"No.""Kevin...""I said no. This isn't a battlefield problem. It's a personal one, and I'll handle it my way."His phone rang.Sarah.Kevin stared at the screen. Quentina glanced at it, then at him, her expression making it clear exactly what she thought he should do with the phone and where Sarah could put her call.It rang five times. Six. Seven. Kevin let it ring. On the ninth ring, something cold and tired made him press accept."Kevin, where are you?" Sarah's voice came through tight and clipped, not worried, not relieved, just angry. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"He said nothing."Jasper is in surgery right now. Three broken ribs. Multiple internal organs bleeding. His left leg is fractured in two places. The doctors said if the ambulance had been five minutes later, he could have died. Died, Kevin. Because of you."Kevin closed his eyes. The taste of blood was still in his mouth."You need to come to the hospital right now and apologize to him the moment he wakes up

From an angle Sarah couldn't see, the side of his face turned away from her against the pillow, Jasper's mouth curved into a slow, satisfied smile.His eyes, hidden from her view, were sharp and clear and nothing at all like the eyes of a man who had nearly died. The injuries were real, the pain was real, but neither was anywhere near as severe as the performance suggested.Sarah noticed none of it. She adjusted his blanket, checked his IV drip, and began asking the nurse about his medication schedule with the focused concern of a woman who had completely forgotten that her own husband might be bleeding to death somewhere across the city.Three days passed.Sarah sat in her office at Sterling Corporation, the morning light falling across a desk covered in military correspondence.An email glowed on her monitor, formal language stamped with military insignia, informing her of the upcoming weapons acceptance conference.She was required to prepare quality inspection reports for every ba

He paused, his eyes dropping to the floor. "And now he's gone and left the military reports unfinished, knowing the acceptance conference is two weeks away. Knowing the contracts are worth hundreds of millions. Knowing you'd be the one left holding everything together." He shook his head slowly. "It makes me sad, Sarah. It really does. That someone would let their pride become more important than the woman they're supposed to love."Every sentence was a carefully placed stone in a path leading Sarah further from Kevin and closer to Jasper. Each word painted Kevin as selfish and irresponsible while Jasper glowed with forgiveness and selflessness.Sarah's expression softened. "Don't overthink it, Jasper. None of this is on you. Just focus on recovering and getting your strength back.""I'm trying." He smiled weakly. "But it's hard to rest when I know you're drowning."The warmth in his voice loosened something tight in Sarah's chest. She felt her mood shift, the heavy cloud of the past