The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 269

Natalie opened her eyes and found Hassan's face hovering incredibly close to hers. His flawless features, straight nose, and sharp brow bone filled her vision. He was holding her, his dark, brilliant eyes already open and completely clear.

His voice carried the rough, lazy gravel of recent sleep. "How did you manage to catch a fever again? What exactly were you doing outside yesterday? You know the temperature dropped sharply, didn't you think to wear a jacket?"

She touched her forehead, her eyelashes fluttering. "I... I had a fever?"

He peeled the cooling patch off her forehead and pressed his warm palm against her skin. "What else? Your fever was so high I had to call the doctor in to put you on an IV. It didn't break until the early hours of the morning. It's already 11 a.m."

Natalie did feel the heavy, aching exhaustion that always followed a bad fever. Her voice came out raspy. "I didn't even feel cold. How could I have caught a fever?"

"Dress warmer from now on." He threw off the covers and got out of bed, handing her a glass of warm water. "Faye made some soup. Drink some water first, then come out and get some food in your stomach."

Her throat was completely parched. She took the glass from him and downed the water in several greedy gulps, relishing the feeling of the warm liquid sliding down into her stomach.

A vague memory surfaced—had things been like this last night too? Maybe he had been feeding her medication?

When she walked into the dining room, Faye immediately rushed over to serve her a bowl. "Are you feeling any better, Mrs. Carlson? You really gave us a scare last night."

"Yes, I'm alright now," Natalie rasped. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Faye looked at her pale face and sighed. "Take your time eating. There's more simmering on the stove, I'll go check on it."

Natalie nodded. She pulled out her phone. She had passed out from the fever last night before she could reply to Nancy.

Thankfully, it had been late, so Nancy had assumed she just fell asleep.

They had been talking about Elbert's death.

Nancy had suggested that once the dust settled in a few days, she could use her therapy sessions as an excuse to subtly pump Yale Easton for information.

After firing off a quick reply, Natalie placed her phone face down on the table and tried to piece together the previous night.

She massaged her temples. Had she really been so rattled by Elbert's death that she completely ignored the signs of a severe fever?

She rubbed her forehead with a frown. After downing a few more bites of soup, Hassan emerged from his study with a stack of files and headed straight for the front door.

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