From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 22

She jolted as if burned, instantly realizing what he was looking at.

Flustered, she slid the pink diamond off her ring finger and offered it to him.

It was the one Sierra had just surrendered.

“I'll give you this pink diamond.”

It was the gem he had wanted but failed to win at the auction.

The man extended a long, elegant hand and took the diamond.

She let out a breath of relief. But just as her nerves began to settle, a soft clatter echoed in the quiet room. He had tossed the pink diamond straight into the trash can.

A suffocating wave of despair and helplessness crashed over her. Tears blurred her vision as she looked at Xavier, completely lost.

She had no idea how to move him. He was a proud, untouchable billionaire who needed absolutely nothing. Even the brilliant research mind Harrison praised her for was entirely replaceable in his eyes.

She stumbled back a few steps, forcibly suppressing a breakdown. Turning away, she decided to try and find another cardiothoracic specialist.

But the moment her fingers wrapped around the door handle, a tear slipped free and hit the back of her hand. A ragged, desperate breath tore from her throat.

This wasn't her mother's first heart attack. Her heart was incredibly fragile.

The thought of her mother's suffering twisted like a knife in her gut.

How could she gamble with her mother's life?

If the surgery failed...

She didn't dare imagine it.

Her hand shook violently on the door handle, her grip tightening until her knuckles turned white.

Seconds later, she banished the despair from her eyes and roughly wiped her tears away. She spun around, marched right up to Xavier, and abandoned every ounce of her pride as she sank toward the floor in total desperation.

Before she could even collapse completely, a powerful hand locked around her wrist and hauled her forcefully back up.

She fell back into the plush cushions of the sofa, staring in shock into the man's calm, impassive gaze.

He released her hand, leaving behind a scorching heat where his firm grip had been.

He leaned his hands on the armrests of the sofa, bending over to look down at her. His dark eyes were like a bottomless abyss. In that endless darkness, a magnificent storm seemed to brew, and she felt as if she were plummeting into it.

He had pulled her up. Did that mean his heart had softened?

She immediately grabbed his arm. “Mr. Ford, please. I'll do whatever you want. Anything. Just let Alistair operate on my mother.”

The man's deep gaze suddenly dropped to her hand. She quickly let go.

He didn't say a word. His eyes trailed slowly from her hands all the way up to her face. They were so close that his warm breath brushed her temple. His stare wasn't heavy, but it was suffocatingly thorough, never wavering for a second. It carried an unapologetic, absolute dominance, as if he were caging her entirely within his sight, leaving her nowhere to run.

A thick aura of danger surrounded him as his cold, raspy voice broke the silence. “Anything?”

Even without physical contact, his gaze was more invasive than a touch, sending her heart into a frantic rhythm.

But her terror for her mother far outweighed this inexplicable panic.

She nodded vigorously.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify