The hospital room was quiet in the kind of way that made every word feel heavier than usual. The lights were dim, the night had stretched deep into itself, and the calm hum of the medical equipment only made the tension between them stand out more sharply. Megan sat on the bed, looking pale and exhausted, her voice still unsteady from everything she had been through. She had spoken from fear, from guilt, and from the desperate need to prevent the situation from growing into something even more dangerous than it already was. In her mind, asking for peace was not an act of betrayal. It was an act of survival. But Raymond did not hear it that way. At that moment, as he stood there looking at her, something in his expression changed. The anger in him was no longer the fierce, explosive kind that rises suddenly and burns itself out in a storm of shouting. It was deeper than that. It had hardened into disappointment, the kind that comes when someone you expected more from says something th

For a while, Raymond did not answer Megan’s question.She sat on the hospital bed with her phone still in her hands, staring at him as though she expected him to explain everything—the news, the sudden downfall of Marcus and his family, the political suspension, the accusations spreading across every platform, and the reason he had seemed so certain that David’s father would not be able to escape the consequences this time.But Raymond did not look interested in explaining himself.His face remained serious, and although the anger in his eyes had softened slightly, it had not disappeared. He was still upset with her. He was still disappointed that, after everything David had tried to do, Megan’s first instinct had been to speak about peace, forgiveness, and letting the matter go.At last, Raymond cleared his throat.“Megan,” he said quietly, “you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”She looked at him, still confused.“Yes,” he continued. “What I did is not your concern. You do not

For a moment, the tension in the hospital room remained unbroken.Melissa was still standing near the doorway, her eyes fixed on Megan, while Megan remained close to Raymond, watching the unfamiliar woman with growing curiosity. The silence between them was not peaceful. It was filled with questions neither woman had asked and assumptions neither was willing to voice.Raymond seemed to notice the atmosphere before it became unbearable.He looked from Melissa to Megan, then cleared his throat.“Oh,” he said, as though he had only just remembered that an introduction was necessary. “This is Megan.”He gestured toward the woman beside him.“Megan,” he continued, “this is Melissa.”Megan looked at Melissa carefully, waiting for Raymond to explain who she was.Raymond hesitated for a fraction of a second.“Well,” he said, “let me just say that she is my sister. My younger sister, to be precise.”Megan’s eyes widened.Raymond continued before she could interrupt.“We grew up together. We ha

Raymond looked from Megan to Melissa, his expression serious enough to make it clear that what he was about to say was not a suggestion. He had already made up his mind, and whatever objections either of them might raise would not easily change it.“I actually want Megan to stay with you,” he said.Melissa’s eyes narrowed slightly.Raymond continued before she could respond.“Yes, I want Megan to be with you as much as possible. If you go anywhere, I want her to go with you. If you leave the house, she should go with you. If you go to work, I want Megan to accompany you there as well.”Megan stared at him in surprise.“What?”Raymond looked at her.“You are supposed to begin your practical training as a medical doctor soon,” he explained. “That means you will be moving into an environment where you will have to make quick decisions, speak clearly, and stand by your judgment. You cannot continue allowing people to push you around or make you doubt yourself.”Megan lowered her gaze, but

At that moment, Raymond turned his attention toward Megan, watching her expression carefully as the tension in the room settled into an uneasy quiet. Her face had softened, though there was still a flicker of something guarded behind her eyes, the same wariness she had carried since Melissa first walked through the door.Melissa, standing a short distance away, was seething.She was angry—genuinely angry—though nothing in her outward composure betrayed it. Her jaw remained relaxed, her hands calm at her sides, her expression polished into the same practiced pleasantness she had worn since entering the room. But inside, frustration burned through her chest like a slow fire.She said nothing.There was nothing she could say.To argue with Megan now, to challenge her in front of Raymond, would only make her appear insecure, possessive, and small. She had spent years cultivating an image of composure, of quiet strength, of a woman who never allowed her emotions to dictate her actions. She