The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 343

“He vanished after dropping her at the hospital,” Harlan replied, a faint crease forming between his brows. The disappearance struck him as odd, though he kept the thought to himself.

“Harlan, go home,” Quinn urged once Laura and Weston had gone. “You followed me to Doria, then kept watch two more days in this ward. Your parents must be worried. Get some rest.”

“I already spoke with them on video,” he said. “They know I’m staying here to look after you.”

“But—”

“Remember when I caught that fever on base? You sat by my bunk all night until the heat broke,” Harlan reminded her. “I’m simply returning the favor.”

Quinn fell silent.

“Rest for now. I’m heading to the Ministry of Defense to file the DNA report and confirm we located Rowan. I’ll be back once the paperwork’s done.”

Quinn nodded. The military had chased leads on Rowan for months; at last, there was something solid to deliver.

When Harlan left with the folder, the room felt suddenly cavernous and too quiet.

Propped against her pillows, she opened her phone and scheduled a visa appointment with practiced taps.

She needed to heal fast; once the paperwork cleared, she would head to Celosia without delay.

Across town, Gavin Huxley—house physician to the Whitethorn family—studied Julius over his spectacles. “Your insomnia is mainly psychological. Keep upping the dosage, and one day the pills will kill you. See a therapist.”

Julius lowered his gaze, thumb caressing the sandalwood bracelet. “Until Quinn is back at my side, no shrink can fix what’s wrong inside me.”

“She’s only a woman, Julius. The world is full of options. You could find another to suit you,” Gavin pressed.

A dry laugh escaped Julius. “Suit me? I searched for years and discovered only her.”

And he knew, with bleak certainty, no one else would ever compare.

“Stay trapped like this and you’ll choke on your own devotion,” Gavin warned, voice softer now, heavy with the concern of an old friend.

“Your father once tried to persuade mine to let go of the woman he loved.” Julius’ voice flowed like winter rain—soft, cold, impossible to stop. “Tell me, did any of that pleading work?”

Gavin’s breath caught. For a heartbeat, he simply stared at him, the question striking harder than any scalpel he had ever wielded.

During those seven days, Julius never once appeared, his absence a silent echo in every white corridor.

The emptiness left Quinn with a tangled feeling—relief twisted with something that tasted like loss.

She understood that faint ache all too well: some part of her still hadn’t cut the last thread binding her to Julius. Give it time, she told herself, one day the thread will break on its own.

Harlan drove Quinn from the hospital, reciting after-care instructions to Laura the entire way. Even after delivering Quinn to Laura’s place, he stayed until night pressed against the windows before finally leaving.

“Looks to me like Harlan is rather devoted,” Laura said, raising an eyebrow. “Have you truly never considered him?”

“I’ve told you—I’m not ready for romance,” Quinn replied. “Finding my brother is the only thing that matters right now.”

She knew at last that Leander was Rowan—her long-lost brother—yet she had not brought him home.

“When will you fly to Celosia to see him?” Laura asked.

“As soon as my visa is approved—two days, maybe three—I’ll be on the first plane out,” Quinn said.