The Unwavering Heart That Broke (Nathalie and Lance) novel Chapter 697

Chapter 697

Chapter 697

The room fell into absolute silence.

Nathalie stared blankly at the wall, a suffocating aura of despair radiating from her.

Lance couldn’t see her, forced to rely entirely on his remaining senses. But she wasn’t making a sound, and her breathing was so shallow he couldn’t even guess what she was feeling right now.

A sharp spike of anxiety hit his chest. He reached out blindly until he found her hand, his fingers instantly wrapping around hers. Her skin was freezing. He gripped her tighter, desperately trying to transfer his own body heat to her.

He forced a light, breezy tone, though the raw grit in his voice betrayed him completely. “I’m just messing with you. Obviously, I’m not going to chain you to me for the rest of your life. Don’t carry that weight. Once my eyes are fully healed, the debt is cleared, and we’ll go finalize the divorce.” Nathalie turned her head, staring at the man trying so hard to comfort her. He was the one sitting there blind. He was the one who had practically

burned the world down to refuse the divorce.

And now… was he actually surrendering?

A vicious cramp seized her heart, making her breath hitch. She looked down at his large, elegant hand enveloping hers. The veins on the back of his hand were bulging, a dead giveaway of how fiercely he was holding himself together.

Nathalie slowly curled her fingers inward, giving his hand a soft, deliberate squeeze in response.

Beneath the thick white bandages, Lance’s eyebrows shot up.

Chapter 697

Progress.

His voice dropped even deeper, a low rasp. “Don’t drown yourself in guilt. Everything I did, did willingly.”

Then, he heard Nathalie take a sharp, ragged breath.

He gave her hand a solid tug, pulling her right into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and to his absolute shock, she didn’t pull away.

The clean, subtle scent that was uniquely hers flooded his senses,

weaving flawlessly with his own.

Lance swallowed hard, every last trace of his panic melting away.

…

After resting at the hotel for a couple of hours, Madonna returned to the hospital room. Elara happened to be checking on the patient.

Spotting her, Elara smiled warmly. “Madonna, you’re back?”

Madonna smiled and nodded. “Yes. I heard what happened to Lance and couldn’t sit still. I had to fly back.”

Elara reassured her, “Don’t worry about a thing. I run diagnostics on him every day. He’s making incredible progress.”

She paused, then added cheerfully, “Oh, right! Nathalie’s doing much better too. Her vocal cords are healing.”

Madonna frowned sharply. “What’s wrong with her?”

Elara blinked, surprised. “Madonna, you didn’t know? Nathalie lost her

voice.”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Bagot mentioned they both inhaled some kind of neurotoxin, which caused all of this.”

Madonna gave a slow, rigid nod. “I see.

Chapter 697

She pushed the door open and walked in. Aaron was standing by the

window, and Lance was sitting up in bed. Hearing the door, Lance tilted his head slightly toward the sound.

“Lance, it’s me.”

Madonna’s voice shook the second she spoke.

Seeing her proud, unstoppable son reduced to this shattered her heart all over again.

She forced the tears back and cleared her throat. “I spoke with your doctors. Your external wounds are basically healed. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for your eyes. You can be discharged to rest at home.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed smoothly. “I’ve already decided. I’m checking out the day after tomorrow and heading back to Cabinda.”

Madonna quickly added, “We’ll fly back together. I’ll stay at the house and take care of you. I know your vision will come back.”

“I’m not going back to the main estaté,” Lance said flatly.