Chapter 330 Wed Under The Law
Chapter 330 Wed Under The Law
Anneliese’s head lifted slowly, her breath catching as her gaze locked with Jonathan’s–those fathomless eyes steady and unyielding. “Release it. Don’t risk hurting yourself,” he said commandingly, yet laced with a tenderness that pierced straight through her frenzy.
The storm raging in her chest faltered under the weight of that concern. Only then did she notice how violently her hand trembled around the syringe, the needle already bent from her desperate grip. Jonathan’s grip enveloped hers, his thumb brushing lightly over the taut veins on her wrist, a silent reassurance that steadied her pulse.
Her fingers slackened of their own accord, and the syringe slipped from her grasp, striking the floor with a dull ring. Weakness flooded her, and she collapsed against him, her weight surrendering to the shelter of his embrace.
And there, with her defenses torn apart, the tide she had dammed up broke free at last- terror, guilt, grief all surging forward in an unstoppable wave. Her eyes stung as hot tears burst forth, sliding down her cheeks in a flood she could no longer restrain.
“What should I do? Grandma’s still fighting for her life in there…”
Jonathan reached out, his touch feather–light as he wiped the tears streaking down her face. His words came low and resolute, a quiet anchor in the storm. “Carter doesn’t lose patients. He’s the kind of man even death itself keeps its distance from. Trust him–Nishay will survive this.”
Whether it was the quiet conviction in his tone or the unwavering faith he placed in Carter’s skill, something in his voice–absolute certainty, unshakable calm–slipped past her terror and wrapped around her heart. The panic clawing at her chest eased and steadied.
Without thinking, she clutched at the fabric of his shirt, sinking her head against his chest, drawing strength from his steadiness.
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Not far away, Zacharias was lifting Melody to her feet. But when his eyes fell on the sight of Anneliese–so fragile, so trusting in another man’s arms–his heart clenched violently.
He felt as though a blade had been driven clean through his chest. Years of being with Anneliese, yet never once had she yielded to him like this, revealing such unguarded softness. She was never the fragile kind–she wore her strength like armor, too proud to admit pain, too stubborn to shed tears where anyone could see. He had known her for years, and even then, moments of weakness were rarer than gold.
And yet Jonathan, who had barely stepped into her life, had somehow earned what he never could. There she was, clinging to him, crying as though he were the only safe place left in the world!
The sight tore Zacharias apart. Jealousy seared through him like fire, but the bitterness that followed was worse, acrid and suffocating, leaving his throat locked and his voice stolen.
He stood there, burning alive and unable to speak.
“Zach! Look at Mom–her eyes are rolling back! What if she’s infected already? There’s got to be some kind of blocker, right? Please, call a doctor before it’s too late!” Lenora’s frantic voice cracked through his daze.
At last, Zacharias snapped back to his senses. He glanced at Lenora, who was trembling and sobbing uncontrollably, and his voice came out rough. “She’s bluffing. That needle was never tainted with HIV.”
It baffled him how Melody and Lenora could be so gullible–falling headfirst into Anneliese’s scare tactics. No hospital in its right mind would leave something so lethal lying around. Biohazard waste was destroyed on the spot, never just tossed into a landfill.
And he’d seen it up close–the barrel was spotless, the needle pristine. More likely, Anneliese just snatched some unused syringe to frighten them. Lenora froze, then her face lit up with relief. Though she still felt a twinge of fear toward him, her respect for him was stronger. If he spoke with such certainty, she had no reason to doubt.
Once it dawned on her that she’d been played, the fear drained from her legs. Fury took its place, and she shot Anneliese a venomous glare. Her eyes flicked to the man shielding Anneliese–a face she remembered from the White family’s banquet. Jonathan. A man so untouchable that even Selina could only look on from afar.
And yet here he was, holding Anneliese close.
The sight left Lenora reeling, envy twisting through her until her body shook. “Anneliese, you’re disgusting! Fresh out of a divorce and already tangled up with another man, clinging to him in broad daylight? You really are as faithless as I thought–you never deserved Zach!”
Neither she nor Melody had attended that banquet the night before. Instead, they had spent half the night struggling with Zacharias, who had staggered home blind drunk. He had vomited, ranted, and through his drunken haze, he had cried out Anneliese’s name over and over, pleading with her not to abandon him.
Having spent the night mopping up his drunken chaos, both Melody and Lenora nursed a grudge that only festered darker by morning. They barreled into the hospital without so much. as glancing at the news, blind to the fact that Anneliese was already bound to Jonathan by law
and vows.
So, when Lenora jabbed a finger at Anneliese and hurled insults, Jonathan’s frigid gaze sliced through her like a blade. Her bravado crumbled at once; her complexion drained, and her shoulders hunched in retreat.
Before Jonathan could even part his lips, Zion stepped forward, his voice edged like tempered steel. “Mr. Fullbuster and Mrs. Fullbuster are wed under the law. You’d better mind your tongue.”
The revelation hit like a thunderclap. Lenora’s jaw dropped, her voice splitting into a shrill, broken cry of disbelief. “What did you just say? Married?!”
Even Melody, still doubled over from that brutal kick, managed to lift her head and stare, dumbstruck, at the sight of Anneliese nestled against Jonathan’s chest.
It defied belief. Anneliese had cast aside Zacharias—only to wind up with a man who eclipsed him in both fortune and looks? If wealthy men were truly this oblivious, then why on earth hadn’t Lenora waltzed her way into high society by now?
