Chapter 1172
“Miss Gilmore, do you miss me that much? Listening to me breathe for a whole minute and you still refuse to hang up?”
Noreen’s ears burned instantly, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She had clearly been waiting for him to speak first, but the way he spun it, she sounded like a lovesick teenager savoring a moment of intimacy.
The breathing on the other end grew a fraction heavier. The rustle of sheets echoed through the speaker as he shifted in bed.
“Cat got your tongue? You can keep listening if you want. I won’t charge you.”
He paused, his tone dropping into a slow, wicked drawl. “Or… do you want to hear something else?”
Noreen couldn’t take it anymore and shot back in a low voice, “Who wants to hear something else!”
“Oh?” His smile deepened, his voice dripping with faux disappointment. “You don’t want to? Well, if you don’t want to, forget it.”
Noreen didn’t know what to say.
He made it sound like she’d be heartbroken to miss out.
Okay, fine.
She was a little disappointed.
But she would never admit that!
Instead, she snapped, “I’m going to sleep!”
“Alright,” Seth replied softly. “I was worried if you kept listening, you wouldn’t be able
to sleep tonight anyway.”
Noreen hung up instantly.
Who couldn’t sleep?
She could fall asleep right this second if she wanted to!
…
Okay, she was experiencing insomnia.
Claire was right.
Just kissing really wasn’t enough.
On the other side of town.
After Noreen ended the call, it took Seth a good ten minutes to get his body under control.
That was when Jordan’s message came through.
He informed Seth.
“Have you considered the experimental therapy? It comes with a price, and the risks are high, but the success rate is promising. We’re short a few clinical trials on our end.”
Seth replied, “Not considering it.”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Right now.”
Though the nightmares still haunted him, it was a vast improvement from the days when closing his eyes guaranteed terrors.
Jordan pressed on, “When are you coming back for a follow-up? Let me assess your condition.”
“We’ll see,” Seth texted back.
Those two words were a blatant rejection.
Jordan couldn’t help but worry. “You haven’t been in for three months. If things go south, it could be dangerous.”
He urged, “Let’s set up a time. Just a quick check-up.”
But no further reply came.
He was being ignored again.
Thankfully Jordan was used to this Over the past three months, he had periodically pestered Seth to come in, only to be met with total silence every time
Sighing, Jordan pocketed his phone and headed back to the lab.
Katy Joyner stepped out of the testing pod, her complexion dreadfully pale.
Jordan immediately moved to support her. “How are you feeling?”
“Not great.”
Katy was incredibly tough, but for a child to endure such agony and only describe it as “not great” broke his heart.
“If it’s too much, we should seriously consider the experimental therapy,” Jordan suggested gently.
Katy shook her head. “No. I’m scared
I’ll lose my memory and forget
Katy’s mother I’m
differe need
into
a normal person and won’t be able to help Mom.”
Stellaris Tech was just taking off; nothing could be allowed to derail it.
Jordan knew exactly how valuable Katy’s brain was. “But suffering like this is too brutal on you.”
“It’s fine. I can handle it.”
Looking at Katy’s small, fragile frame, Jordan felt a pang of sympathy.
Castle Joyner had a crucial meeting today and couldn’t make it, so Sage Joyner came to pick Katy up.
Accompanying Sage was the son he had recently found, the boy who had been lost for years.
Jett.
Logically, he should have taken the Joyner surname, but Jett refused, so he was still just Jett.
Jett was four years older than Katy, making him twelve.
His features undeniably bore the Joyner family’s striking genetics, hinting at the devastatingly handsome man he would grow up to be.
But those eyes didn’t belong to a child. They were an adult’s eyes.
Dark, piercing, and startlingly bright when he stared at you. He looked
like a young panther.
autiful, but carrying a
dangerous, untouchable edge.