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Chapter Fifteen
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixteen
Feeling for the edge of the bed and shifting her legs, Mira slid her feet to the tiles, as Layla got to her feet and padded across the room.“If you could narrate what you are doing,” she said. “It would help me.” “Of course,” said Layla, taking pause. “Is that silly?”After a moment of Mira picturing Layla gaping at her, her friend said, “Not at all. Okay, I’m getting a pair of jeans and a sweater off the chair in the corner of the room. These are mine, by the way. Your clothes become saturated in the chemical.”Mira reached behind her back and pulled the string on her hospital gown, helping it to fall to the floor, as Layla approached with the jeans, setting the sweater on the bed.“Here are your jeans, can you feel for them and get your leg through?”“I think so,” she said, surprised to find herself smiling. “In a weird way this reminds me of being a kid. When I was little I used to close my eyes and bumble around my parents’ house pretending to be blind.”“I feel like I used to
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Seventeen
As he rolled her over the red carpet and into the air conditioned lobby of the Escala, Mira noticed that because she had been stripped of the ability to see, her other senses were kicking into high gear. The specific scent of the lobby, the chilled marble floors slick with lemon-fresh cleaner, struck her first, then the particular tinge of AC mingling with the distinct scent of lilacs filled her nose. The shape of Nate’s hand, which remained on her shoulder as he rolled her to the elevator banks, held new meaning.She now understood his precise dimensions the length of his fingers, the width of his palm. And when the elevator arrived with a ding, the sound was sharp and hit her ears in a way she’d never noticed for all her years of having perfect eyesight.After he rolled her inside, turned her around, and the doors whooshed closed, the way in which the air pressure changed from that one simple action was so apparent that it made her feel strangely alive, as did rising swiftly to the
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Eighteen
Nate lifted out of sleep, feeling Mira’s warm body in his arms.Lying still, he listened to her breathing, the soft flutter of her rising andfalling chest. If he concentrated, he could feel her heart beating faintly, it's rhythm hitting the side of his chest. He stared at the ceiling then angled his eyes towards the bay windows to his left, studying the dim light seeping through. It told him it was dusk. The sun hadn’t yet completely fallen beneath the horizon. The moon hadn’t entirely risen in the sky. The strange magic of twilight was filling the room.He didn’t want to wake her, but needed to tend to a few matters in his study, make arrangements for dinner, and wrap his head around her medical treatment, both managing her pain and recovery and thinking long term. Would she be permanently blind, or was this condition temporary? In so many ways he felt responsible. If she ever regained her sight, it would bebecause Nate did everything in his power to make it so. He wouldn’t give up.
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Nineteen
Before she could bump into the ottoman, he rushed to her side and took her arm, guiding her away from the furniture and out the door.“Carter’s standing in the middle of the room,” he said quietly, and Carter’s eyes snapped to him. “So where can we work?” asked Carter.“Where’s my laptop?” asked Mira.At a loss, Nate said, “I can go out for a few hours and let you set up in my study.”“Mira,” said Carter, “I have your laptop. Layla should be here soon, I gave her the address.”As if hell bent on proving Nate’s uselessness, Carter took Mira by the arm then glared at Nate expectantly.“Uh, right this way,” he said, leading them through the suite and down the hall where his study was situated across the hallway from his entertainment den.As soon as he got to his desk, Nate collected the documents that were strewn across it and tucked them into a filing cabinet, then closed a number of spreadsheets and Web pages on his computer. He switched out of his user and into the guest one, and sa
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Twenty
“She did what?” Mira was utterly beside herself that Layla had gone off on her own and once again acted recklessly, endangering others to thwart the pipeline. Carter had her by the shoulder from where she sat at Nate ’s desk, but it did little to comfort her.“She is in the county jail,” Nate explained. “I could overlook one attack that didn’t hurt anyone, but this time she used a grenade, blew out the side of our trailer, and put my father in the hospital. He’s going to presscharges, needless to say.”“Is he all right?” she asked.“He hit his head fairly hard and fractured his shoulder, but neither are life threatening.”Mira could hear his voice waver as though he was entirely beside himself.“How are you?” she asked urgently.“A bruised rib, but I will live.”Mira sensed Carter get to his feet, as his hand slipped off her shoulder.“I have to see her,” he explained. “Let’s get Harold on this if we can. Get her bail set.”“You can try,” said Nate . “I doubt she will be offered a ba
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Twenty One
As they dove into their meal, Nate found moments to squeeze her hand. She felt a bit childlike stabbing at her pasta with little awareness when she accidentally pushed it off her plate, but Nate cleaned up afterher, making no fuss of collecting the bits and placing them into a side plate to his right.“One piece of good news about being at the hospital for an hour,”he started, but paused to drink his wine. “I was able to speak with a reputable ophthalmologist about getting you in for an appointment soon.”“To do what? Did you find an eye donor?”“Well no, not yet. They will need to run a number of tests first to see how your optic and retinal nerves are healing. I had thought we would need to wait weeks before you'd be well enough to undergo tests, but after speaking with the specialist, it looks like you can go in right away. It will give them insight as to how to proceed when we do find a donor.”“And you like this doctor?”“He is one of the best in Seattle and has had promising r
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Twenty Two
Mira woke with the morning sun on her face, but its warmth wasn’t what struck her. She could see a burst of light flickering and waning.She could see. She bolted upright in response and angled her face towardsthe window where the sun was streaming into the bedroom.Was her mind playing tricks on her? Was this merely a desperate psychological reaction to her fear of receiving a damning diagnosis later this morning? Or were her eyes miraculously coming back to life?To test her ability, she hugged both hands around her eyes until darkness fell then drew them away fast and waited for the burst of life. It was slow, but came through. Why would it be slow? Frustrated to discover a surefire cause and effect, she kept covering her eyes then removing herhands, but the light burst was unpredictable. At times, it would comeimmediately. Other times, she remained in darkness. She didn’t understand the anatomy of the eyes or the brain behind them. Were neurons firing, alluding to sight that wa
Last Updated : 2024-10-29BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Twenty Three
Carter approached the bars with heavy steps. The Bellevue jail smelled of bleach and mildew, and the windows, lined with bars and high on the back wall of each cell, offered virtually no natural light. Fluorescent buzzed overhead, which only added to his growing agitation.Within the cell, Layla was seated in an exhausted hunch with her back to him. The bed she sat on was sunken in and its pillow lay on the concrete floor.“Hey,” he said, keeping his booming tone low so as not to garnish the guard’s attention who was standing post near the jail’s entrance, which separated it from the front desk where a wealth of police officers were in and out, getting calls and drinking coffee.“Yeah?” she said, glancing over her shoulder before looking away, gaze falling to the pillow on the floor. “If you’re not here about my bail or to let me know when Harold’s coming or to give me a shred of good news then I would rather be alone.” “Come to the bars, Layla, I shouldn’t have to shout.”“Why? So y
Last Updated : 2024-10-29
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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Epilogue
EpilogueHe broke away, but his eyes never left hers as he said, ‘Hello, Connie.I have missed your cooking.’‘Don’t you “Hello, Connie” me. Where you been, eh? Worrying Mira half to death…’‘Were you?’ he asked. ‘Worried? You didn’t fancy being a rich widow?’Maybe he already knew the answer because he didn’t wait for it but looked down and said, ‘Hello, Toby. Been to a party?’‘Mmm.’ He gave Connie the balloon he was holding and offered up his goodie bag. ‘I have got cake.’‘Any to spare? I’m starving…’‘Later. It’s bath time,’ Mira said. ‘Can you take care of Toby for me,Connie?’‘I can take care of both of them if you like,’ she offered. ‘He’s going toneed help with his arm in plaster. No? You don’t want Connie?’ And shewent inside chuckling to herself. ‘Just you make sure you wash behind hisears, Mira.’ Then, ‘I call Matty and tell her Mr Dan is home.’‘What do you want first? Drink? Food? Bath?’He circled her with his arm as they walked up the steps into the house.‘I’ve go
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Seventy Two
‘If I fell under Matty’s metaphorical bus, you’d have to sell the house to pay inheritance tax. This way makes more sense. ‘It makes sense if you haven’t got a heart, but since we’re talking about the unexpected, let’s really go for it.’ She looked at him, demanding a response. ‘What’s on your mind?’ ‘This. We get married. You live upstairs in your little apartment. Me and Lame Ducks Incorporated are spread out all over the rest of your house. That’s what you have in mind, right?’ ‘Right.’ ‘Okay. Now tell me this. What happens when you meet the girl of your dreams and fall in love?’ Fran had to ask the question, even though the very idea of him falling in love drove daggers through her. ‘That’s the one thing that isn’t going to happen, Mira.’ His conviction shook her momentarily, but she pressed on. ‘Dan, I know you spend most of your life in the wilderness, chipping lumps off rock looking for oil and minerals—’ ‘Really it’s a bit more technical than that,’ he objected
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Seventy One
“She did what?” Mira was utterly beside herself that Layla had gone off on her own and once again acted recklessly, endangering others to thwart the pipeline. Carter had her by the shoulder from where she sat at Nate ’s desk, but it did little to comfort her.“She is in the county jail,” Nate explained. “I could overlook one attack that didn’t hurt anyone, but this time she used a grenade, blew out the side of our trailer, and put my father in the hospital. He’s going to presscharges, needless to say.”“Is he all right?” she asked.“He hit his head fairly hard and fractured his shoulder, but neither are life threatening.”Mira could hear his voice waver as though he was entirely beside himself.“How are you?” she asked urgently.“A bruised rib, but I will live.”Mira sensed Carter get to his feet, as his hand slipped off her shoulder.“I have to see her,” he explained. “Let’s get Harold on this if we can. Get her bail set.”“You can try,” said Nate . “I doubt she will be offered a ba
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Seventy
While Mira sat in his exam room and endured similar tests as those he had conducted a few days prior, Nate stepped out to make a few calls, the reason for which he had been somewhat secretive about. As Dr. was finishing up, she asked, “What do you think the likelihood of Nate finding me donor eyes will be?” The doctor released a sigh then said, “I really couldn’t tell you. I have never endeavored anything so ambitious. All I can tell you is the likelihood of whether or not your body will accept or reject your new eyes, and the degree to which you might be able to see once they are in.” “So what’s the likelihood?” “I’ll have an idea once I examine the photos I’m taking. I should know in a day or so. Bear in mind, though, that we have three battles. The first is making sure the donor is, in fact, a match. I explained to you earlier that this aspect could be tricky to navigate. Then your body has to accept the eyes. And then after the nerves attach and heal, we’ll have to closely m
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixty Nine
Chapter 69.He broke away, but his eyes never left hers as he said, ‘Hello, Connie.I’ve missed your cooking.’‘Don’t you “Hello, Connie” me. Where you been, eh? Worrying Mirahalf to death…’‘Were you?’ he asked. ‘Worried? You didn’t fancy being a rich widow?’Maybe he already knew the answer because he didn’t wait for it but lookeddown and said, ‘Hello, Toby. Been to a party?’‘Mmm.’ He gave Connie the balloon he was holding and offered up hisgoodie bag. ‘I’ve got cake.’‘Any to spare? I’m starving…’‘Later. It’s bath time,’ Mira said. ‘Can you take care of Toby for me,Connie?’‘I can take care of both of them if you like,’ she offered. ‘He’s going toneed help with his arm in plaster. No? You don’t want Connie?’ And shewent inside chuckling to herself. ‘Just you make sure you wash behind hisears, Mira.’ Then, ‘I call Matty and tell her Mr Dan is home.’‘What do you want first? Drink? Food? Bath?’He circled her with his arm as they walked up the steps into the house.‘I’ve got
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixty Eight
Angry with herself, she turned off the television, got to her feet. Dan might not be rescued for months. Was she planning on spending every hour in front of the television in case there was the slightest snippet of news? It was the last thing he would want. Catherine would let her know the minute anyone heard anything and in the meantime there were a hundred things that needed doing. She still hadn’t settled on the final layout for the slender catalogue that was going to be mailed out to all their customers, as well put as an insert in one of the Sunday supplements. It was going to cost a fortune. It had to be right. She caught sight of herself in the hall mirror. What a wreck. She needed to take a shower, wash her hair, change. Get her mind back on the job. On her family… But when she opened a drawer, searching for underwear that would stretch around her expanding belly, she found herself staring at the tiny silk box that contained the wedding ring Dan had put on her finger and she
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixty seven
Chapter 67.She returned a few moments later with a cardboard box that she placedon the floor and when she opened it the small silky brown and white headof a spaniel puppy appeared. Then a body wriggled free of the blanket andhe looked up at her and whined to be lifted out.She was lost for words. Dan might have left Catherine to pick outChristmas gifts, but this could only have come direct from him. Proof thathe was thinking of her… She caught herself. Thinking of Toby.‘I made the woman at the kennels promise she’d take him back if youdidn’t want him. Men have these great ideas…’‘When? When did Dan ask you to do this?’‘Oh, months ago. In fact, I think he called from the airport… It wassupposed to have been Toby’s Christmas present, but since he was soparticular it had to wait until the right spaniel produced the right pup.’ Sheshrugged apologetically. ‘You know Dan. He’s never satisfied with less thanperfection.’‘No?’ Her heart lurched uncomfortably. ‘No,’ she agreed.‘
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixty six
Chapter 66.Mira felt as if she was grieving all over again.She’d pulled into the garage and finally given way to the dammed-uptears she hadn’t been able to shed for Natein a mind-clearing storm ofguilt and loss. And when it was over she finally understood it all. That theirmarriage of convenience had been entirely for his expedience, not hers.Not cheap. But then this wasn’t about money. It was about control. Tobywas all the family he had. His heir. The boy who carried the family name.Marriage was the simplest and most effective way of stopping her frombecoming involved with someone else, giving him some other man’s name.Which answered any question she had about what was in the letterNatehad written to him. He had been a less than perfect partner, a lessthan perfect anything, except father. Relaxed to the point of being comatoseon most things, he had been uncharacteristically firm in his insistence thatDan be added to Toby’s name.Too late she saw that all that stuff abou
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixty Five
Chapter 65.The other was that he had simply decided that, despite his fine words,his promises, he expected payment in full for his investment in an unwantedhigh-maintenance wife. Why else would he be planning to move into herhome when, as she had just discovered, there was no need?How could he ask her to forgive him, when he wouldn’t be able toforgive himself?Instead he picked up her jacket, handed it to her in silence.‘Bathroom?’ she enquired, so quietly that he could barely hear her.‘Through here.’ He opened the door to his bedroom and the untouchedbed, just yards away, seemed to mock him. ‘You’ll find everything you’llneed.’Soap, hot water to wash him from her body.She ducked through the opening, leaving him to straighten himself out.Consider a future that was suddenly bleaker than he could have imaginedeven a week ago. An hour ago. Then he’d had some hope.He began to fasten his shirt, discovered that several of the buttons weretorn from it, and dug a fresh one out
