Chapter 423 Fear of Abandonment
Chapter 423 Fear of Abandonment <fnaa9c> Get full chapters from fι?dnοvel</fnaa9c>
“I won’t abandon you again!” Quinn blurted, the promise rushing out before thought.
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Julius‘ eyes remained dark. “Sure. Maybe you’d never leave me by choice. But what if life leaves you no choice?”
Quinn’s throat closed around any answer.
The man reached for the wall, found the switch, and flooded the room with light.
White light spilled across the apartment, painting both of them in its stark glow.
Only now did Quinn truly see him. He had grown leaner, hisplexion nearly translucent, and the bruised crescents beneath his eyes had deepened into midnight smudges.
It was obvious his insomnia had found no relief.
His gaze dropped to the ster cast encasing Quinn’s right calf. Then, in one fluid motion, he bent and scooped her into his arms, setting her gently on the couch.
“I’ll have someone drive you home,” he said, reaching for his phone.
Quinn caught his hand, stopping the call. “It’ste. I don’t want any more hassle tonight. Let me stay here… Just for one night, please,” she pleaded.
Julius‘ brows pinched together as he stared at the bed as though it were an unsolved equation. “Fine. You can sleep here then,” he said, voice t and measured. “I’ll take the room next door.”
Yet Quinn kept her fingers locked around his sleeve, knuckles white against the dark fabric. “My leg isn’t steady,” she whispered, eyes bright but unwavering. “Back at the hospital, I always had a caregiver apany me through the night. Can you stay here with me? If I fall, I’d feel safer knowing you can help me.”
Not long ago, Julius had needed her heartbeat near his own before sleep would im him. Tonight, the roles were reversed; Quinn could not even picture closing her eyes unless he remained within reach.
Julius pressed his lips into a bloodless line. They both knew the truth–she was a fighter, agile enough to dance through danger, cast or no cast.
The rejection stalled in his throat, smothered by a stubborn, irrational fear that she might stumble when he wasn’t looking.
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Chapter 423 Fear of Abandonment
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He understood her strength, yet the image of her falling sliced through him like a de.
Finally, his shoulders sagged in surrender. “All right. We’ll stay in the same room tonight,” Julius said. “Tomorrow, I’ll hire a caregiver to keep an eye on you.”
Relief slipped from Quinn in a single, shaky breath. “Then I’ll wash up first,” she replied, her voice suddenly light.
The day had dragged her across highways and terminals, leaving dust on her shoes and fatigue in every bone.
Without a word, Julius bent and scooped her into his arms. The ache in her leg did nothing to dull the brief, dizzy lift of weightlessness. At the bathroom door, he set her down as gently as if she were fine crystal. “Spare toiletries are inside,” he murmured, fingers grazing the switch. “Call me when you’re done.”
“Okay,” Quinn answered with a small nod, slipping beyond the frosted ss.
Steam curled beneath the vanity light as Quinn faced her reflection–wind–tousled hair, cheeks flushed, eyes burning with resolve–and let out a long breath.
At <i>least </i><i>Julius </i><i>yielded </i><i>and </i><i>agreed </i><i>to </i><i>stay </i><i>with </i><i>me </i><i>tonight</i><i>… </i><i>But </i><i>what </i><i>happens </i><i>when </i><i>morning </i><i>burns </i><i>this </i><i>spell </i><i>away? </i>
The thought of him retreating overnight wed at her stomach, yet she steadied herself over the sink.
<i>Then </i><i>again</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>know </i><i>he </i><i>loves </i><i>me </i><i>still</i><i>. </i><i>Even </i><i>if </i><i>I </i><i>must </i><i>use every </i><i>trick </i><i>I </i><i>know</i><i>, </i><i>I’ll </i><i>strip </i><i>away </i><i>his </i><i>doubts </i><i>until </i><i>he </i><i>wants </i><i>us back </i><i>together </i><i>again</i>.
With that, she began washing up, rehearsing words that might calm the storm behind his eyes.
Just then, knuckles tapped softly on the door. “Fabian just brought your suitcase,” Julius informed.
“Okay. Got it!,” Quinn replied, grateful for the fresh set of clothes she could finally change into.
Minutester, wrapped in pale silk pajamas, she stepped out–and froze. Julius stood beside the nightstand, tipping a prescription bottle until a heap of white tablets filled his palm, jaw set for the plunge.
Despite the cast on her leg, Quinn lunged. She stumbled, nearly fell, but her hand locked around his wrist just in time, causing the pills to scatter like hail across the carpet.
“Sleeping pills again?” she cried, eyes zing. “You can’t swallow that many at once. Do you
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Chapter 423 Fear of Abandonment
have any idea how lethal that is?”
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<i>If </i>I’de out a second <iter</i><i>, </i><i>would </i><i>he </i><i>have </i><i>tossed </i><i>them </i><i>back </i><i>without </i><i>blinking</i>? <i>And </i><i>how </i><i>many </i><i>nights</i>, when I couldn’t <i>see </i>him, <i>has </i><i>he </i><i>been </i><i>downing </i><i>handfuls </i><i>just </i><i>like </i><i>this</i><i>? </i>
Only minutes earlier, he had shaken a hill of capsules into his palm–so many that the portion dwarfed every reckless dose she had ever seen him swallow.
“It isn’t fatal. I know exactly where my limits lie,” Julius said. “My system is stubborn. Any drug hits me softer than it would a normal patient, so rest easy. These tablets will not affect the stem cell procedure. Everything will go on as usual.”
Quinn seized thepels of his shirt and yanked him downward until their eyes met at a horizontal line. “I don’t care about the donation… I care about you! Julius, gulp one more handful like that, and I will not let it slide,” she eximed, voice shaking the space between them.
“These pills are the Whitethorn family’s newest form,” he murmured, dropping his gaze to avoid hers. “They leave almost no side effects. You truly do not need to worry.”
“And if I choose to worry anyway?” she shot back. “You’ve already said this is a new form. New means untested. How can anyone swear that months of heavy use will be harmless?”