Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Julian: POV

The helicopter’s interior smelled like blood and antiseptic. Medical equipment beeped in steady rhythm around Josephine’s unconscious form.

Elena sat rigid in her seat, white-knuckled hands gripping the armrests, eyes locked on her mother’s pale face.

I wanted to touch her. God, I needed to touch her.

But the fury radiating off her body told me she’d bite my hand off if I tried.

Dr. Morrison worked efficiently, adjusting IV drips and monitoring vitals. “BP’s stabilizing,” she announced over the rotor noise. “But we need to move fast.

The bleeding could restart any moment.”

Elena’s breath hitched. A sound so small I almost missed it.

Fuck it.

I reached across the narrow space and pulled her against my side. She went stiff as a board, every muscle locked in protest.

“Let go-

“No.” I tightened my arm around her shoulders. “Your mother’s going to be fine. I’ve got the best oncology team in the country waiting at NewYork-

Presbyterian. They’ll do everything possible.”

“Everything possible. Her laugh was sharp, bitter. “That’s what you said about our baby too, wasn’t it? Before you-”

The words cut off. But they’d already sliced me open.

Before I questioned whether we should keep it. Before I made her think I didn’t want our child.

“Elena-

“Don’t.’ She tried to pull away. “Don’t you dare use my mother as leverage to-to manipulate me back into your bed.”

I grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at me. Her amber eyes were bloodshot, ringed with exhaustion and terror. Beautiful. Even now, she was the most

beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“Is that what you think? My voice came out rougher than intended. “That I’m trading medical care for sex?”

‘Aren’t you?’ Her voice cracked. “That’s all I’ve ever been to you. A warm body. A-a fucking obligation.”

The pain in her words made my chest constrict.

“You were never an obligation.” I brushed my thumb across her cheekbone, felt her shiver despite herself. “You’ve been driving me insane. You think I don’t know how fucked up that is?”

“Then let me go.” Tears spilled over, tracking down her face. “If you really care about me, let me go after my mother gets better.”

1/2

1:28 pm

Chapter 178

Leav

PP

The confession tore out of me. Raw. Desperate.

‘I’ve tried, Elena. I’ve tried to convince myself I could watch you walk away. That I could let you build life with that pretentious asshole Ethan. That I

could- I stopped, swallowing hard. “But I can’t. Even knowing you hate me. Even knowing f destroyed everything good between us.”

She stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“You’re insane, she whispered. “You don’t love me. You love controlling me. There’s a difference.”

“Maybe.” I pulled her closer, buried my face in her hair. She smelled like fear and grief and something underneath that was purely her. “But it doesn’t change

the fact that I need you breathing the same air as me. That the thought of another man touching you makes me want to burn the world down.”

Her body trembled against mine. “That’s not love, Julian. That’s obsession.”

‘Call it whatever you want.” I pressed my lips to her temple. “Just come back to New York. Stay at our mansion while your mother recovers. Let me take care

of you.”

“Take care of me?” She jerked back, eyes blazing. “Like you took care of me when I was bleeding out? When I lost our baby and you-”

र

“I know.” The guilt threatened to crush my lungs. “I know I failed you. I know I made you think I didn’t want our child. But I did, Elena. I wanted him so

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify