The One He Dismissed Became The One He Died For novel Chapter 208

Miles turned his head away, avoiding her lips.

The apple hovered in the air. Left with no other option, Claire awkwardly chewed and swallowed it herself.

She licked her lips. It tasted sour.

The hospital room was dead silent, the heavy air pressing down on them.

After a long while, Miles finally spoke, every word forced through his teeth.

"If you were hurt, why did you still go to the manor?"

His eyes were a void of freezing ice. "Claire, I want the truth."

Claire was caught off guard by the question. "Because you're my husband, and I didn't want them to bully you."

Another fake, meaningless answer.

When would she ever actually trust him?

Miles's lips curled into a self-deprecating smirk. A storm of emotions swirled in his eyes before he coldly spat out a single word.

"Liar."

Claire grabbed his arm, looking up at him as she shook her head.

"I'm not lying. It's the truth, you just don't believe me."

Miles lowered his eyes, prying her fingers off him one by one.

He raised a hand and dragged his thumb punishingly across her red lips, pressing down hard.

"You really know how to talk your way out of things."

"Do you think I still believe you?"

With that, Miles turned and walked toward the door.

His words were harsh, and Claire's chest ached painfully.

Was he mad because she was late to the banquet, or was it because of Jefferson?

Claire couldn't figure it out, but the most pressing issue was to calm him down.

"Miles, can't you just stay with me?"

Her voice grew smaller, sounding utterly heartbroken.

"My leg hurts..."

Hearing those words, Miles stopped in his tracks.

His back stiffened. He stood frozen in silence for a long time before he finally turned back to the bed, conceding defeat.

"Just for tonight."

Seeing that her tactic worked, Claire shamelessly pushed her luck, rubbing her cheek against his arm. "Then you have to sleep in here with me tonight."

"This bed is definitely big enough~" she offered invitingly.

Miles stared at her for several seconds before his defenses crumbled entirely. He let out a muffled sigh.

"Fine."

As long as she softened just a little, as long as she showed even a fraction of need for him, he would completely fall apart. He couldn't bear to be angry with her.

The lights clicked off, plunging the room into darkness, leaving nothing but the sound of their breathing.

"Miles? Are you asleep?"

No response.

"Why were you so angry today? I think communication is the most important thing in a marriage."

Still no response.

Claire turned her head to look at him, but she couldn't make out his face in the dark. Was he actually asleep?

She shifted closer, pressing her body completely against his. "Miles, your heart is beating so fast."

She gasped. "Not so hard."

"You brought this on yourself."

The sound of suppressed, heated intimacy filled the suite.

Only when he took her with this raw, primal intensity, listening to her beg and call his name over and over, did he find a fleeting sense of security.

It was the only way he could convince himself that she wasn't going to leave him...

When the silence finally returned, Claire had fallen into a deep sleep, her breathing steady.

Miles cleaned her up and changed her into a fresh set of clothes.

He had completely ruined the ones she was wearing.

The man's long fingers gently brushed against her cheek.

"If you could just be this good all the time, you could stay by my side forever."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Claire, is it really that hard to just love me?"

Miles got out of bed, pulled on a jacket, and walked out of the room with his phone.

He made the overseas call anyway.

A delighted voice answered on the other end.

"Miles?! You finally decided to call me? Are you planning to switch from internal medicine to neurosurgery?"

Miles kept his voice low. "Professor Thorne, I need to ask you for a favor."

"Go ahead."

"A friend of mine has a malignant brain tumor in a highly sensitive location. I was hoping I could ask you to perform the surgery."

"Huh?" Dr. Thorne sounded perplexed. "Is this some kind of coincidence? Four days ago, a young woman reached out to me with the exact same request for a brain tumor surgery."