?Chapter 81:


    “Does it make a difference?” Sadie retorted, her voice dripping with icy detachment. “You’ve delivered your gift, now you can leave. And don’t make me press the call button to have you escorted out likest time.”


    Noah gave a casual shrug, arching an indifferent eyebrow before settling into a chair beside Sadie’s hospital bed. With deliberate slowness, he picked up an apple and started peeling it, seemingly unaffected by the gravity of the moment.


    “Just so you know,” he said, his tone effortlesslyposed. “I’m now a major shareholder of this hospital. If I run into a problem, a quick call to the director will take care of it.”


    Sadie couldn’t mask her incredulity. “What the hell do you want?” she demanded, fixing him with a piercing stare that seemed to search his soul. “You made it clear you wanted a divorce, which I agreed to, yet you refuse to sign the papers. You ignored my calls for help during my ident, and now you won’t leave my hospital room. Noah, do you even realize how much you’re contradicting yourself?”


    At her words, Noah’s hand stilled on the apple, a sudden difort gripping him. He was at a loss, torn between his feelings and his pride.


    Remembering Sadie’s distant demeanor the previous day sent a jolt of pain through him, spurring a desperate need to mend things between them. Yet, his pride wouldn’t allow him to acknowledge how much he still cared about her.


    His voice turned icy as he replied, “Don’t read too much into it. I’m here merely to offer somefort, nothing more than a gesture of goodwill for the sake of our marriage.”


    A sharp pang struck Sadie’s heart at his words. Her eyes welled up with unshed tears, but she fought them back fiercely. “I don’t want your pity,” she dered, her voice breaking slightly. “I’ve cried over you for thest time.”


    As Sadie’s sorrowful confession hung in the air, Noah’s attention wavered. The fruit knife he was holding slipped, gouging a deep wound into his fingertip. A stream of blood trickled down, staining the apple’s flesh and spattering the pristine white bedsheet with startling crimson drops. Oblivious to the pain, Noah remained transfixed by Sadie’s deste tone until K’s rmed voice broke through his reverie.


    “Oh, Noah, you’ve hurt yourself!” she eximed, her concern palpable.


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    Yet, Noah paid her no mind. His gaze remained intensely fixed on Sadie, his eyes shimmering with unspoken agony. It was as though he was searching for a clue in her features, but he hesitated to meet her gaze directly, fearing the vulnerability it might expose.


    K tugged gently at Noah’s sleeve, her voice sweet yet insistent. “We should clean that wound and maybe get a tetanus shot. It looks pretty deep, and it definitely needs some bandaging.”


    Noah, however, didn’t respond, his gaze still fixed on Sadie, seemingly oblivious to K’s concern.


    With a subtle bite of her lip, masking her rising jealousy, K turned to Sadie and pleaded, “Sadie, could you please tell Noah to see a doctor? He’ll listen if it’sing from you.”


    Sadie offered K a mocking smile before her eyes settled on Noah with a serene expression, as if untouched by the tension.


    Looking at Noah with a cold indifference that was uncharacteristic of her, she dered, “Noah, whether you’re bleeding is entirely your own issue. You could bleed out for all I care; it wouldn’t matter to me one bit.”


    Noah stared at her, eyes wide with shock. Sadie had never spoken to him with such disdain before.


    K’s brow furrowed in disapproval as she turned to Sadie, her toneced with reproach. “Sadie, how can you be so indifferent? Noah cut himself while peeling that apple for you. Shouldn’t you show a little concern?”


    Sadie scoffed, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Concern? Really, K, let’s not be dramatic. How did Noah react when I was in that car ident? And now you expect me to fuss over his minor cut?”


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