Chapter 240

Liam slid a leather bookmark between the pages before closing the novel with a soft thud. He set it down on the mahogany coffee table with deliberate care.

Evelyn's lips curved into a gentle smile. "You're awake? Shall I ask the kitchen staff to warm up some dinner for you?"

As she started to rise, Liam's arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back against him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his breath warm against her skin. "Not hungry. Just stay with me."

She arched an eyebrow playfully. "What would you like to talk about, then?"

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "How's Donovan doing?"

"Still in intensive care." Her fingers absently traced patterns on his forearm. "No improvement. The ventilator's doing most of the work for him now."

Liam reached into his pocket, producing a velvet ring box that clicked open with practiced ease. The diamond caught the light, scattering prismatic sparks across Evelyn's stunned face.

Her breath hitched. Six months of marriage, and this was the first time he'd offered her jewelry.

"This was something Donovan wanted his first love to have," Liam explained quietly, watching her reaction closely. "Before the accident."

The light in Evelyn's eyes dimmed instantly. Her hopeful smile dissolved into a tight line. "I see."

"I want him to give it to her himself." Liam pressed the ring into her palm, his fingers lingering against her skin. "When you visit tomorrow, have the doctors sterilize it. Then place it on his finger."

Understanding dawned on Evelyn. This was Liam's way of giving his brother a reason to fight. She studied the simple platinum band with its modest diamond. "Are ICU patients even allowed to wear jewelry?"

"This meant everything to him." Liam's voice grew rough. "Before the crash, he never mentioned family. Only her."

Evelyn turned the ring over in her palm. Like Liam, Donovan seemed to be the sentimental type. The depth of his devotion moved her, even as it twisted the knife of Liam's lingering feelings for Victoria.

She extricated herself from his embrace. "About what happened at the Valtorian border... Has President Pierce taken any disciplinary action?"

"Don't worry about it." His jaw tightened. "Will Aldenria face consequences?"

"The international spotlight might cause some headaches," he admitted. "But nothing serious. It was an honest mistake, after all."

Evelyn's lips quirked at the diplomatic phrasing. At her skeptical look, Liam challenged, "You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I believe it was completely unintentional," she said sweetly, eyes dancing with mischief. "We'd never want any... miscalculations in missile coordinates or trajectory deviations."

Liam caught her chin, his thumb brushing her lower lip. "You minx." The words held more affection than reprimand.

Evelyn leaned back, her expression sobering. "Liam... I've decided to undergo the memory restoration procedure."

The color drained from his face. "Absolutely not."

Her temper flared. "It's my mind, my choice! Why must you control everything?"

His dark eyes held a quiet desperation that gave her pause. Beneath the steel exterior lurked a primal fear - that the surgery might fail, that she might never wake up. Or worse, that she would remember a life without him.

Ten years abroad. No contact. Changing her nationality. Showing no intention of returning to Aldenria. To her, he'd just been a childhood friend - nothing more.

Before the amnesia, there might have been someone else. Another man who'd claimed her heart. The thought made Liam's blood run cold. He couldn't lose her. Not again.