The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 30

The hospital room was so dark it felt abandoned by the world, leaving only the fading twilight seeping through the window.

A smooth, composed voice suddenly broke the silence.

"You're awake."

Chloe looked up, instantly meeting a pair of dark, steady eyes.

"How long was I out... Have you been here this whole time?"

Quentin was sitting at a side table, effortlessly working on his laptop. He had clearly been there for hours.

He closed the laptop and stood up. "What do you want for dinner?"

Chloe slid out of bed. She hadn't slept that deeply or peacefully in ages. She felt entirely refreshed, and her appetite had returned with a vengeance.

"Hotpot?" Quentin suggested.

"I want hotpot!" Chloe said at the exact same time.

She laughed. "I can't believe you remember that!"

Back when she was studying abroad, she had practically lost her mind trying to find authentic hotpot!

Eventually, Quentin just hired a logistics contact back home to air-freight premium soup bases and fresh ingredients every few weeks. For a while, he had single-handedly become the absolute savior of every Chinese expat in the interpreting division!

Since Quentin had sent his assistant home, he drove them to a high-end commercial plaza himself.

It was peak dinner hour, so while they waited for a table, Chloe slipped away to buy a new phone.

The second she popped in a new SIM card and logged into WhatsApp, a chaotic barrage of notifications exploded on her screen, making her jump.

She clicked open her alerts. Every single one was from Preston.

Over a dozen missed calls, but not a single text message.

Unbelievable.

Chloe locked the phone and walked back to the hotpot restaurant.

Seeing a table packed with all her favorite ingredients, her eyes practically sparkled.

Quentin neatly rolled up his tailored sleeves. His long, elegant fingers wielded the chopsticks as he casually cooked the meat for her.

"Wipe the drool off your face. How long has it been since you've actually had a real meal?"

Ignoring his teasing, Chloe dug in, eating with zero restraint.

"Didn't you forget something?"

Chloe looked confused. "Huh? What?"

She glanced around the passenger seat. "I grabbed all my stuff..."

Quentin tapped his phone screen, his tone slightly dry. "WhatsApp."

He added, "You deleted me for absolutely no reason back then. It's only fair you send the request this time."

Chloe froze, then realized what he meant. Feeling a pang of guilt but also fighting a smile, she quickly opened the app and sent him a friend request.

Since when was the stoic Quentin Shaw so petty?

The villa was pitch black. She assumed Preston was still at the hospital fawning over Jenna.

Chloe pushed the front door open. Before she could even take off her shoes, a tall silhouette stepped out from the darkness of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She jumped back in terror, the stack of translation files scattering all over the floor.

"Preston? Why are you sitting in the dark?!"

In the pitch black, Preston's imposing frame slowly advanced toward her. "Where did you go?" he demanded, his voice dangerously low.