His Untouchable Wife

Ashford General Military Hospital "Hey, Claire, I'm at the hospital right now, don't come by. We'll talk when I see you later. Go on and finish your work I'm okay." Vivian Hale ended the call and looked down at the folder in her hands. Her eyes were rimmed red. She slid the folder into her bag and stepped outside. A small garden sat off to the side of the building, and she lowered herself onto a bench near the flower beds, staring at nothing. The tears she'd been holding back finally slipped down her cheeks in silence. Not far off, across the same garden, a well-dressed man in his fifties stood talking to someone with his back turned. The second man was tall, his posture straight and disciplined in a way that spoke of years in uniform, though from behind, his face was hidden. Two men in dark suits hovered nearby, scanning the surroundings like they were watching for something or someone. "I know what you're capable of. You're only passing through this post, think of it as a stepping stone. I trust your judgment, but go easy on people while you're here. Next month's review gets handed to you. It's mostly a formality, nothing I need to worry about. Let your grandfather know when you get the chance I'll try to make it out to Weston myself before long." The older man clapped a hand on his shoulder and turned to go, one of the suited men falling into step behind him. The other stayed put, waiting for instructions. "Bring the car around," the tall man said, his voice low. The man beside him nodded and walked off. Only then did he turn, and his face came into view sharp features, an easy kind of authority in the way he carried himself, eyes dark and unreadable, the bridge of his nose high and straight. He lit a cigarette without hurry, took a few slow drags, then crushed it out and started walking. That was when he noticed her. Vivian sat perfectly still, head bowed, dark hair falling loose around her face. When she lifted her head without thinking, it stopped him mid-step. Her face was pale and fine-boned, made softer by crying, her lips flushed pink. Something about her pulled at him in a way he didn't examine too closely. He let out a low laugh, almost at his own expense. She was barely more than a girl, and yet here he was, wanting something he had no business wanting. Nathaniel Cole had never lacked for company. But he stayed away from anyone too young, too much mess, too much attachment, more trouble than it was worth. Married women were off-limits on principle, and he'd never been desperate enough to need the exception. The women who came into his life understood the terms going in: take what you need, walk away clean when it's done. Maybe it was the sound of his laugh that reached her. She turned, and their eyes met and he watched her go rigid with something close to shock. Vivian froze the moment she saw him, and the sharp edge in his gaze only made it worse. It wasn't his looks that unsettled her. It was men in general. That fear was the reason she'd come to this hospital in the first place something from her childhood had left a mark that never quite faded. She stood too fast and turned toward the gate, walking quickly. Nathaniel watched her go, an amused smile tugging at his mouth. He hadn't meant to scare her off but apparently, he had. Vivian went straight home from the hospital. Home. A word she still hadn't gotten used to, given the marriage attached to it. She managed a thin, humorless smile at the thought. The next morning, her husband called. "Vivian, I'm heading back to my family's place for a few days. Wanted to give you a heads-up." She answered between bites of breakfast. "Fine, I'll stay at Claire's for a while then," and hung up without waiting for a reply. She checked the time, finished eating in a rush, grabbed her bag, and left for work. Vivian worked as a low-level employee at the city's Human Resources and Social Security Office, a job she'd landed straight out of college. Four years later, at twenty-six, nothing had changed. She still ran errands, handled the odd jobs nobody else wanted, and picked up whatever tasks got tossed her way. When she walked into the office, Mrs. Carter was in the middle of giving out assignments. She spotted Vivian and waved her over with a slight frown. Vivian set her bag down quickly and crossed the room. "Mrs. Carter." Mrs. Carter had taken a liking to her early on pretty, soft-spoken, never one to compete or cause friction. She had a teenage daughter of her own and had more or less adopted Vivian as an unofficial second one, though her own position in the office wasn't high enough to do much more than keep an eye out for her. She handed over a stack of papers. "Go through these. Things are about to get busy around here, so get familiar with it fast." Vivian nodded and carried the files back to her desk. She'd barely sat down when Natalie Reed rolled her chair over, leaning in close. "Did you hear? There's a new deputy mayor coming in, and he's doing an inspection of one of the departments. That's why everyone's running around like this. We're probably working late tonight the department heads have been stuck in meetings all morning." Vivian never traded in gossip, but people seemed to trust her with theirs anyway maybe because she never repeated it. Natalie, two years younger, was sharper, more polished, and already angling for a promotion by attaching herself to projects with the department director. Still single, Natalie had a running wish list for the kind of man she wanted, and she liked to ask whether any promising candidates had turned up around city hall lately. The day dragged into overtime, and it was past nine by the time Vivian made it back to Claire's apartment. Claire Bennett was curled up on the couch with a face mask on when Vivian walked in. She peeled it off, shoved her feet into slippers, and hurried over. "What did the doctor say yesterday?" Vivian could hear the worry in her voice and softened her answer. "Same as last time. Honestly, I'm fine it's not serious. Don't worry about me.”