Chapter 289
Chapter 289:
“It doesn’t matter,” Dallas spat. “Go back to him. I saw you. Downstairs. Just now p>
“You saw a fake!” Eliza leaned in, her face inches from his. “Look at me. Look at what I’m wearing. Look at this ridiculous cap. Does the woman downstairs look like she’s about to take your vitals? Did she have to sneak through a service corridor to get to you p>
Dallas looked. He saw the ill-fitting scrubs. He saw the frantic, terrifying honesty in her eyes.
“Weston said—” he started, his resolve cracking.
“Weston is an idiot,” Eliza cut him off. “Anson hired a double. A woman named Suki. Vance knows. Vance let me in p>
Vance. Dallas blinked. Vance wouldn’t let a traitor through. Vance was loyal to the bone.
“Why would Anson do that?” Dallas asked, his voice losing its edge.
“Because he wants to break us,” Eliza said, tears finally spilling over. “And you’re letting him. You’re helping him p>
“I thought—” Dallas swallowed hard. “I thought you went back to him. The photo in the rain p>
𝗖𝗁і𝗻еѕ𝖾 𝗇𝗈𝘷𝘦𝗹𝘴 𝗍𝗋𝖺nѕ𝘭𝗮t𝗲𝖽 o𝗻
“I was on the phone with you!” Eliza cried. “He walked in to bring me milk! It was a setup p>
Dallas looked at her. Really looked at her. He saw the exhaustion. The love. The sheer, immovable stubbornness.
“You came in through the staff corridor?” he asked softly.
“I would crawl through fire,” Eliza said. “I love you, Dallas Koch. And if you think a photograph is going to make me leave, then you don’t know me at all.” She leaned down and pressed her forehead against his. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
Dallas felt the wall around his heart shatter — not crumble, but explode.
“Never,” he groaned, the word catching in his throat. His good arm trembled as he lifted it, his fingers tangling weakly in the edge of her surgical cap. He couldn’t pull her to him with the force he wanted. Instead, he simply held on — a silent plea.
Eliza understood. She leaned down and closed the distance between them.
The kiss was soft and careful. It tasted of salt and antiseptic and fear, but beneath all of it was a desperate, profound relief. It wasn’t a kiss of passion. It was a homecoming.
For a moment, the pain in his leg vanished. The anger vanished. There was only her.
Heavy footsteps approached the door.
“I’ve got the lawyer on the line!” Weston’s voice boomed from the hallway. “He says we can file for emergency dissolution p>
Dallas broke the kiss. He looked at the door, then at Eliza.
“Hide,” he said.
“No.” Eliza stood up. “I’m done hiding p>
“Eliza, please.” Dallas gripped her hand. “Weston is furious. He might physically remove you before I can stop him. Just go in the bathroom. Give me one minute to handle him p>
Eliza looked at his eyes. He was trying to protect her, even now, broken and barely able to lift his arm.
“Fine,” she said. “One minute p>
She slipped into the bathroom and left the door open just a sliver.
Weston burst into the room.