Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1201

Iris sat quietly in her wheelchair, her fingers curling tightly around the armrest.

She had planned to stall for time, hoping Walter would skip his date with Audrey and stay with her for the check-up, then take her home afterward. But now that her family had shown up, that plan was out the window.

Still, watching Walter leave with Audrey just didn't sit right with her. She hurried to speak up. “Thank you both so much for tonight. It's getting late, but I never canceled my reservation at that restaurant. How about I treat you to dinner?”

Walter was about to say no, but Audrey jumped in first, her brow furrowed. “No way. The doctor just told you to go home and rest. You shouldn’t be walking around, especially these next few days. And after everything today, you have to be tired. Dinner can wait, we’ll have plenty of chances. What matters is your ankle. If your injury gets worse and takes forever to heal, Walter and I will feel so guilty. So, you should go home and get some rest.”

Audrey sounded so sincere, like she truly cared about Iris. Walter agreed, turning to Iris. “Audrey’s right. You should head home and rest up.”

“Alright then…” Iris had no choice but to give in. She squeezed the armrest so hard there were little marks left behind, obvious proof she was not happy about it.

Audrey caught the look and, for a moment, seemed amused. Life in Harrisburg had been pretty dull lately. Meeting someone like Iris actually felt a little entertaining. She hoped Iris had more tricks up her sleeve than these childish ones.

When they finally left the hospital, it was almost eight. Still enough time for dinner. They went straight to the restaurant and had a great meal.

Walter had chosen a place right by the river. After dinner, since it was still early, they decided to stroll along the riverbank.

It was a popular spot in town. Even at night, the area was packed. Walking through the crowd, they kept getting bumped by people.

A couple of times, Audrey nearly got separated from Walter, so she just reached out and grabbed his arm.

Walter was surprised, not expecting her to do that. Before he could say anything, Audrey flashed a grin. “Sorry, just let me hold on for a bit. I feel like the crowd’s about to swallow me up, and then you’ll have to come find me.”

Walter glanced at her hand on his arm. It felt a little awkward, but Audrey was careful. She was only holding onto the sleeve of his coat, not his actual hand, so it didn’t seem too close. And honestly, with all these people around, he couldn’t really say no. Audrey had a heart condition. If she got jostled and felt out of breath or worse, he’d have a hard time explaining it to Camila Davis.

So he said, “Hang on tight. If you get lost, I’m not coming to rescue you.”

Audrey grinned. “Deal!”

She had already paid, so Walter could only sigh. “Even if you give me one, I don’t know how to decorate a tree.”

“That’s fine, I do,” Audrey replied. “I just moved to Harrisburg and I’m not that busy. If you don’t mind me stopping by, I’ll help you decorate. I’ll see this gift through to the end. How about it?”

She always had a way of making it impossible to say no. Walter found himself giving in again. Whatever, as long as Audrey was happy, he didn’t want to ruin her mood. He figured he could just put the tree in his villa so his parents wouldn’t see it and start nagging.

Audrey was in a great mood, dragging Walter from store to store, buying all kinds of stuff. They ended up with too much to carry, so they just gave their addresses and had everything delivered.

When they finished paying, the cashier handed them a pair of matching phone charms. Each one was a cute little Santa riding a reindeer, with tiny gift boxes at their feet.

“These are adorable!” Audrey was instantly delighted, quickly attaching one to her phone. She looked at Walter and asked, “Do you want yours on? I can help!”

Walter looked at the charm. It really was cute, but he couldn’t see himself using it. He shook his head. “You keep it. If I showed up to a client meeting with something like that, they’d probably never let me live it down.”