Returning with Triple Treasures: My CEO Husband Is Obsessed novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175 Keeping Vigil

Chapter 175 Keeping Vigil

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Isabella made her way to the bedside, shifting her bandaged arm carefully to the side before sitting down to check Xavier’s pulse.

It was steady.

Her gaze drifted to his shoulder.

His upper body was bare, the wound on his shoulder wrapped firmly in bandages with a faint, dried trace of blood just visible through the gauze.

Isabella couldn’t bring herself to look too closely-even padded and dressed, the sight tightened something in her chest.

Xavier’s eyes were closed. The usual ice in his expression had melted into something calm, almost peaceful, sharpening the lines of his face and leaving him looking more defined, more strikingly handsome than ever.

Almost without thinking, Isabella reached out and brushed her fingers along his cheek.

It was still cool to the touch.

That familiar ache bloomed again beneath her ribs. Gently, she tugged the blanket higher, arranging it over the back of his hand where the IV needle sat taped in place.

She didn’t leave.

For a full hour, Isabella stayed rooted there beside him-silent, unmoving, her palm resting against the side of his face, as though. she could will some warmth back into his skin.

It was only when Jacob hurried into the room that the quiet finally broke.

The guard in the black suit stationed near the wall caught Isabella’s eye, then quickly mirrored her gesture-a finger pressed to his own lips, signaling Jacob to stay quiet.

Jacob nodded in understanding and motioned for the man to step outside.

Moving softly, he set down a bag of groceries on the side table.

He’d gone looking for Isabella earlier, only to learn from the nurse that she’d come straight here.

When they’d wheeled Xavier out of surgery, Jacob had heard him murmur Isabella’s name more than once, the words slurred but unmistakable.

Whatever sat between these two, it ran deeper than he’d realized.

“Mrs. Moore,” Jacob said, voice low, “I picked up the things you asked for-got a bit of everything. You should try to eat something.”

He was worried about her. With that injured arm and the exhaustion lining her face, if she pushed herself too hard, she’d be the next one in a hospital bed.

And if Xavier woke to find her collapsed, Jacob would never hear the end of it.

“Thank you,” Isabella replied, just above a whisper. “I’ll have some in a little while.”

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3:06 pm

PP

Chapter 175 Keeping Vigil

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She turned her head slightly toward him. “Jacob, it’s late. You should go get some rest. And the men outside-they’ve been standing watch long enough. Tell them to head home for the night.”

Isabella turned around and spoke to Jacob in a soft, quiet voice, careful not to wake Xavier.

Truth was, Xavier was completely exhausted, so he wasn’t likely to wake up anytime soon.

Jacob shook his head gently. “We’ll be all right. None of us will feel rightNeaving until Mr. Moore is awake. Besides, we’re used to long hours.”

He paused, softening his tone. “It’s you I’m worried about. You need real rest.”

“I’m staying here tonight.”

Isabella’s voice was quiet but left no room for argument. “Go back and let Jason know for me, will you? Tell him I can’t sleep with him tonight, and that he needs to be good and go to bed early.”

Jacob wasn’t surprised. He’d already guessed she wouldn’t leave.

“Yes, Mrs. Moore,” he said simply. Arguing felt pointless.

But as he turned to go, he hesitated, stopping halfway to the door.

“Mrs. Moore,” he began, turning back slightly, “in all the years I’ve worked for Mr. Moore, I’ve never seen him care about anyone the way he cares about you.”

Isabella stilled, his words sinking in slowly. She knew what he was implying-what he was trying to say without really saying it.

Honestly, she was still reeling herself, her thoughts tangled and raw.

“Today… he had to choose, didn’t he?” she said quietly, more to herself than to Jacob. “Between Noah and me.”

“It was never about Noah,” Jacob said, his tone growing serious. “Even if it cost him his life, Mr. Moore would have chosen you.”

He took a slow breath before continuing.

On the way to Moore Manor earlier, Xavier had gotten the call-Noah was critical.

But without a second’s hesitation, Xavier had made a split-second decision: Jacob would take the car, retrieve the falsified paternity report prepared weeks earlier, and gather backup.

Xavier, meanwhile, got out and went ahead alone.

Stanley’s men were armed. And Stanley hated defiance more than anything-family or not, he never showed mercy to anyone who challenged his authority.

Xavier knew that better than anyone.

Yet all he could think about was Isabella. Unarmed and alone, he’d walked straight into that house without looking back.

He turned again to leave.

“Jacob,” Isabella’s voice caught him just before he reached the door. “That paternity test… it was fake, wasn’t it?”

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3:07 pm

Chapter 175 Keeping Vigil

“Yes,” Jacob answered softly. “Mr. Moore had it prepared not long after we brought Jason home.”

For a heartbeat, Isabella found herself wishing it had been real.

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The image of Xavier standing between danger and her son-protecting them both in that moment-made something inside her

tremble.

For just a second, it had almost felt like they were… a family.

Once Jacob was gone, Isabella turned back to the man in the bed.

Moonlight filtered through the gap in the blinds, laying a pale stripe across the sharp angles of his face, deepening the shadows along his jaw and brow.

One side of him lay soft in the silver light, beautiful enough to make her chest ache. The other side stayed hidden in darkness, unreadable, impossible to know.

“Xavier,” she whispered into the quiet, “what is your heart really made of?

“Is this some kind of game to you? Break someone completely, then walk back in like you can piece them together again?

“Even though…”

Her voice trailed off.

Even though there’s already someone etched so deep in your heart you could never forget her.

She remembered what Emma had told her once.

There had always been someone before-a love so deep Xavier would have given his life for it.

After a love like that, anyone who comes after… is just settling.

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3:07 pm