I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 153

Lulled by Bonnie's soft voice, Nora actually drifted into a hazy sleep.

She slept deeply. The exhaustion of constantly bouncing between the hospital and the Fletcher estate over the past few days crashed down on her, dragging her consciousness into a bottomless dream.

When she finally opened her eyes again, thick darkness had already settled outside the window.

It took her a moment to process the time. It was already night. Had she really slept through the entire day?

She hadn't asked Zelda for the day off, nor had she messaged Felix. The Institute probably thought something terrible had happened to her.

Panic seized her. She quickly propped herself up, reaching for the phone on the nightstand. The sudden movement pulled at the stitches on her left arm, making her let out a muffled groan of pain.

Suddenly, a low, cold voice echoed from the shadows in the corner of the dim room. "Don't move. I already made the calls for you. They know, and they're on their way."

Nora's heart skipped a beat. "Who's there?" she blurted out.

The next second, the room lights flicked on. The warm yellow glow cascaded from the ceiling, illuminating the man sitting by the sofa.

Xander was still impeccably dressed in his suit, though he had changed into a fresh shirt. His hair wasn't as relaxed as it had been that morning, clearly indicating he had gone home to freshen up before returning.

He had been flipping through a file and squinted slightly to adjust to the sudden brightness.

Nora's heart momentarily stopped. Seeing Xander at this hour was more shocking than seeing an alien.

Why was he still here so late? Hadn't Bonnie pushed him out the door that morning?

She opened her mouth, her brain rapidly sorting through all possible explanations, before managing to squeeze out, "Mr. Harrison, why are you still here?"

He stood up and walked to the edge of the bed, looking down at her. The overhead light cast sharp shadows across his face, obscuring his exact expression, but his voice carried a trace of genuine confusion. "Nora, do you hate me?"

Nora didn't understand why he was asking that. She shook her head. "I don't hate you."

"Then why do you always look terrified when you see me?"

In his experience, the women who interacted with him either threw themselves at him aggressively or played hard to get with ulterior motives.

But Nora didn't fall into either category. She genuinely wanted him to leave her alone, and she never tried to hide it.

Nora silently grumbled to herself, *Because you're terrifying, buddy.* But she kept that thought locked away.

She just smiled, keeping her tone as natural and polite as possible. "Because you are Mr. Harrison. You are respected by thousands. What I feel is admiration, not fear."