Chapter 165
Chapter 165:
He didn’t recognize that what he felt had long since crossed the line from regret into something darker and more consuming. He was throwing money at Alycia to keep her quiet and compliant, while his entire soul sat starving on the pavement outside June’s window.
The waiting area of the elite Park Avenue medical clinic was nearly silent, filled only with the soft hum of classical music.
June sat in a plush leather chair in the corner, wearing a simple, tailored beige trench coat. Her head throbbed with a vicious migraine — a physical toll of the extreme stress and sleeplessness of the past few days. Her private doctor had ordered a preventative MRI.
Across the room, the atmosphere was entirely different.
Alycia occupied a velvet sofa, surrounded by the head nurse and two younger assistants, practically glowing with arrogant self-satisfaction. She held up her wrist, displaying a massive, diamond-encrusted Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet.
𝗗𝗂𝘴с𝗈𝘃𝗲r 𝗵і𝗱𝘥еn ge𝗺𝗌 о𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗹ոo𝗏е𝗹𝘀.cоm
“Cole insisted I wear it today,” Alycia announced, her voice pitched deliberately to carry across the room. “He is so overprotective now that I’m expecting. He practically buys me a new piece of jewelry every time I sneeze p>
The head nurse smiled, her eyes bright with undisguised envy. “You are the luckiest woman in New York, Ms. Beasley. Mr. Compton is incredibly generous p>
Alycia’s eyes flicked toward the corner where June sat. A nasty, triumphant smirk crept across her face, and she raised her voice a fraction higher.
“Well,” she said, each word dipped in venom, “a man only spends money on the woman he truly values p>
June didn’t blink. She turned the page of her medical journal with unhurried calm.
To June, Alycia was nothing more than a noisy insect. Cole’s money, his gifts, his attention — none of it held any meaning for her anymore. It was simply the cost of taking out the trash.
A young nurse crossed the room carrying a tray of pastries. She hesitated, glancing toward June, but the head nurse quickly caught her arm.
“Don’t bother her,” the head nurse whispered — loudly enough to be heard. “That’s the soon-to-be ex-wife. She’s getting pushed out of the Compton empire with nothing p>
June heard every word. Not a single muscle in her face moved. Her heart rate didn’t waver. The gossip of shallow people could not find a crack in her armor.
Then the heavy glass doors of the inner clinic swung open.
The Medical Director of the facility — a highly respected physician whose patient list was reserved exclusively for the ultra-wealthy — walked out. He moved past the cluster around Alycia without a glance, crossed the waiting room with purpose, and stopped in front of June. He inclined his head with unmistakable, genuine deference.
“Dr. Erickson,” he said, his voice clear and professional. “Mr. Crawford Love is waiting for you in the VIP lounge p>
The entire waiting room went still.
Alycia’s smirk froze. The nurses stared in stunned silence.
June calmly closed her journal, rose to her feet, gave the Director a brief nod, and followed him toward the restricted VIP doors. She walked directly past Alycia without sparing her a single glance.
The crushing weight of June’s indifference landed like a slap.
June stepped into the luxurious VIP lounge.