Chapter 24
Vincent reacted instantly, grabbing the figure mid–air.
Callum’s fist missed his jaw by inches.
“You bastard! You let her get rid of my child!”
The last time Vincent had been caught off guard by Callum, it was only because he’d used Evelyn as bait. This time, there were no distractions.
Vincent flipped Callum over with a single, brutal motion, slamming him into the ground.
“She made that decision herself,” Vincent said coldly. “And she told you to stay away.”
Callum snarled. “You’re just a damn bodyguard! Who the hell do you think you are, stealing my woman?”
“I’m going to kill you!”
He lunged again.
Vincent spun behind him, pinning him against the wall with one arm.
As Callum struggled, Vincent reached into his coat and pulled out a red ID.
Brigadier General, First District.
Callum’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s not possible. You’re just some mercenary thug–how the hell could you be military?”
Vincent tucked the badge away, voice flat. “I was injured and retired early. Since then, I’ve been looking for someone I met ten years ago. When I finally found her, she was your wife. So I stayed hidden. Protected her quietly.”
He leaned in closer. “Now that she’s free, I’ll keep protecting her.”
Callum’s entitlement shriveled in the face of Vincent’s calm authority.
He wasn’t just stronger. He outranked him in every way. He was utterly defeated, even forgetting to struggle as he was pinned against the wall by Vincent, his aristocratic arrogance gone.
A resounding question echoed from above. “Do I have permission now to be by her side, Callum?”
“I love her more than you ever did.”
With a final shove, Callum stumbled back, collapsing in the hallway.
“Get out of her life. Or I swear, you’ll never see her again.”
Callum staggered to his feet. “What about the baby?!”
Vincent’s expression darkened. “That was Evelyn’s choice. I respect that. What you feel? Doesn’t matter.”
Evelyn awoke groggy from the anesthesia. Her head swam.
A warm pressure enveloped her hand.
She looked down and saw Vincent sitting beside her, gently holding her hand and keeping the IV warm in his palms.
His short hair swayed slightly in the breeze. With his eyes closed, he looked softer–almost gentle.
Then something around his neck caught her eye.
A red string. Attached to it was a light green jade pendant.
It looked familiar. Too familiar.
Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat.
When she was a little girl, there had been a boy. A kind boy she’d met once when they were both lost and scared. She had given him a locket, the same as her mother’s, telling him it would keep him safe.
And now… she was looking right at it.
Chapter 24
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