Two Days Later, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus

  Seven stood with his arms crossed as he watched Sana being wheeled into the radiology department. His keen eyes tracked the orderly pushing her through the double doors, disappearing from the fluorescent-lit corridor.

  “Morning, Sev.”

  A familiar voice pulled him from his reverie. He turned to see Nathan approaching, his usual easygoing smile in place.

  “Hey, Nate. How’s it going?”

  “I should be asking you that,” Nathan said with a knowing smirk. “Congrats. You pulled it off! You woke Angus Fortier.”

  Seven’s gaze sharpened. “Who told you?”

  “Alain Fortier’s assistant.”

  “I see.”

  Nathan hesitated, then admitted, “I didn’t tell you before because I thought it was a long shot... There’s a reward for the person who recommended the healer and the healer himself.”

  Seven straightened, his tone measured. “Yeah, I just found out.”

  Nathan exhaled, gauging his friend. “Is this going to be a problem for you? The military—”

  Seven shook his head, cutting him off. “No. I’ve left the military.”

  Nathan blinked. “What?”

  “Yeah. I resigned a couple of days ago.”

  Nathan’s mind raced. “I guess with the money, you could live comfortably.”

  Seven’s lips twitched. “That’s not why I left.”

  Nathan studied him, then steered the conversation elsewhere. “So, what’s next?”

  Seven’s answer came without hesitation. “Starting a company with my father.”

  Nathan’s thoughts spun before settling on a nagging question. “Will you still do trauma surgery?”

  A small smile tugged at the corners of Seven’s mouth. “Of course. I’m still affiliated with Walter Reed. I’m a private contractor now.”

  Nathan exhaled, relieved. “Good. In that case, would you be open to consulting for us at Inova? As an Affiliate Consultant?”

  Seven considered for a moment, then agreed. “Yeah, why not?”

  Nathan was ecstatic. “Perfect. I’ll take it to the senior management.”

  Then, Seven broached another matter. “Actually, I have an out-of-town patient coming in for a review. I told him to check in here while he’s in Virginia. He’s arriving on the 15th.”

  Nathan didn’t miss a beat. “Link me up. I’ll handle the arrangements.”

  “Thanks.”

  ……

  Later That Evening, Dinner at The Cliffs

  The dining hall buzzed with warm conversation, the soft clinking of cutlery against porcelain filling the space. The air was rich with the scent of saffron-infused rice and slow-roasted lamb, but the real topic of the evening wasn’t the meal.

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  Kian set down his wine goblet and turned to his mother. “Mom, Harper’s just started working on a project nearby. I thought she could stay here until it’s done; it’ll save her a ton of travel time. Is there a spare room for her?”

  Ami tilted her head in thought before replying. “Lara and Kate have vacated theirs for Shan and Sig. So, there’s only one left. It’s right next to your uncle and aunt’s. Does that work?”

  “Perfect! I’ll let her know.”

  Across the table, Seven’s expression changed. He cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Aunt Ami, Uncle Sadra, I have good news,” he said, adding, “I’ve reviewed Sana’s latest scans. She’s back to 100 percent. She can finally ditch her wheelchair.”

  Sana’s eyes lit up. “Sweets! You’re just telling me now? After I spent all day rolling around like some royal invalid?”

  Laughter rippled around the table, but Ami pressed a hand to her chest, exhaling in quiet relief. “Seven, we really couldn’t thank you enough.”

  Seven gave a polite nod before casually dropping his next words. “Since Sana can reclaim her bed, and there are no more rooms here, I’ll move back home.”

  Sana stiffened. “What? Why? Which home?”

  “I still have to treat James; it’ll be the Bellview house.”

  Sana’s expression soured, and she stabbed at her food like it had wronged her. “So, you’re going to ditch me now?”

  Before Seven could respond, Aaris’s voice boomed. “You’re still young, raised to be a proper lady. You shouldn’t be cohabiting with him under our roof.”

  “I’m an adult, you know,” Sana muttered under her breath.

  Kasra sighed. “Grandpa, Seven has been taking care of her from the start. Wouldn’t it be cruel to uproot everything overnight?”

  “He said it himself; she’s recovered. She doesn’t need a live-in nurse anymore,” Aaris spat.

  Seven set his jaw but didn’t argue. It wasn’t unexpected.

  Katherine raised a brow. “So, let me get this straight, Grandpa Aaris. Does your objection only apply to my brother? Because last I checked, nobody raised a fuss when Lara and I moved in with your grandsons.”

  She let that settle before continuing, “If you feel that a proper young lady shouldn’t be living with her boyfriend, I might as well head back to Bellview with him.”

  Katherine’s declaration drove a stake through Kimi’s heart. He shot his grandfather a look of annoyance. “Grandpa! You can’t be serious! I go where Kitty goes.”

  An uncomfortable silence hung in the air before Sadra finally spoke. “Dad, let’s discuss this.”

  Aaris’s chest tightened. “What’s there to discuss? You condone this man cohabiting with your baby girl?”

  Beside him, Huma, holding her tongue until now, had had enough. “Aaris! You hypocritical fossil! Little Kate’s right! If something were to happen, it would happen—cohabiting or not!”

  Seven’s fingers dug into his thigh. “It’s fine. I should head back anyway.”

  Sana’s lips pressed into a thin line, determination set in her features. “I don’t want you to go.”

  Aaris exhaled sharply. “Sana—”

  “Grandpa, I don’t want Seven to go,” she repeated, louder this time. “Even though I’m perpetually stuck at home, I haven’t spent much time with him. He’s so busy, working his butt off, all for me. And now that he’s starting his company with his father, he’ll be even busier… What’s worse, so many girls in the office are pursuing him—” she trailed off, too upset to continue.

  “What?”

  Sana met Seven’s confused gaze. “There’s a private group chat. They’ve all invited you to be their plus one for the company’s Christmas party. They’re wondering who you’ll take eventually. There’s even a bet on who’ll win your heart.”

  Seven swallowed hard, his pulse kicking up. “I swear, I turned everyone down. I wasn’t even planning to attend.”

  But Sana wasn’t convinced. She’d been out of action too long and couldn’t even let anyone at work in on her relationship with him.

  Studying her troubled expression, Seven exhaled in surrender. “Let’s go to the party together, okay?”

  Sana tilted her head, chirping, “Then, can I return to the office after the party?”

  “Let’s confirm your new secretary first, alright?” Seven coaxed softly.

  “Okay… But I still don’t want you to leave.”

  Aaris made a noise of protest, but Sadra quickly cut him off. “Dad, if that’s what Sana wants, I have no objections… Do you want her to move to Bellview?”

  Aaris’s eyelid twitched, annoyed but resigned.

  “Fine. Do what you want.”

  The tension that had been hanging overhead finally dissipated.

  As the dust settled, Kasra pivoted. “Now that we’ve agreed on that, we need to talk about Lara.”

  Lara, sitting beside him, gave him a look. “What about me?”

  “You’re pregnant. And we’re getting married. You can’t keep being Sana’s bodyguard and PA.”

  Lara sighed, but she didn’t argue. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “We’ve shortlisted three candidates,” Kasra continued. “Sev, Princess—I need you both to come down to TITAN Group and interview them.”

  Sana leaned back in her chair. “Alright. When?”

  “Tomorrow morning. We’ll go together.”

  Seven nodded. “Fine by me.”

  With the major decisions made, the conversation slowly veered toward lighter topics, but Seven remained quiet. His thoughts were mostly on Sana’s return to the office. After all, the threat posed by Talon Cloche had yet to be neutralized.