Finished
Chapter 62 The Only One I’d Risk My Life For
Their eyes locked, holding each other’s gaze for what felt like a century.
Evelyn was the first to break. Her cheeks burned hot as she looked away, scrambling for words.
“Quade saw it too,” she muttered. “Why don’t you hold him responsible instead?”
“Because he can’t marry me,” Philip replied without hesitation.
Evelyn’s mouth moved before her brain caught up. “So … I can marry you?”
The moment the words left her lips, she regretted them deeply.
What kind of foolish trap had she set for herself?
She felt like she was digging her own grave and then falling straight into it.
Philip’s eyes lit up. His lips curved into a faint smile as he nodded. “If you’re willing, yes.”
The tiny room suddenly filled with something unspoken, a warmth that made the air feel heavy.
They were less than three feet apart, but the gap between them was closing by the second.
Just when their lips were about to meet, the door flew open with a loud bang.
Quade stormed into the room, dripping with sweat and panting hard, a pair of aluminum lunchboxes clanking in his hands. “Boss, Boss!” he shouted. “I got it-your fries and fried chicken! You want to eat now?”
He lifted his head and froze. Evelyn’s flushed face and Philip’s glare aimed straight at him.
Wait! Why was Boss glaring at me?
Quade blinked, puzzled. He glanced down at the food. The boxes weren’t spilled. He hadn’t bought the wrong thing, so what was the problem?
“Uh… Boss, you want it now?” he asked again, uncertain.
Philip’s expression stayed hard. “Just put it over there. Then get out.”
It was the same stern look Philip wore during training, the kind that made Quade want to
shrink into the floor.
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Chapter 62 The Only One I’d Risk My Life For
Why, though?
Quade felt wronged; he let out a soft grunt and walked out of the room.
Finished
He’d followed instructions exactly. He’d pedaled so fast he nearly broke the bike chain, raced across town, and rushed back as quick as he could. And this was the thanks he got? Not even a smile?
Boss was impossible to please when he was sick.
Poor him. At that moment, Quade thought he deserved a hug more than anyone.
Inside the room, Evelyn calmed herself after Quade’s noisy interruption. She glanced at the lunchboxes on the table, then turned back to Philip. “You shouldn’t eat greasy food right now. I’ll run down to the cafeteria and get you some grits.”
“I know,” Philip said with a small nod.
So, he knows?
That answer stunned her. “You know? Then why’d you buy this? Just to get rid of Quade? That’s a waste of money.”
Back in 1983, a union hall restaurant wasn’t cheap. You needed ration coupons and cash. Even someone like Zaid, who had a high-paying job, wouldn’t splurge on two dishes in one
It was simply too expensive for the average family.
The Philip she’d known before had never been wasteful like this.
Had her second chance at life changed his fate too? Was he somehow drifting in a new direction just because she was?
While her thoughts spun, Philip lifted a hand and motioned for her to open the boxes. “Last time you ordered fried chicken. I figured you liked it.”
Last time. He meant the day she shook off Seth, when she had treated Philip to dinner. In the end, Philip had paid, but still-that was the very first time they met.
He had remembered every detail.
“When Quade went to find you, it was barely past seven,’ Philip continued. “You rushed here, pulled a buller out of me, then went looking for a fever shot You burned through energy whether you noticed or not Sending Quade away was one reason, but making sure you got food in you-that was another’
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Chapter 62 The Only One I’d Risk My Life For
Evelyn’s nose stung, her chest tight.
Finished
He was the one lying there, wounded and feverish, yet he still thought through every detail for her sake.
He hadn’t changed at all from the man she remembered-always putting her first.
She wanted to throw her arms around him, but the wound was right across his stomach. She was afraid of hurting him again.
“So, the portion is mine,” she said softly. “And the other box-that’s for Quade, right?”
She didn’t wait for his reply. Evelyn picked up the lunchbox and carried it to the door.
At the stairwell corner, she found Quade sulking, still confused. She handed him the box.
When he learned the real reason Philip had sent him to the union hall restaurant, Quade clutched the lunchbox and broke down, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe.
“Boss is too good to me.” Quade sniffled. “He even sent me out so I wouldn’t miss dinner. I thought he hated me, that he was mad at me.”
“How could that be?” Evelyn answered with a smile. “Your boss cares about you more than you know. Otherwise, why would he come looking for you the moment something went wrong?”
But Quade shook his head stubbornly and corrected her. “No, you don’t understand. When I carried in that food earlier, his eyes looked like they could kill. Evelyn, you were in there. Tell me, why was that? Hey-wait-why is your face red?”
Evelyn laughed it off and stood quickly. “It’s hot, that’s all. He wasn’t angry at you. You just barged in like that-if I’d been treating his wound, you could’ve startled me and made things
That glare was just a warning. Next time I’m in there with him, you’d better knock
first.”
Quade’s simple mind bought it immediately. He nodded so fast his head almost dropped. “Alright, alright, I promise. I’ll always knock.”
“Good. Now go ahead and eat. I’ll head back in.”
Evelyn wasn’t in a hurry to eat herself. Quade’s interruption had kept her from cooling Philip’s fever, and missing a meal wasn’t nearly as important.
Philip insisted she should eat, but Evelyn was even more stubborn. She wouldn’t eat until she was done helping him.
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Finished
When Philip saw the determined look etched on her pale face, Philip gave in. He lay back, lifted his shirt, and let her work.
Evelyn dipped a cloth in alcohol and carefully wiped his skin, avoiding the wound. Still, her eyes kept falling on the shredded flesh, the jagged edges of skin and muscle, as if cotton had exploded from the inside out. It made her stomach twist.
She didn’t understand. With an injury that bad, Philip-of all people, a soldier who knew that life itself was the foundation of every battle-should have sought treatment.
Instead, he had hidden the wound, ordering Quade not to take him to the hospital, not even to call a doctor.
He couldn’t really want to die.
“The man who shot you,” Evelyn finally whispered, “he must mean a lot to you, doesn’t he?” It was the only explanation.
Even with the risk of death, Philip refused the hospital. That means he feared the truth would come out-feared the shooter would be exposed.
Who was this person that Philip would go so far to protect?
“Evelyn,” Philip said softly, his voice calm yet steady. “You’re smarter than I imagined.”
He didn’t admit it. He didn’t deny it either. His silence was its own kind of answer.
The room fell into a heavy quiet. Then Evelyn asked again, her voice low, “Was it a woman?”
་
“No.” Philip’s answer was firm. He reached out, catching her fingertips. His touch was cool, his grip gentle but unyielding.
“I swear to you,” he said, “the only woman I’ll ever risk my life to protect is you.”
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Reborn for Love and Revenge
