Chapter 0130
Hannah
Noah didn’t return all day and all night; not that I expected any different from him at this point. I could already picture how he likely spent the night sleeping next to Zoe in the hospital, holding her hand through everything.
Something that he couldn’t be bothered to do for me.
The next morning, I awoke with a new sense of purpose. My head was feeling a bit better, and spending the night laying in bed had given me plenty of time to think about… well, everything. White Rabbit, our family doctor, Noah and Zoe.
Most importantly, I had to get to the bottom of this diet pill matter-without Noah’s help. From what it seemed to me, someone didn’t want me getting pregnant with Noah’s baby.
And it seemed as though, one way or another, our family physician was related to the issue.
But it was just as I was stepping into the kitchen to prepare some coffee and toast that I ran into Noah. He was sitting at the kitchen counter island, looking disheveled in the same clothes he had been wearing yesterday, with a bowl of cereal in front of himself.
“Morning,” I said gruffly as I brushed past in my nightgown, not even bothering to make eye contact with him. I quickly busied myself with preparing the coffee-admittedly taking care to swing my hips with every step. My nightgown was sheer and lacey, and I knew that Noah still wanted my body if nothing else.
Yeah, well, let him want it. He wasn’t getting it.
Noah cleared his throat. “Morning. Making coffee?”
“What does it look like?”
“Hannah, do you really have to-” he began to huff, but then seemed to stop himself when I turned around and shot him a dark glare. He raised his finger as if to speak, but then resorted to shaking his head and forcefully scraping his spoon through his cereal bowl.
Satisfied, I turned and watched as the coffee began to brew. “So,” I said, gripping the edge of the counter so hard my knuckles turned white, “how was your girlfriend?”
I heard a clatter as Noah dropped his spoon into his bowl. “Dammit, Hannah,” he growled. “It’s not like
that.”
I simply shrugged. “I was just asking a question.”
There was a tense silence, one that was punctuated only by the sound of the coffee maker. I watched as my cup filled, followed by a pleasant little ding as the toaster popped up at the same time. This morning, I decided to have creamer in my coffee-and jam on my toast.
As I busied myself with preparing my breakfast, I carefully ignored Noah’s presence, avoiding his sharp gaze at all costs. He remained silent, and it was only as I was brushing past him again with my toast and coffee in hand that his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t make me bite you again,” I growled, wrenching my arm away.
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Chapter 0130
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Just as I was about to reach the kitchen door, the sound of Noah’s voice stopped me. “What is your problem, Hannah?”
I almost laughed out loud. Turning slowly, I leveled him with a dagger-like stare. “Is that really a question?” I huffed.
He shrugged. “Maybe we wouldn’t have so many issues if you would just communicate your feelings once in a while. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Ha! That’s rich,” I bit back. “Since when do you want me to express my feelings? Last time I checked, you’d rather I just be quiet and keep my opinions to myself.”
Noah narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “Just tell me what it is, Hannah.”
“If I have to tell you, then you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought.” With that, I tossed a lock of hair over my shoulder and began striding out again. But, seeing as how history so often repeats itself, Noah cleared his throat and the noise made my steps falter once more.
“If this is about Zoe…”
“Yes, it’s about Zoe, you fool!” I whipped around, nearly spilling my coffee in the process. For several long moments, my lips stayed apart, my chest heaving as I scrambled for a lecture to give him-but then I stopped myself.
No. It wasn’t worth it; why even bother if I knew that my words would simply fall on deaf ears?
“You know what?” I drew in a deep breath and pulled my shoulders back, plastering that pleasant smile that I had gotten so good at lately on my face. “Nevermind. I’m not going to explain anything to you,
because this is common sense.”
Noah let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look,” he said. “You bumped your head. Yes, I was worried about you; but I went to every effort to ensure that you would be fine. Zoe, on the other hand, was in the hospital with a burst appendix. People die from that.”
“People die from ‘bumped heads’, Noah,” I growled darkly. “And besides, a burst appendix is a very treatable condition. You would think that simply knowing that she was in the hospital and being cared for would have been enough for you to stay with your wife.
We both fell silent after that. I watched as Noah’s jaw clenched and unclenched beneath his skin in that characteristic way of his-something that I once found to be roguishly handsome but now just saw as
annoying.
Finally, he muttered, “I have our family doctor on speed dial. I knew that you were cared for, Hannah. I
wouldn’t have left otherwise.”
I couldn’t contain my scoff. “Yeah,” I said. “Cared for. Sure.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shrugged. “I just find it hard to feel cared for’ when I’ve just discovered that our ‘trusted’ doctor spent years spreading misinformation about my body.”
Noah opened his mouth, likely to retort, but then shut it again and nodded stiffly. Even he couldn’t seem to argue that. “Well, the doctor is on vacation,” he said. “One of his nurses came. So you don’t have to
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Chapter 0130
worry.”
“Mm.” I narrowed my eyes, chewing the inside of my cheek for a moment as I thought. “Where did you find that doctor, anyway?” I finally asked. “He seems like a bit of a hack if he doesn’t know how the female body works.”
“He was my family doctor,” Noah replied. “I’ve known him for years. My father insisted that we hire him as our doctor once we bought this house.”
“I see.”
So Noah’s father, Marcus, was the one who originally hired our sham of a doctor. Interesting, I thought to myself. I would have to do some more research on that later.
With that, I nodded and turned on my heel, heading toward my bedroom. But, yet again, Noah’s voice caused me to stop in my tracks.
“Hannah,” he called out. “Come back.”
For a moment, just a moment, I felt my heart pinch in my chest. I turned, slowly, wondering what he could want to apologize, maybe? Explain himself a bit better? Admit, just this once, that he was in the wrong?
But no. It was never that. I was so foolish.
“Let’s go to Zoe’s house tonight,” he said, scooping up another spoonful of cereal. “We should be there for her when she gets home from the hospital.”
Not interesting at all
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