He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 70

"Don't touch me!"

Nelson's hand froze in mid-air. Seeing her visceral repulsion, a sharp, suffocating tightness gripped his chest. "Don't touch you? Is there an inch of your body I haven't already touched?"

Throwing that kind of violation in a woman's face was the cruelest way to strip her of any response.

The moment the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted it. He stepped forward and pulled her tightly against his chest. "Alright, stop. Are you hungry? Did you even eat dinner?"

"Don't touch me..."

Her voice was a broken whisper. She didn't even try to fight him anymore; the words slipped out like a hollow, detached murmur.

Nelson frowned deeply, looking down at her. He gently tapped her cheek. "June?"

It was as if she couldn't even hear him.

Panic finally flashed in his eyes. He shoved her into the backseat of the car, slammed the door, and floored the accelerator straight to the nearest hospital.

Juniper sat perfectly still in the backseat, her eyelashes lowered, so quiet she barely seemed to exist at all.

The emergency room doctor ran a full examination. Physically, she was just suffering from malnutrition and exhaustion. Mentally, however, the doctor strongly advised an immediate psychiatric evaluation.

Nelson stood frozen in the middle of the room. "What the hell does that mean?"

The doctor adjusted his glasses, his tone extremely cautious. "Mr. Saint, Ms. Lane is not in any immediate physical danger, just dealing with the toll of some old health issues. Her current state, however, suggests a severe psychological break. It's highly likely that a recent trauma triggered a deeply repressed memory, causing an acute dissociative episode."

Dr. Alistair Vaughn happened to be walking past the emergency bay when he spotted Juniper sitting completely alone in the exam room.

Surprise flickered in his eyes. He walked in slowly, resting his hands on his knees as he crouched down to her eye level. "Juniper?"

Juniper lifted her vacant eyes. The second she registered the face in front of her, the tears she had been fighting back finally shattered and streamed down her face.

"Cillian."

She practically lost control, throwing her arms tightly around Alistair's waist.

Alistair froze entirely, his mouth falling open slightly, his hands hovering awkwardly in the air, completely unsure of what to do.

Juniper clung to him like a drowning woman who had just found her final lifeline.

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