Xavier stared at her, his gaze clearly carrying the surprise that mirrored his tone.
As if he truly hadn’t expected her to be there.
Adelyn raised a brow at him, then glanced over her shoulder as if checking sothing behind her.
When she turned back to him, she asked calmly,
"Did you lose your way, sir?"
Xavier frowned. He was just about to explain when Adelyn added,
"This is my ho. Of course, I would be here."
There was a trace of deliberate sarcasm in her words.
Hearing that, Xavier’s frown deepened.
His fist clenched at his side.
"Do you have to be so sharp? Can’t we talk properly for once?"
Adelyn checked the ti on her watch. She didn’t owe him a conversation —but she knew she couldn’t avoid it forever.
Not when he had shown up right at her door.
Still, she wasn’t about to let him disrupt her schedule.
So, looking at him, she said,
"I wasn’t being sharp, Dr. Colsen. I responded to you the way I found appropriate."
"You—"
"As for having a proper talk," she cut him off smoothly, "if you want, we can have one. But—"
Xavier was just about to agree when that ’but’ made him pause.
He frowned, already anticipating what she would say next—and disliking it.
"But I don’t have ti for it now," she finished, stepping out and locking the door behind her.
"We can arrange it later."
Xavier stared at her, his frown darkening.
"You don’t have ti for now?" he asked.
At that, Adelyn paused.
She slowly turned to look at him, studying him as though she were trying to understand a language she no longer spoke.
That gaze only infuriated him further.
"Adelyn, you weren’t like this before. You—"
"Dr. Colsen," Adelyn interrupted, a faint, controlled smile settling on her lips, "you seem to have forgotten sothing. Before has long passed. We’re not living in the sa ti anymore."
"When I agreed to talk to you, I didn’t an to let you assu I owe you that conversation," she continued, taking a slow, asured breath. "I said it so we could settle things once and for all."
"You think we can settle things just like that?" Xavier stepped forward, almost reaching for her arm.
But Adelyn shifted lightly, avoiding him with ease.
She looked at him, her gaze turning cold.
"You misunderstood again, Dr. Colsen. We settled things long ago. The only thing that seems to be remaining between us is closure, which I think you need to let go of completely."
"Adelyn ..."
"As I said, I have sowhere to be. I can’t stand here and have this conversation with you," she said. "If you can wait, fine. If not ..."
She paused briefly, then added—
"That would only make things easier for ."
With that, she gave him a polite look —one that felt far too distant —and walked past him without another glance.
Xavier’s jaw clenched as he watched her leave.
Her indifference felt like a blade twisting inside him. The more he felt it, the sharper the pain beca.
He wanted to explain everything to her —to tell her she still ant the sa to him.
But every ti she acted like this, frustration rose before anything else could.
Adelyn had never been docile —not even before.
But at least back then, she hadn’t been this indifferent.
She hadn’t needed him the way he wanted to be needed —but she had cared, in her own way.
So why wasn’t she the sa anymore?
His phone vibrated, pulling him out of his thoughts.
He took it out, glanced at the screen, and answered irritably,
"Why are you calling ? I’m on leave and—"
"Dr. Colsen," the voice on the other end spoke urgently, "your fiancée is here at the hospital. I thought you should be inford."
Xavier’s brows imdiately furrowed.
"Clara is at the hospital?" he asked sharply.
"Yes, she’s here," the caller confird.
His frown deepened. "I’m coming," he said as he started walking to leave.
From the far end of the corridor, a pair of cold eyes followed his retreating figure.
Even after seven years ... nothing had much changed.
—————
At the hospital—
Liam and Charlotte’s car finally arrived.
Stepping out, they hurried inside without delay.
At the reception desk, Liam spoke quickly,
"Hello, we’re here for Clara Scott. Can you tell us where she is?"
The receptionist nodded and checked the records.
"She’s in the General dical Ward on the VIP floor," she said, gesturing toward the elevator. "You can take that one."
Liam nodded and imdiately guided Charlotte toward it.
Once they reached the floor and stepped out, they saw Maria standing nearby.
Liam walked up to her at once.
"What happened to her?"
Maria looked visibly shaken, almost like a frightened cat.
Seeing her like that, Liam’s frown deepened. His mind imdiately went to the worst.
But Maria spoke quickly,
"CEO Scott, Ms. Scott is inside," she said, pointing toward the ward. "The doctor is checking on her. I still don’t know what’s wrong. I found her in her apartnt this morning —she had fainted. I’m not sure for how long."
"You weren’t with her?" Liam asked, his patience thinning dangerously.
Maria shrank slightly under his gaze but shook her head.
"Ms. Scott wasn’t in the right mood yesterday. She asked to leave after we reached her apartnt."
"She asked you to leave, and you just left?" Liam snapped. "Haven’t I told you to stay with her —especially when she isn’t in the right state?"
"I—"
Before she could continue, the ward door opened.
Liam turned imdiately.
Through the gap, he caught sight of Clara lying on the bed —pale, weak, and unconscious.
"Clara ..." he whispered, instinctively stepping forward.
But before he could enter, the door closed, and the doctor stepped out.
"CEO Scott," the doctor greeted.
Liam looked at him, about to speak—
But Charlotte beat him to it.
"Doctor," she asked anxiously, her voice trembling, "how is my daughter? What’s wrong with her? Is she alright?"
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