Chapter 331
Brandon and Joseph exchanged glancès rare approval passing between them. For otice, Adam had handled a situation exactly as they would have.
Irene lingered in the stairway shadow, listening. Something unfamiliar fluttered beneath her ribs–not quite butterflies, but close cousins. Her lips curved upward before she even realized she was smiling.
*Mom!”
Three heads whipped around simultaneously, radar–locked on her presence. The triplets swarmed her in seconds.
Alex’s glasses slid down his nose. “You never said anything about being attacked!”
“Did they hurt you?” Lucas’s eyes were wide with worry.
Lily clutched Irene’s sleeve. “We’ll be your bodyguards from now on!
Their concern hit Irene like a warm wave. Their fierce protectiveness–so adult in such small packages–made her chest ache with
love.
“That horrible lady!” Lily’s little chin jutted out. “First she goes after Uncle Adam, then she tries to hurt you? She’s the worst person
ever!
Irene knelt down, smoothing Lily’s hair. “Don’t worry about me. Adam was there. You know nothing bad happens when he’s around.
She’d meant it casually–just reassurance that the adults had handled things–but the triplets exchanged lightning–fast glances that screamed conspiracy. In their minds, the equation was simple: Mom trusts Adam + Adam protects Mom = Wedding Bells Soon.
Alex nodded solemnly. “Uncle Adam wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“You should take him everywhere!” Lily bounced on her toes. “Like a superhero bodyguard!”
Heat crawled up Irene’s neck as she registered the amused looks from the adults in the room. Brandon’s smirk was particularly
insufferable.
“I’m–uh–going to start dinner,” she mumbled, making a tactical retreat to the kitchen before her face could betray her completely.
The clock on the wall ticked past eight when Irene slipped into Adam’s room later that night, treatment equipment in hand. The door clicked shut behind her, sealing them in their own private world.
She waited until her hands were busy with the equipment before asking the question that had burned in her mind all day.
“Did you get Samantha arrested?”
Her fingers paused over his leg, waiting. The silence held weight.
Adam’s eyes found hers. “Yes.”
One syllable. No explanation needed.
Irene’s hands resumed their work, but slower now. “She was supposed to marry your cousin, right? Won’t your family be furious?*
The concern in her voice was for him, not herself. Adam watched her bent head, the way strands of hair fell across her forehead as she worked. Something in his chest melted at the edges.
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Chapter 331
“Let them be mad, he said, softer than she’d ever heard him speak. You’re my personal doctor.”
Personal doctor.
Two ordinary words that shot through Irene like electricity, Not just any doctor. His doctor. Something about the possessiveness in his tone sent warmth spiraling through her body, bubbling up beneath her skin until her cheeks felt hot.
Irene ducked her head, suddenly fascinated by the equipment settings. She felt sixteen again–not the confident surgeon who’d faced down medical crises without flinching, but a woman caught off guard by unexpected feelings.
The treatment machine hummed softly in the background. Neither spoke for several minutes, but the silence wasn’t empty–it was filled with things taking shape between them, still unnamed but growing stronger by the day.
Irene adjusted the final electrode, fingers lingering a moment longer than necessary against his skin. When she looked up, Adam was watching her with an intensity that made her breath catch.
“All set,” she murmured, but made no move to pull away. The room seemed to shrink around them, the world outside fading to insignificance.
For tonight, they were just a man and a woman, finding their way toward something that felt increasingly inevitable.
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