I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 187

By the time Xander carried her out of the hotel lobby, his assistant had already pulled the car around to the entrance.

He ducked inside to place Nora in the backseat before climbing in from the other side.

The assistant glanced in the rearview mirror, noted the distance between the two in the back, and tactfully raised the privacy partition.

The confined space now held just the two of them.

Nora leaned against the leather seat. Although the drugs had somewhat diluted over time, the relentless heat churning inside her made it impossible to sit still.

Her cheeks flushed with an unnatural crimson, and her breathing was much quicker than usual. Her fingers unconsciously gripped the lapels of the suit jacket wrapped around her.

She turned to look at the man beside her. Xander was staring out the window, the passing streetlights washing over his face, highlighting the sharp lines of his jaw in the shifting shadows.

She quickly looked away.

Xander cracked his window, letting the crisp late autumn night breeze slip inside.

He didn't look at her, but his deep voice drifted over. "Is this a bit better?"

Nora turned and nodded, her voice still a little raspy. "Thank you, Mr. Harrison."

She was actually still fighting the burning heat, but she was too embarrassed to lose her composure in front of a man she barely knew.

Leaning against the headrest, she closed her eyes, the events of the night playing on a loop in her mind. She could never have anticipated that her friend of ten years would personally orchestrate handing her over to a stranger.

Noticing her sudden silence, Xander glanced over at her.

Her eyelashes fluttered faintly, and her lips were pressed in a tight line. Her entire face was a portrait of someone desperately suppressing a heavy emotional burden.

Hearing that actually put Nora at ease.

That was exactly the Xander she knew—meticulously calculating, making sure no debts remained, and ensuring absolutely no one got the wrong idea.

She murmured a soft agreement and said nothing more.

The atmosphere in the car froze over, dropping several degrees. She wondered if she was just imagining things.

They arrived at Capital General Hospital shortly after. The attending physician examined her and administered an antidote, advising that she stay for a few hours of observation before leaving.

Nora had regained some strength, but as she stood up from the ER chair to walk toward the observation room, her legs remained weak. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled slightly.

Without a word, Xander picked her up again, carrying her down the hall toward the observation room.