Silence settled over the room.
Wendy looked at Julian and waited for his answer, but his eyes slowly reddened, and his grip tightened around the hospital bed rail until his knuckles turned white.
"Wendy," he asked hoarsely, "what exactly do you think I want in return?"
Wendy stared blankly at the ceiling. "When a rich man takes interest in a woman, isn't it always the same thing?"
Julian's shoulders trembled. "How much do you actually know about me?"
Wendy let out a hollow laugh. "I heard your biological parents took you back after college, and now you're the heir to the Hawthorne family. Your wealth surpasses even the Sterling family's. Congratulations, I guess."
His breathing grew heavier. "Is that all? With my status, I can have any woman I want. Why would I choose you?"
Wendy op
