His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 172

The woman was curled securely against his chest, her face buried in the crook of his neck, sleeping peacefully.

The man hadn't slept at all. Faint dark circles shadowed his eyes, yet his back remained rigidly straight.

The maintenance workers froze for a couple of seconds before their expressions shifted to pure shock. "Mr... Mr. Vanderbilt..."

Archer furrowed his brows, squinting to adjust to the natural light. He glanced down at the woman in his arms, his gaze softening instantly, and raised a hand to make a quiet "shushing" gesture.

He shifted slightly, intending to lift her without waking her, but his legs had gone completely numb. As he pushed up, a sharp pain shot through his muscles, making him wince.

Virginia, who was usually an incredibly light sleeper, showed absolutely no signs of waking up.

"Virginia," Archer whispered. Noticing the unnatural flush on her cheeks, his large hand instinctively pressed against her forehead.

Just as he suspected, she was burning up with a fever.

Virginia blearily opened her eyes, immediately met with his handsome face hovering inches from hers.

She felt unbearably miserable. She tried to speak, but her vision went black, and she lost consciousness completely.

Seeing this, the staff outside immediately jumped into action to help.

Virginia was rushed straight to the emergency room.

In the hospital room, Virginia was burning up, her temperature soaring to a dangerous 103.5 degrees.

After a quick examination, the doctor administered a fever-reducing injection and set up an IV drip.

She was delirious from the fever, barely reacting to the needle. But after the nurses left, tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes as she huddled under the blankets, mumbling incoherently.

"Mom..."

"...Archer."

Sitting by the edge of her bed, a deeply worried Archer froze the second he heard his own name. His eyes darkened, and his grip on her hand tightened.

Once again, he was struck by a heavy wave of regret—regretting that he had ever brought her to the office in the middle of the night.

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