?Chapter 1443:


    He hadn’t figured it out on the ne.


    But now, sitting beside her bed, it hit him clear as day. He just wasn’t ready to say it out loud.


    Ste’s breaths came uneven, like she was stuck in a bad dream. He’d seen her sleep like this before, tossing and turning.


    He watched her face in the soft light, and before he knew it, hours slipped by. The window started showing the first hints of dawn.


    When she shifted and looked ready to wake, William stood up fast and left the room without a sound.


    A few minutester, Ste’s eyes fluttered open, and a sharp cramp twisted through her belly.


    After a full night, the pain hadn’t eased at all. If anything, it felt worse.


    She almost wished she could ck out again. At least unconscious, she wouldn’t feel a thing.


    Footsteps approached. Tasha poked her head in, worry etched on her face. “Ms. Russell, any better?”


    Ste shook her head weakly. “No. Still hurts like hell.”


    Tasha frowned, at a loss.


    Then a tall figure stepped in behind her. William’s deep voice cut through the quiet.


    “Get up. I’m taking you to the hospital.”


    Ste blinked in shock, not sure when he’d even gotten back.


    Tasha nodded eagerly. “You really should go. An IV might knock this out.”


    Ste had never gone to the ER for cramps before. Her first instinct was to say no.


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    But before she could get the words out, William added, “You’ve got half an hour.”


    It wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order she didn’t have the strength—or the right—to argue with.


    Ste’s mouth tugged into a slight, wry grimace. Left with no other choice, she pushed herself up from the bed slowly, gritting her teeth against the waves of pain that rolled through her, and made her way to wash up.


    Tasha hurried in to support her, keenly aware that Ste remained upset by what William had said earlier. Standing beside the sink, Tasha offered gently, “Ms. Russell, Mr. Briggs was genuinely worried about you. He came back on short noticest night because he feared you mighte to harm. He even kept watch in your room throughout the entire night and hasn’t slept a single moment since then.”


    Ste blinked in surprise at this revtion. She had assumed William had only returned this morning.


    Had he truly stayed in her room all night?


    She wondered if he had simply been waiting to witness the moment when she finally sumbed to the pain. The idea that he possessed any genuinepassion for her seemed impossible to believe.


    After freshening up as best she could, Ste descended the stairs. William sat on the sofa, already showered and changed into fresh clothes that carried the faint scent of cedar and soap. He set down the magazine he had been holding and rose to his feet.


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