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Chapter 329
Chapter 329:
The heavy glass door clicked shut, sealing June out in the hallway.
The instant the latch engaged, the terrifying, icy mask of the Wall Street apex predator completely shattered.
Crawford’s broad shoulders collapsed inward. He squeezed his eyes shut as a violent cough ripped through his chest, the sudden spasm shifting his fractured ribs with agonizing precision.
He let out a low, guttural groan, his right hand flying up to grip his bandaged chest.
The door to the ICU room opened again and Julian stepped back in, his face grim.
He saw Crawford hunched over, gasping for air, his face contorted in pain. Julian quickly crossed the room and grabbed a plastic cup of ice water from the bedside table, shoving it into Crawford’s trembling hand.
“Are you completely insane?” Julian demanded, his voice thick with disbelief. “You literally almost died for that woman yesterday. Why the hell did you just push her away like she was a telemarketer p>
Crawford took a small, painful sip of water. His throat was raw.
He leaned his head back against the pillows and stared blankly at the white ceiling tiles. The silence stretched for a long, heavy moment.
“Because of Cole,” Crawford finally whispered. His voice was a broken rasp.
Julian frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “What does Cole have to do with this p>
𝗔𝖽𝖽i𝘤𝘁𝗂𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁оr𝗶𝘦ѕ о𝗇.с𝗈m
Crawford turned his head and looked at Julian, his dark eyes filled with a profound, suffocating exhaustion.
He slowly, methodically explained the brutal two-month ultimatum he had forced upon Cole.
“If I stay close to her right now,” Crawford said, his voice devoid of any hope, “Cole’s jealousy will consume him entirely. He will drag her name through the mud in the divorce proceedings. He will use his media outlets to paint her as an adulterer. He will destroy her reputation to keep her trapped p>
Julian’s eyes widened. The sheer magnitude of the psychological warfare between these two men was staggering.
Crawford let out a dark, self-deprecating laugh. It sounded like grinding glass.
“I have to step back,” Crawford said, his fingers tightening around the plastic cup. “I have to let her walk out of that toxic marriage completely clean. It is the only way to protect her. It is the only thing I can do for her right now p>
Julian stared at his friend. Beneath Crawford’s ruthless exterior, he could see something deep and bleeding — a level of self-sacrifice that was almost terrifying.
Crawford’s expression hardened. He locked eyes with Julian.
“I do not trust Cole,” Crawford stated, his tone shifting into absolute command. “And I do not trust my own security team to handle the Compton family’s interference. Julian, I need you to personally drive her back to Manhattan p>
Julian did not hesitate for a fraction of a second. “I will get her there safely p>
An hour later, the scene shifted to the dark, concrete expanse of the hospital’s underground parking garage.
Julian’s metallic silver Aston Martin Vanquish sat idling in the VIP section.