wind blew, and Rebecca realized their position was no different\u00a0<\/p>\n
from holding hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 228\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian held her hand, his thumb pressing carefully on the back\u00a0<\/p>\n
of her hand where the needle had been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTook a cab.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take you home then.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a question, but a statement that allowed no refusal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca gave a tiny nod, so small it was barely noticeable, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
it didn\u2019t matter. She couldn\u2019t refuse him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After walking for a bit, Rebecca spoke up:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wound should have stopped bleeding by now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMhm.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian grunted in agreement, but showed no intention of letting\u00a0<\/p>\n
go of her hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca bit her lip, thinking he hadn\u2019t understood her hidden\u00a0<\/p>\n
meaning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, you don\u2019t have to keep pressing it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 228\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that so?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s voice was still quiet. He did stop pressing on the\u00a0<\/p>\n
wound with his thumb, but after releasing the pressure, he\u00a0<\/p>\n
tightened his loose grip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their fingers were now intertwined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Intertwined!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s mind went blank, as if a string had snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t even remember how she followed Adrian to his\u00a0<\/p>\n
car.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian opened the passenger door, helped her with her seatbelt,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and then got back into the driver\u2019s seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The heating was on high, and Rebecca\u2019s body quickly warmed\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence was terrifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian started the car, but didn\u2019t seem to plan on driving off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t\u2026 we leaving?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian pursed his lips and said quietly, \u201cI don\u2019t know where you\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 228\u00a0<\/p>\n
live.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca let out a small \u201cah\u201d and leaned forward to enter her\u00a0<\/p>\n
address into the car\u2019s navigation system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The navigation system was a bit complicated, so Adrian leaned\u00a0<\/p>\n
over to help, their faces almost touching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their breaths mingled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The temperature inside the car seemed to rise\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did someone accidentally hit the heat button?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash ` 228 He picked up his overcoat, preparing to drape it over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}