Success in these tasks would mean a steady income, crucial for sustaining her and her child’s future.
As Jim began to pack his medical kit, signaling his departure, Sadie felt a surge of urgency.
“Dr. Archer!” she called out, her voice laced with hesitation and quiet desperation.
Jim paused, turning back to face her with an expression of soft concern. “What is it?” he inquired gently.
Sadie chewed on her lower lip, her nerves fluttering. After a torturous pause, she mustered the courage to ask, “Could I… borrow one thousand dollars from you?”
She dipped her head, her gaze anchored to the floor, cheeks tinged with the soft blush of embarrassment. The silence between them stretched, fraught with her anxiety.
She knew her request was bold, given the casual nature of her acquaintance with Jim.
But desperation had backed her into this tight corner, and she had nowhere else to turn.
Jim, for his part, seemed genuinely surprised, his eyebrows arching as he processed her unexpected plea.
To him, a thousand dollars was a mere pittance. But for Sadie, at this moment, that money was nothing short of survival.
“Absolutely,” Jim responded, his voice imbued with a warmth that underscored his willingness to help. “But since you can’t leave, what do you need the money for?”
A weary sigh slipped from Sadie’s lips as she cast her eyes downward.
“I need a phone,” she said, her words barely audible.
She wanted to get in touch with Alex.
Her plan to vanish-disappear without a trace-would stand a better chance with Alex’s help.
With everything hanging in the balance, he was the only one she dared to trust-sharp-minded and always in control.
Jim paused, his brow furrowed in thought as he seemed to grasp her intention.
From the inner pocket of his crisply tailored suit jacket, he pulled out a phone, his slender fingers gliding smoothly over its screen to unlock it. He extended it toward Sadie with a steady hand, his voice even but imbued with quiet resolve.
“Here, take this,” he offered, the corners of his mouth lifting subtly in reassurance.
Sadie’s hand hovered, hesitant, not immediately accepting the device. “This is your phone. Are you sure it’s alright for me to use it?” she murmured, her voice tinged with guilt. “What if someone needs to contact you for work? It might cause you trouble.”
Reluctance flickered across her face, betraying her worry about imposing on Jim or accumulating too many debts of gratitude. As Jim observed her cautious demeanor, his smile widened just a fraction, a spark of warmth in his eyes.
“It’s my personal phone,” he assured her. “Very few people know the number, so you’ll be fine using it.”
He took a thoughtful pause, his gaze locking with hers earnestly. “Besides, if I were to buy you a phone and Noah discovered it, that could lead to unnecessary complications.”
Touched by his considerate words, Sadie felt a warmth spread through her chest.
She finally accepted the phone, her fingers brushing against his as she took it.
“Thank you so much,” she murmured, her gratitude resonating deeply in her quiet, heartfelt expression.
Jim felt a surprising tenderness swell in his heart.
He lingered in the room, observing as Sadie carefully slid his phone into the pocket of her soft pajamas.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he turned on his heel and opened the door. As he walked out of the room, he was caught off guard by the sight of Kyla.
It was clear she had been standing there for a while, her posture tense and suspicious.
Jim’s brows knitted together, a shadow of annoyance crossing his features.
“Were you eavesdropping?” he asked, his voice tinged with cool reproach, his eyes narrowing slightly as they scanned Kyla’s flustered expression.
Taken aback by his piercing stare, Kyla instinctively stepped back, shaking her head vehemently. “No… it’s not like that. I just happened to be passing by,” she stammered, her eyes darting away, betraying her discomfort.
Jim, catching the slight quiver in her voice, let a sardonic smile play across his lips.
“Passing by?” he echoed, his tone dripping with skepticism. “You care about Sadie quite a bit, Miss Wade. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were sisters.”
Kyla’s cheeks flushed a deep red, the sting of Jim’s sarcasm palpable in the air.
His words mocked her behavior, suggesting she was meddling in matters beyond her concern.
Biting her lip, Kyla clenched her fists at her sides, her nails pressing into her palms as she fought to control her rising irritation.
Despite the anger simmering within, she managed a strained smile. “I’m just making sure she’s alright,” she asserted, striving to sound composed even as her voice betrayed a faint tremble.
Jim dismissed her words with a cold shoulder, striding away decisively. His towering silhouette soon vanished down the long, dimly lit corridor, leaving Kyla frozen in place, her fists clenched and shaking with suppressed fury.
Her eyes, dark with resentment, followed Jim’s fading figure. Taking a deep, shaky breath to calm her mounting anger, she snapped her wrist up, the door to the master bedroom clicking open sharply under her forceful push.
Inside, Sadie was just about to dial Alex’s number when the sudden noise of the door made her start. Her fingers fumbled, and she quickly shoved her phone under the quilt.
As she looked up, her gaze met Kyla’s, who stood framed in the doorway, her expression unreadable yet undeniably stern.
Sensing Sadie’s flustered demeanor, Kyla marched over, her steps echoing with authority.
“What are you hiding?” she demanded, her voice slicing through the tense air, bristling with suspicion. “You’re acting way too suspicious!” She reached forward, her hands grasping at the quilt.
Sadie blanched, her face draining of color as panic flared in her eyes.
The discovery of the phone would shatter her carefully laid plans.
Desperate, she shoved Kyla back, yelling, “Stop acting crazy!”
Her push was gentle, hardly more than a nudge, but Kyla, already weakened by the intense night before, stumbled. Her legs gave way, and she crumpled to the floor, her clothing twisting and bunching up around her limbs.
Sadie’s eyes trailed over the red marks marring her skin-marks left by kisses that were too eager, bites that lingered too long, and touches that were far too rough.
It was an undeniable trace of a night’s untamed heat.
The revelation sent a jolt through her, her breath catching in her throat.
Kyla staggered to her feet, her movements clumsy yet filled with an indignant energy.
“You actually dared to push me?” Her voice cut through the air, laced with sheer disbelief.
When she caught the direction of Sadie’s gaze, her lips twisted into a smug smirk.
She slowly adjusted her rumpled clothes, her eyes shimmering with unspoken stories of conquest.
“Did you see this?” she asked, drawing out the words with a tantalizing slowness, her voice dripping with provocation. “Noah is always so…”
Kyla trailed off, her eyes darting as she searched for just the right description, finally settling with a flourish. “Passionate,” she declared, the word tinged with a mix of coquettish delight and pride.
Meanwhile, Sadie’s hands balled into fists at her sides, her nails pressing painfully into her palms-yet she felt nothing but a cold numbness.
She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply to steady her racing heart. When she opened them again, her expression was serene, almost detached.
Was there a hint of relief in her calm demeanor?
Perhaps there was.
She was relieved that she had fallen out of love with Noah before his darker sides had fully emerged into the light.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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