The Surgeon He Betrayed Now Belongs to a CEO novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: The Empty Gallery

Declan's POV

By midnight the ballroom had emptied, and she had not come back to our table.

I found her where I had known I would.

The history gallery was dark except for the light over her father's photograph.

She stood under it in the green dress with the glass award held against her hip, and she had taken her shoes off.

"They're calling it the best centennial in a century," she said without turning. "That was a joke the chairwoman made. I think it was a joke."

"Desmond?"

"He gave the board his badge and walked out the front. Fiona went after him." She set the award on the floor against the wall. "I don't know what they'll do. It isn't mine to know."

"Your grandfather?"

"He stood up when Fiona sat down. He walked to the stage and stopped at the steps. He looked at me for a long time, and then he went home."

"He didn't speak?"

"Not yet."

She turned.

Her face was tired, and clean, and bare of everything she had worn for the room.

I thought: three years.

I had met her in this gallery with a plan, cold and practical, for buying back a debt.

I had told myself it was a debt.

I had told myself I wanted her hands.

"You've been quiet," she said.

"I'm trying to say something in the right order."

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