Chapter 138

Chapter 138
“Not dead yet.”
The voice from the back seat was heavy and dull.
Zachary stole a glance at Seth’s face in the rearview mirror, careful not to
make it obvious.
He looked terrible.
It wasn’t until they arrived at the hospital that Zachary finally caught sight of Seth’s hand.
The injury was bad–angry, swollen red bruises stretched from the back of his hand to his palm. One look, and it was clear he’d gotten it caught in a door.
The doctor examined it, his tone grave. “If it had been any worse, you’d be looking at a fracture.”
A cold sweat broke out over Zachary’s back as he listened.
Once Seth’s hand was taken care of, he told Zachary to drive him to another hospital.
Wade was still awake, lounging on his hospital bed and flipping through the latest issue of *Forbes*.
Seth was on the cover.
The shoot had been done three months earlier, back when Noreen was still with Aurelion Group.
She’d put together the entire look for the cover–working out every detail with the magazine’s editors.
It suited Seth perfectly.
As soon as Seth walked in, Wade snapped the magazine shut and tossed it aside, feigning indifference, as if the whole thing bored him.
Seth bent to pick up the magazine and glanced at the cover. “Not a bad
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photo, actually.”
Wade shot back with a sneer. “All style, no substance.”
Seth was used to his barbs. He merely smirked and replied, “Didn’t I learn from the best?”
Evelyn walked in just in time to hear the two men trading jabs. She hurried to cut in, “Alright, that’s enough, both of you.” For origınal chapters go to.net
Her eyes landed on Seth’s bandaged hand. Her face changed instantly as she gasped, “Seth, what happened to your hand? How did you get hurt? Is it serious?”
“It’s nothing. Just a stupid accident,” Seth answered coolly, as if it were no big deal.
Zachary couldn’t help but give Seth another worried glance.
But the moment Seth shot him a warning look, Zachary quickly turned away and pretended not to know anything.
“How does someone just accidentally hurt themselves like that?” Evelyn was skeptical.
But Seth insisted it was just a fall, and Evelyn had no choice but to believe
him.
Seth then asked about Wade’s condition.
Evelyn explained that Wade hadn’t had much of an appetite–he’d barely eaten all afternoon, which was definitely not helping his recovery.
Seth frowned. “If even your cooking doesn’t tempt him, then I don’t think anyone can make something he’d actually eat.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Evelyn protested. “Noreen’s soup always hit the spot for him. I’ve tried to make it, but I just can’t get it right.”
At the mention of Noreen’s name, Seth’s frown deepened.
After a moment, he said, “I’ll ask her.”
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Chapter 138
As soon as he left the hospital, Seth messaged Noreen.
Every message went unanswered, sinking like a stone.
For a moment, he wondered if she’d blocked him.
But his phone didn’t show any notifications or warnings–that meant she could still receive his messages; she was just choosing to ignore him.
Seth couldn’t help but laugh at himself. “Little heartless thing,” he muttered.
Noreen, for her part, didn’t let Seth’s sudden reappearance ruffle her daily life.
She saw his messages, but had no desire to open them.
She simply ignored them, not even curious enough to tap for a peek. At work, the internal test data for InnoCore’s lightweight model was unexpectedly good, boosting the whole project team’s confidence.
Everyone was hoping InnoCore would shine at the upcoming Al Summit. The day before her business trip, Noreen took Rosalind to the hospital for a post–op checkup.
While waiting for the results, she ran into Evelyn.
“Noreen?” Evelyn’s face lit up with surprise and delight. “ Finally, you’ve come to visit Mr. Harcourt!, Seth keeps saying you’re busy, and tells me not to bother you.”
Noreen hesitated, then asked, “Mr. Harcourt is sick?”
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