Chapter 904

Dylan had no memory of getting out of the car.

It wasn't until the vehicle sped away and the roaring engine faded into the rain that

he finally snapped back to reality.

His hand was tightly gripping the umbrella Noreen had shoved at him.

Her final words echoed in the storm alongside him.

He let out a silent, self-deprecating laugh.

His eyes were hollow with absolute defeat.

He stood there in the pouring rain for a long, long time.

...

Noreen rushed Seth straight to the emergency room.

When the nurse took his temperature, she gasped.

"103.1 degrees!"

For an adult, a fever that high brought severe, agonizing symptoms.

It meant splitting migraines and full-body muscle aches.

She had no idea how he had managed to drive himself there.

Thankfully, he hadn't crashed.

After the nurse gave him a fever reducer and hooked up an IV drip, Noreen's racing heart finally started to settle.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Seth refused to let go of her hand.

His grip was tight, desperate.

It hurt, but Noreen didn't complain, simply letting him hold onto her.

Using her free hand, she grabbed some tissues to wipe the rainwater off his face.

Seth's cheeks were flushed from the fever, but his eyes were bright.

He kept staring at her.

"Go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up," Noreen coaxed softly.

But Seth refused to close his eyes.

He was terrified this was all a hallucination.

He didn't want to wake up.

He was afraid that the moment he blinked, the dream would shatter.

So he fought his exhaustion.

Sighing, Noreen gave him her word. "I'm not leaving. But you need to rest."

Seth double-checked, then triple-checked, until he was finally convinced she wasn't

lying. Only then did his heavy eyelids flutter shut.

He was asleep in seconds.

He was utterly drained.

However, the high fever made his sleep restless and uncomfortable.

Noreen found herself trying to operate her phone with one hand, which was incredibly frustrating.

Typing out a simple work instruction took twice as long as usual.

Fortunately, as the boss, no one questioned her delayed responses.

Just as she finished dealing with an email, Rosalind Gilmore's name flashed on the screen.

Panic spiked. Noreen hit the mute button and quickly checked to see if the ringing had disturbed Seth.

Seeing his steady breathing, she exhaled in relief.

She sent her mother a text.

She lied for the first time.

She claimed she was in a meeting and couldn't talk.

Rosalind didn't suspect a thing, merely asking when she was coming home so they could prep dinner.

Noreen hesitated before replying, "I'm not back in Rivercrest City yet."

"Still in Harborview? I thought you were flying back today."

"Something came up at the last minute."

The lies were piling up, and she was barely keeping the story straight.

Thank god they were texting. If they were on a call, her mother would have read her guilt immediately.

Rosalind bought it completely. "So when are you coming back?"

"Probably... in three or four days."

The doctor had mentioned Seth would likely need to stay for that long.

Rosalind had no doubts. "Perfect

Josie and I booked a senior.

tour

We'll be gone for four

days too."

To ease Noreen's worries, she promised she'd bring the caretaker along and take

her medication on time.

Noreen finally relaxed.

She sat by his side until the IV bag was empty, only breathing a sigh of relief when

the nurse removed the needle.

This time, Seth was in a private VIP

suite it was massive, far different.

freshed chaos in

the

Harborview City.

There was even a dedicated bed for a caretaker.

But since he refused to release his death grip on her hand, she couldn't

reach the bed. Exhausted, she

slumped against the edge of his

mattress and drifted off.

Somewhere between waking and sleeping, she felt the iron grip around her wrist loosen.

A moment later, a pair of strong arms pulled her into a warm embrace.