Victor felt the softness of the woman in his arms, ncing down at Isadora Vaughan''s slender fingers entwined with his own. Something inside him began to thaw. Slowly, he tightened his grip on her hand—perhaps a bit too firmly, but she didn''t pull away.


    Isadora studied his handsome face, noticing the furrow in his brow had finally smoothed out. She knew he had forgiven her.


    She couldn''t deny it—she was relying on Victor''s affection for her, using it as a shield for her little schemes.


    Resting her head against his chest, she listened to the steady, heavy thump of his heart. How lucky she was, she thought, to have found this man.


    A soft winter breeze fluttered through the white, gauzy curtains, lifting one corner and letting azy shaft of early winter sunlight spill into the room, brushing gently across their silhouettes.


    After a while, Isadora looked up at him from his embrace. "Victor."


    He gazed down, his eyes dark and searching. "Yes?"


    She hesitated, pressing her lips together before speaking. "There are things I


    never told you. I want to be honest with you now."


    "When I first found out I was pregnant... I actually nned to move away, to... Eu


    Knock, knock!


    A sharp rap interrupted her confession. The door to the hospital room swung open.


    Nte stood on the threshold. "Am I interrupting something?"


    Behind her, Dr. Finley Pembroke appeared in his white coat, stethoscope draped around his neck, offering a polite, warm smile as he stepped inside.


    Realizing she was still nestled in Victor''s arms, Isadora flushed and quickly sat up straight.


    Victor rose with his usual quiet dignity, shooting Nte an irritated nce. When he spotted Finley behind her, his expression grew even darker.


    Finley just shrugged helplessly, as if to say, "Don''t look at me I couldn''t stop her."


    Nte''s gaze swept over Isadora, taking in her pale, drawn face and how fragile she looked.


    In two quick strides, Nte was at her side, enveloping Isadora in a fierce hug. "You scared me half to death!"


    Victor''s dark eyes narrowed further as he watched Nte clutch Isadora so tightly.


    Isadora coughed a couple times. "I''m alright, really. You can see I''m fine, can''t you?"


    Nte kept her hands firmly on Isadora''s shoulders, scrutinizing her from head to toe. "Fine? You nearly had one foot in the grave!"


    She shot a re over her shoulder at Finley. "It''s his fault for not telling me right away. You have no idea how furious I was when I finally heard about it!"


    Finley sighed in resignation. He''d waited untilsadora was awake before giving Nte the news-and judging by how Nte hade storming in, she''d nearly torn him to pieces for it. If Isadora hadn''t been lying in a hospital bed, Nte probably would havee after him with a knife.


    Some women, he thought, could bepletely unreasonable at times.


    Nte turned back to Isadora, her voice trembling with anger. "Just thinking about you nearly freezing to death makes me want to hunt down whoever did this to you! Who was it? Who had the nerve to lock you in that storage room and turn on the fréezer? Tell me, and I''ll make them pay!"


    Victor had deliberately kept the details vague after Isadora regained consciousness, not wanting her to worry.


    He''d simply exined that at the party, Olivia Walsh''s old nanny, upset over Olivia''s humiliation, had deliberately sent Wendy to clean the storage room and then used her to lure Isadora inside. The doorchad been shut, the freezer switched on.


    Later, the nanny confessed: she only meant to scare Isadora, never realizing she


    was pregnant or that things could go so terribly wrong.