No Divorce? The Billionaire's Love Chase! novel Chapter 29

York checked the thermometer. 100°F.

He put it down, his gaze unintentionally sweeping over Ann's sensual nightgown. He picked up a light blanket and draped it around her shoulders.

"I should go," York said. "Eat something, and then take the medicine."

Ann clutched the blanket, her expression a little strained. "York, my son is with my mother tonight. It's raining so hard outside… it's not safe for you to drive back. Why don't you stay here for the night?"

The look York gave her hardened slightly.

Ann quickly tried to explain. "It's just so late, and you have work tomorrow. I'm worried you won't get enough sleep driving back and forth."

York stopped and turned to face her. "Ann," he said, his voice firm, "don't ever ask me to stay the night again."

Ann looked completely innocent. "Why, York? You stayed with me the whole night at the hospital, and that was fine, wasn't it?"

A look of clear weariness passed over York's face.

"Ann, I stayed with you at the hospital because it was a public place. We weren't alone. This is your home. It's not good for your reputation to have a married man stay over."

She offered a guileless smile. "It's okay. You're not a stranger."

His tone sharpened slightly. "To you, that's exactly what I am."

The smile on Ann's face slowly froze.

York's voice was gentle, but it held an unyielding finality.

Ann's tone turned self-deprecating. "A few years apart, and we've become this distant."

Seeing her look of wounded innocence, York sighed. "Ann, I know things haven't been easy for you. Tomorrow, I'll hire a live-in nanny for you, and I'll arrange for a car and a driver."

He walked to the door, then paused to add one more thing. "Ann, from now on, try to avoid Claudia. And don't ever initiate contact with her."

Ann froze.

York watched the man who had just entered and got two more glasses of whiskey.

Peter Louis slumped into the seat across from York, leaning back against the sofa with his legs crossed, feet casually propped on the corner of the coffee table. He had the unmistakable air of a reckless playboy heir.

Peter studied York, his handsome face marked by a pair of distinctive eyes. "Trouble in paradise?"

York swirled the whiskey in his glass, his voice tired. "I can't even talk to her right now."

Peter, ever the clear-eyed observer, said, "York, Ann came back for you. If you don't make things crystal clear, Claudia is going to divorce you sooner or later."

York's reply was dismissive. "It won't come to a divorce."

Her heart was tied to him by love and dependence, but she was equally bound by the debt she could never repay for all he'd given her family.

As for her career, she had married him right after college and become a full-time wife, completely disconnected from the professional world.

Besides, she was born with a silver spoon. After marrying him, she had grown accustomed to a life of luxury, where everything she wore and used was top-tier. Even if she found a job, the money she'd make wouldn't be enough to support that lifestyle.