The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 464

Chapter 464 Did Not Promise

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“No need,” Quinn answered, dabbing her lips with a linen napkin. “Have the driver take me. That’s plenty.”

Julius‘ smile was quick, almost boyish. “I’m heading out anyway. It’s on my route–let me.”

Thirty minutes later, Quinn slid from the sedan at Fane Group’s front steps. The building’s mirrored skin threw back the noon sun, sharp as shattered ice.

Julius leaned toward the open window. “I may get back late tonight. Don’t wait up or you’ll go hungry.”

“Fine,” she said, resting her hand on the doorframe. “But call me the second you’re on your way.”

“Okay.” He gave a brief nod.

The car eased away, tires whispering over clean pavement, until the tinted glass swallowed his profile.

Settling into the back seat, Julius ordered the driver, “To the hospital.”

The driver answered with a curt, “Yes, sir,” and threaded the vehicle into traffic.

When Julius stepped onto Lena’s ward floor, the smell of disinfectant met him like a wall. Gavin appeared at a near–run, coat flapping behind him.

“What are you doing here?” Gavin demanded, barely keeping his voice below a shout.

“To do what must be done,” Julius answered, tone as cool as the stainless steel rails lining the corridor.

Gavin dragged a hand through his hair. “Don’t tell me you plan to donate stem cells already. You promised Quinn you’d wait at least six months.”

The corridor reeked of disinfectant, its ceiling lamps hissing like static. Julius‘ eyes glinted beneath that pallid light, colder than the metal rail at his back. “You’ve made a mistake,” he said, each syllable precise, deliberate. “I never promised her.”

Gavin blinked, stunned, then surged forward until their shadows fused on the floor. “What in the world are you saying?” he demanded. “You’re really ready to risk your own health just to donate? Lena still has time–no one’s begged you to rush to the operating table. Why throw yourself into harm’s way for nothing? It’s madness!”

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Chapter 464 Did Not Promise

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Julius‘ reply came like a slammed door. “Not soon–now,” he cut in, steely. “Half a year from today, I might not be in any shape to give at all.”

Gavin froze, the truth hitting him like frost across open skin. His eyes widened. “You… You don’t mean…”

A crooked smile climbed Julius‘ mouth. “My father and I need an ending–one way or another.”

“You don’t have to rush it this hard,” Gavin pleaded, voice softer now, almost cracked with

worry.

Julius shook his head once–final, irrevocable. “I promised Quinn I’d save Lena. But whatever conclusion waits between my father and me, no one can predict it. So the donation happens today–no arguments.”

Silence stretched until it pulsed in Gavin’s ears. Finally, he spoke, hushed. “Does Quinn even know about this?”

Julius‘ gaze sharpened to a warning edge. “She doesn’t know. I kept it from her–so, Gavin, you keep it, too.”

An icy beat hammered in Gavin’s chest. Julius‘ unblinking stare made his scalp prickle; that look promised consequences he wanted no part of.

Plain enough: if he went to Quinn again, Julius wouldn’t let him off with a mere lecture this time.

Yet Gavin knew this path Julius had chosen was far from wise.

He swallowed. “Even if I stay silent, do you really think Quinn won’t find out? This is major surgery–she’ll barge in and stop you the second she hears a whisper.”

Julius lifted a hand, slicing the air. “I’ll handle it. Stay out of it.”

Gavin exhaled hard, shoulders sagging. “Fine–your call. Just don’t throw yourself onto the pyre for your father’s sins.”

Julius offered no answer. He turned and strode toward the doctors‘ office, coat hem snapping behind him like a drawn banner,

Across town, sunlight spilled into Rowan’s executive suite at Fane Group. Quinn accepted a folder from her brother, the stiff paper warm where his fingers had been.

Rowan tapped the cover. “Using the info you left yesterday, we traced one of the hired hackers. Turns out the mastermind behind the breach was Julius‘ father.”

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