The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 603

"But if the baby truly carries my family's darker genes, will he one day look at me with blame? Will he wish I had never fathered him? Perhaps he'll outright despise me."

"Never," Quinn said. She stepped close, raised a careful hand, and smoothed her fingers through his hair. "I know you will love this child fiercely. With a father who loves that deeply, how could the child not want you as his father?"

"Really?" Julius lifted his eyes to hers, hope and fear tangled in the single word.

Because he was seated and she stood, her head bent while his chin tipped up. Her palm rested against his temple, and his arms circled her waist with a tenderness that contradicted his legendary ruthlessness.

In Julius' gaze was something fragile, almost childlike, a devotion that anchored itself entirely in the woman before him.

Even the physician standing a few feet away forgot to breathe.

This was the same Julius Whitethorn who, in Jexburgh's corridors of power, could conjure storms with a single phone call.

Yet here, before his wife, he bared an expression so gentle it seemed borrowed from another life.

Rumor had it that Julius pampered his wife.

Watching them now, the doctor decided indulgence was far too mild—Julius looked ready to kneel and pledge allegiance if she so wished.

"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Quinn asked, her words light but unshakeable.

Julius' mouth finally curved. He pressed his face to her chest like a soldier laying down armor. "Quinn, if you say it, I believe it—every word."

Minutes later, they stepped out of the hospital's glass doors. As Julius reached for the car handle, Quinn froze, her boots grinding to a halt, eyes sweeping the parking lot.

The bodyguards shadowing her shifted instantly, shoulders squaring, hands inching toward concealed holsters.

Julius instinctively moved in front of her, one arm anchoring her behind him while the other signaled a guard to circle the perimeter.

After a tense beat, the scout returned and gave a small, deliberate shake of his head.

All clear—at least on the surface.

Quinn's brow knit, but she climbed into the backseat with Julius beside her.

The sedan glided away from the curb, taillights casting red smears across the hospital facade.

Julius turned toward her, voice low. "What was it? Did you sense something off back there?"

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