Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 290

Wren paused in surprise.

Before the elevator doors slowly slid shut, Wren watched Julian standing there. His white coat was pristine, and despite the faint redness in his eyes from staying up all night, he looked incredibly calm.

She suddenly thought of Lawrence.

Lawrence was always trying to force his way in.

Into her guest suite, into her meetings, into her decisions, into the life she was desperately trying to piece back together.

But Julian stood outside the door.

He knew that if the door was going to open, she had to be the one to turn the handle.

The meeting stretched until noon.

The ethics committee's reception of the new Stellaris manual was much warmer than before, though they still requested additional protocols for handling disputes between pediatric patients and their guardians.

Wren took meticulous notes.

After the session adjourned, Director Charles Clarke asked her to stay back.

"Your mother ran into similar roadblocks back in the day," he said.

Wren looked up sharply. "During Project Morning Star?"

Charles looked at her and fell silent for a moment. "Now isn't the time to get into the details. Once you officially pass this review, I can show you some old meeting minutes."

Wren's heart skipped a beat.

She didn't press him, nor did she lose her composure.

She simply gave a slight nod. "Okay."

It wasn't until she walked out of the conference room that she realized her palms were sweating.

She texted Phoebe an update on their progress, then sent a quick memo to Robert Lawson detailing her morning phone call with Eleanor.

Once that was done, she stood at the end of the hospital corridor, suddenly feeling like she couldn't breathe.

There were too many strings pulling at her at once.

The Langford family, Leo, Stellaris, her mother's past.

She couldn't afford to let go of a single one.

But she was human.

She was allowed to be tired.

In the courtyard below grew a large oak tree.

Its leaves gleamed vibrantly after the rain.

Wren went downstairs and sat on a bench, finally giving herself five minutes of absolute silence.

Five minutes later, a warm drink was held out in front of her.

She looked up.

Julian stood beside her. He didn't sit down.

"Daisy told me to bring this to you," he said.

Some affection didn't demand an immediate response, nor did it use concern as a crowbar to pry into her life.

It simply stood at a respectful distance.

Offering a drink.

Offering advice.

Offering her a space where she could decide to push the door open herself.

Right then, her phone buzzed.

It was a text from Lawrence.

'I heard you're at the hospital. With Julian?'

Wren stared at the screen. The knot in her chest that had just begun to loosen snapped taut again.

She didn't explain why she was at the hospital.

She didn't explain whether Julian was with her or not.

She simply replied:

'I am running a Stellaris meeting.'

Lawrence replied immediately:

'You know that wasn't what I was asking.'