Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 6

"She loves you to death. Juliette tortured her, and she still didn't leave you. Why would she throw it all away over this? No way. Absolutely no way."

Edmond said nothing.

Ferris patted his shoulder. "Relax, she's just throwing a fit. You go to the hospital, sweet-talk her a bit, and I guarantee she'll be fine."

He paused, adding, "Besides, she's deaf and alone in Northampton. Who else does she have to rely on besides you?"

Edmond remained silent, his eyes locked on the traffic, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his gaze.

Half an hour later, the car pulled up outside the hospital.

Edmond unbuckled his seatbelt. Just as he reached for the door, a figure in red darted out and blocked his way.

"Edmond!"

Juliette stood outside the car, her makeup perfectly intact. She wore an oversized knit sweater over a short skirt, exposing her pale legs. Her ankle was wrapped in gauze, making her look entirely pitiful.

"Why are you out of bed?" Edmond frowned. "Doesn't your ankle hurt?"

"It hurts..." Juliette bit her lip. Just as she was about to speak, the phone in her pocket buzzed.

Seeing the caller ID, sheer panic flooded her face. "It's my dad! What do I do? He's going to yell at me. Edmond, answer it for me..."

Edmond's frown deepened, but he took the phone and accepted the call. "Hey, Dad..."

"Edmond?" There was a brief pause before his father's voice dropped. "Where is Juliette? How bad is she hurt?"

Edmond pressed his lips together, surprised his father had found out so quickly.

"She's fine. Just a few scrapes. Nothing serious."

"Good." His father's tone turned stern. "I heard about last night. Did Nora push Juliette? And slap her?"

Edmond glanced toward the hospital entrance, Nora's breakup text flashing through his mind.

Forget it.

Let her cool off. It would save him the headache of dealing with her temper right now.

Taking a deep breath, he handed the phone back to Juliette. "Let's go."

Juliette's eyes lit up, and she obediently followed him into the car.

The door shut.

Edmond looked down and typed out a quick message: [Nora, my dad has an emergency. I'll come see you later. Get some rest.]

He hit send and shoved the phone into his pocket, completely missing the red exclamation mark indicating the message had failed to deliver...