The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 83

The crisp chill of the autumn night seeped through the cracks in the walls, infiltrating the hospital room.

The heating was weak.

Nora was still wearing her dress, so Maloney requested a thick blanket and draped it over her.

Maloney wasn't dressed warmly either, so Nora, nestled in his arms, pulled the edges of the blanket up to wrap them both together.

The room's lights were off, leaving only the faint glow from the hallway filtering through the small glass window on the door.

Jasmine's eardrum had been damaged by the slap, which would temporarily affect her hearing, but she was otherwise fine. There were no beeping medical machines, making the room remarkably quiet.

The silence was almost suffocating.

Nora fidgeted restlessly.

Maloney held Nora close, resting her head against his chest. His hand moved gently up and down her back in a soothing, rhythmic motion to calm her nerves.

Jasmine's ordeal had dragged Nora's mind back to her own past.

She was hurting.

When Nora shifted for the third time, Maloney shifted her into his lap. Gazing down at her teary eyes, he reached out and touched her cheek. His thumb brushed lightly over the corner of her eye, smudging her peach eyeshadow.

He then rubbed away a patch of her blush.

Maloney kept tracing the contours of her face for a long time.

Unable to hold back, she whispered, "What is it?"

"You still have your makeup on."

"Oh, right."

"I'll go get you some makeup wipes."

Maloney stood up and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a pack of wipes.

Nora first carefully wiped Jasmine's face clean.

As she turned toward the bathroom to handle her own, Maloney caught her arm. "Let me do it," he murmured.

Nora blinked in surprise but nodded. "Okay."

Truth be told, wipes weren't great for removing heavy makeup.

And Maloney's touch was far too gentle.

He completely missed the edges around her eyes.

The hospital walls were paper-thin, and since Nora was already on edge, the noise woke her instantly.

Nora sat up, rubbing her eyes in a panic. "What's going on?"

"I'll go check." Maloney tucked the blanket securely around her and stepped out of the room.

Uneasy, Nora quickly followed him.

It was Yates.

He was demanding to see Jasmine, but the bodyguards were blocking his path. He was shouting in the corridor, clearly trying to wake her up.

Maloney frowned. "She's asleep. Whatever you have to say can wait until morning."

"Mr. Jameson, I know you're powerful and used to calling the shots," Yates shot back aggressively. "But I'm her fiancé. I have the right to look after her, and you have no authority to keep me out."

"You two aren't legally married. By law, a fiancé has no guardianship rights," Nora said as she stepped forward. "Yates, you have no right to force your way in here."

"Nora." Seeing her, Yates softened his tone and explained, "Valery just woke up. She's blaming herself for ruining the engagement party. Please, go wake Jasmine up so she can comfort Valery."

"Jasmine just got a slap, it's not a big deal. But Valery has a weak heart. The doctor said she can't handle extreme emotions, so we need to calm her down immediately."

"Valery used to be so good to you, always giving you little gifts. You wouldn't just stand by and watch her suffer, right? Be a good friend, Nora, and go wake Jasmine up."