Page 91 of Harrison's Wedding

“Why is it taking so long? I just need to sign some discharge papers so I can leave.” I glare at her.

“Um, he’s waiting for someone to handle the paperwork, Mr. Smith.” The nurse shifts nervously from foot to foot.

I feel bad for being angry at her when I’m really angry at myself for what I did. I just need to get home and see Heather, to make sure that she’s okay and try to make this right.

I sigh deeply and say, “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you; I just need to go home urgently.”

“I understand,” she says. “I’ll go get him now. He said he would be five more minutes when you called me.”

She almost certainly knows why I’m so desperate to go home from the look she’s giving me. The picture is everywhere, no doubt. It flashes in my mind, and a wave of nausea crashes over me. The whole world is seeing a picture of me in bed with a woman who isn’t my fiancée. They all think I cheated on Heather as if she’s not the most amazing woman in the world, as if I would ever want to sleep with anyone else.

But I did. I slept with Maddy. I fight back the waves of nausea. If I vomit, they might find some way to keep me here, no matter how many papers I’m willing to sign. I’m on my phone again, and considering booking another flight, when Cliff walks back in the room with a second man in a suit. I don’t think I’ve ever been more relieved to see someone in my life. I’ll still miss the second flight, but at least I can leave soon.

“Mr. Fletcher, this is Lee Gallagher, he’s one of the hospital’s lawyers, and he’s going to run through the discharge papers with us.”

I give a hollow laugh. “You made me wait forty-five minutes to leave so you could have a lawyer here when I do?”

Cliff gives me a wry grin. “I apologize for the delay, Mr. Fletcher, but yes. A high-profile patient who wants to leave against medical advice? The hospital just needs to be certain everything is done correctly.”

“I see. Well, let’s get this done quickly, please. I needed to leave over an hour ago when I first asked to go.”

Fuck being a rock star. Fuck hospitals wanting to cover their asses. Fuck everything in this world, except Heather. I just want to be with her. It takes another thirty minutes to get the paperwork completed and my few possessions collected.

As I’m walking down the hall, I catch sight of Gabriel in the room next to mine while a nurse is exiting and closing the door behind her. I open it and walk inside. He looks up at me, and I feel a rush of shame come over me, knowing he saw me in bed with her.

“I’m leaving,” I tell him around the lump that’s forming in my throat.

Gabriel nods. “I overheard one of the nurses talking about you wanting to leave. Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. Callum said Heather is going to hurt herself. I need to go home.”

“Shit, I hope she’s okay. They agreed you could go?” Gabriel seems mildly surprised.

“Not willingly. I had to keep asking until the head of the hospital got a fucking lawyer to come sign the papers with me to say I was discharging myself against medical advice.”

He frowns at me, with a look of concern on his face. “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing? If they want you to stay, you should listen to them.”

“I actually don’t give a shit if I’m doing the right thing. I need to be with Heather.”

“Of course. Go home. I’ll get your stuff from the hotel whenever we get back there. Let me know how Heather is when you see her.”

I nod and thank him before I head out the front of the hospital toward the taxi rank. I’m completely swarmed by paparazzi when I do. Shit. I didn’t even think about them. I ignore their questions and get into a taxi, instructing my driver to drive to the airport as quickly as he can, and I book a flight on the way.

* * *

The hoursbetween leaving the hospital and arriving home at our apartment are some of the worst hours of my life. I want to talk to Heather, I want to text her and ask how she’s doing, but I don’t.

Paparazzi hound me at both airports about cheating and talk about Heather sleeping with Sebastian. I’m feeling drained as fuck. I ended up getting on a first-class flight, which was good because it meant fewer people staring at me. It didn’t stop all the people at the airport, though. They all knew. They knew I’d cheated on Heather, and I can barely stand having that knowledge myself, let alone everyone else having it.

I walk into our apartment, and it’s eerily quiet.

“Hi, sir,” Callum says when he sees me. “Miss York was sleeping when I last checked on her.”

I fight the rising shame and say, “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You can leave now. I’ll let you know if we need you,” I tell him, and he nods.

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