Chapter 475
[ 489 words ]
Chapter 475:
Caroline looked up. “What kind of questions?”
“About you. Your clearance status. Your marriage. Whether Colonel Romero gave you preferential treatment. Whether anyone has documented how often you’re alone with him.”
The pieces clicked into place with a cold, clean logic, but this time it wasn’t discovery. It was confirmation, and it was uglier than jealousy.
“She’s not trying to get his attention anymore,” Caroline said quietly.
S𝖺𝗏𝘦 𝘆𝗈𝘂𝗋 𝗳𝖺𝘷o𝗿𝗂te 𝗇о𝘃𝖾l𝘀 𝗈𝗇 𝘨𝗮𝘭𝗻𝗈v𝘦𝗅𝘀.с𝗈m
Evelyn nodded grimly. “No. She tried that and got burned.”
Caroline watched Ashley tilt her head toward a young nurse, her expression soft with practiced concern. A second later, both women glanced toward Caroline, then quickly looked away.
“She’s building a narrative,” Caroline said.
“Bingo,” Evelyn murmured. “You are the obstacle, so she’ll try to make you look like the problem. Unprofessional. Favored. Distracting the Colonel. Maybe even compromising command decisions.”
There was no anger in Caroline’s heart, no jealousy. Just a kind of weary resignation, sharpened now by strategy. She picked up her spoon and took a bite of her food, as if Evelyn had just been discussing the weather.
“Then I won’t give her anything useful,” Caroline said. “No scenes. No private confrontations. No emotional reaction she can quote later.”
Evelyn smiled faintly. “That is the smartest thing you’ve said all morning.”
Across the tent, Ashley laughed again, a little too loudly, a little too sweetly. Caroline didn’t look over this time. She kept eating, her posture calm, her face unreadable. If Ashley wanted a performance, she would have to star in it alone.
Evelyn stared at Caroline’s placid face, completely baffled. “You’re not even a little bit worried?”
Caroline finished chewing, then carefully placed her fork down on her tray. She wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, her movements precise and unhurried.
She looked directly at Evelyn, her eyes clear and steady. “I’m worried about aftershocks, patient infections, and whether our supply of antibiotics will last. A woman who has a fantasy about my husband is his problem to manage, not mine.”
Her logic was so absolute, her delegation of responsibility so complete, that it left Evelyn speechless. It was a level of trust that was almost terrifying.
“Okay, fair enough,” Evelyn conceded. “But you at least have to let him know she exists.”
Caroline nodded. “I will. But not now. I’m not going to bother him with something so trivial right before he leaves.”
Her consideration, her refusal to engage in the drama, was something Evelyn couldn’t quite comprehend. She just shook her head. “You’re a strange one, Caroline Romero.”
After lunch, they returned to the medical center. The afternoon passed in a blur of routine tasks. Late in the day, a familiar, imposing figure appeared at the entrance of the tent.
It was Jarrod. He strode in as if he owned the place, his gaze sweeping the room until it found her. His appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone present, including Ashley, who was restocking a supply cart nearby, and Julian, who was reviewing a chart in the corner.
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