Farewell to Love: The CEO's Desperate Chase novel Chapter 73

The care someone gives as part of a job is nothing like the kind of attentive devotion that comes from the heart. Tyler had never bothered to consider the difference before.

He still remembered that day, the gentle grip of Emilia's hand around his, her voice steady as she told him, "Tye, I'll take care of Grandpa. You don't need to worry." He'd seen the stack of nursing and caregiving books she'd brought home, some with sticky notes and scribbled comments in the margins. He'd flipped through them once or twice, realizing she'd truly studied them—she'd taken it seriously.

Tyler lowered his gaze. Every promise Emilia had made, everything she'd ever said she'd do, she'd followed through. Always.

The assisted living facility was just a few blocks from Alden General Hospital. He had no idea if Emilia was still there now. Should he go and find her? Maybe just see how she was doing?

…

Across town, the day had slipped into early afternoon at Alden General Hospital.

Joyce, busy as usual, hadn't heard back from the woman she was trying to reach, so she decided to use her lunch break to track her down in person. That left her brother, Felix, in charge of delivering Emilia's lunch.

Emilia had just been moved out of intensive care and into a private room.

"Don't worry," Joyce had assured her earlier, "your information's on a need-to-know basis. No tabloid or nosy reporter could get your medical records out of here—my dad's the hospital director. He'll make sure of it."

The latest episode of *Voice of the Divine* had just gone live—remarkably fast, considering they'd only finished recording the day before. As Felix arrived, Emilia was sitting up in bed, watching TV, curious to see how the edited version of *Yesterday Once More* had turned out.

She was disappointed. It looked just like the livestream highlights; nothing new, nothing better. Apparently, Christian hadn't managed to rein in Wyatt just yet.

Worse, the show cut to a reaction shot of Vivienne, one of the judges, sitting backstage as Emilia sang. Vivienne's eyes were red, but she looked determined as she spoke, her voice trembling with emotion. "That performance was incredible. The story behind it reminded me of my own beginnings."

Vivienne went on to talk about her early days, before anyone knew her name.

Emilia looked up to find Felix, grinning as he waved the remote. "Why bother watching her?" he teased. "Why not look at me instead?"

Typical Felix—utterly professional at work, but a complete clown whenever he was off the clock.

Emilia rolled her eyes. "And what exactly am I supposed to see?"

Felix held up the lunch box. "This." He made a show of inhaling deeply. "Smells incredible."

That finally made Emilia laugh.

As they joked around, an Aston Martin pulled into the hospital parking lot. Tyler stepped out, glancing up at the inpatient wing's entrance, hesitant but determined.