Save Her Lose Us (Evangeline and Soren) novel Chapter 280

When Soren awoke, he saw Poppy slumped over beside him, her head cradled in her hand as she dozed in her chair. She was nodding off, her head bobbing with exhaustion.

Looking at her, he felt a complex wave of emotions. For years, he had been convinced that Evangeline had destroyed his relationship with Poppy, causing her pain and forcing her to move abroad. He had always wanted to make it up to her. Yet, through it all, he had never seriously considered leaving Evangeline to get back together with Poppy.

He couldn't remember the details of what had happened at Evangeline's apartment, but he was a man, and he couldn't irresponsibly pretend it never happened.

After a moment, Soren gently lifted Poppy's head, trying to reposition her on the edge of the bed so she could sleep more comfortably. The slight movement woke her. She blinked, her eyes still hazy with sleep.

"Soren, you're awake." She glanced at the clock. "It's time for your medicine. I'll go get it."

Soren caught her wrist. His hand was cool against her skin. Poppy looked down, a slight purse to her lips.

"Thank you for everything these past two days," Soren said. "It must have been hard on you."

Poppy smiled brightly. "Don't be so formal."

Soren's lips parted. "About what happened…" He trailed off. For some reason, the words "I'll take responsibility" were stuck in his throat. He didn't know how to take responsibility. With any other woman, he would have forced her to take a morning-after pill and then cut her a check large enough to ensure her silence, pretending the entire incident never occurred.

But this was Poppy.

"Let's just pretend it never happened," she said, as if reading his mind, her tone deliberately light. "I don't mind."

But her nonchalance only made him feel worse.

He hesitated, then said, "Tell me what you want. Anything I can give you, it's yours."

*There's someone outside the hospital waiting to see you.*

Such an arrogant way of putting it.

He set the phone face down on the table. A moment later, restless and annoyed, he picked it up and pressed the button for the hospital's internal line.

"The Whitmore woman who was looking for me… have her sent home."

Through the sound of the rain, the bodyguard's voice was tinny. "She's already gone, Mr. Fawkes. The rain got really heavy, and she was trying to take shelter. To get her to leave, we… we didn't let her. She stood out in the downpour for a long time before she finally left."

Soren's voice dropped, turning sharp and cold. "What did you just say?"