Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 110

It was Jude Sinclair.

Willow's fingers hovered over the lock, a smile quickly reappearing on her face.

The door clicked open, and the cold night wind swept in. Jude stood there holding a manila folder, his suit jacket draped over his arm, looking slightly exhausted.

"You're up late," he noted.

Willow stepped aside to let him in. "You're up late yourself."

Jude walked in and noticed the two sets of bowls and glasses on the table.

One set had been touched; the other was perfectly clean.

His gaze lingered for a split second before moving away.

Willow noticed.

She had always been excellent at catching the tiny thorns hidden in people's eyes.

"Lawrence isn't coming over tonight," she murmured softly. "I'm just used to setting out an extra portion."

Jude tossed the folder onto the coffee table. "I had my team revise the preliminary proposal for the rehab project. Take a look."

Willow didn't immediately reach for the file.

She walked into the kitchen, poured the cold broth down the sink, and started boiling fresh water. As the sound of the running water filled the silence, she kept her back to Jude, her voice dipping low. "Jude, do you think I'm a joke, too?"

Jude looked up.

She didn't turn around. Her shoulders looked incredibly delicate, the white knit cardigan clinging to her frame, making her look as soft and harmless as a dove.

"Why would you say that?"

Willow let out a faint, hollow laugh. "I know what people say about me. They say I'm not Mrs. Langford but I enjoy all her perks. They say Wren is the real wife, and no matter how hard I try, I'll always just be..."

At least, that was what he thought at the time.

She remembered every child's name, shed secret tears when a little girl's check-up results came back poor, and asked him after the event ended, "Jude, as medical professionals, shouldn't our first priority be letting them live like normal kids before we even talk about their futures?"

That sentence had stuck with Jude for a long time.

So later, when she asked to get involved in the Langford rehab project, he hadn't said no.

He felt she possessed kindness and sharp intuition; she was merely lacking an opportunity.

"Willow." Jude looked at her squarely. "A project isn't someone's personal property. Whoever can push it forward has the right to be involved."

Willow lowered her eyes. "But Wren will think I'm stealing."

"If Wren is only clinging to the project through her title, she won't last anyway," Jude stated. "Stellaris has excellent tech, but technology isn't everything. Ethics approval, funding, pilot hospitals, aftercare service systems—all of those require Langford Medical."