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Ritchie.
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Kylie held tight to Richie. She was just so happy to be in his arms again. Then, she staggered under the dead weight of him, and people around them started screaming. "Richie." She whispered. His arms stopped holding her, they slid down her back, and she screamed his name again. "Richie!"
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, and then, someone helped her to lower him to the floor, and Kylie knelt, cradling his head. Her tears were falling on his face. She could hear people still screaming and someone calling an ambulance. It seemed like forever before she heard the sirens of the ambulance and the police cars, though she knew afterwards that it had been less than five minutes that was one of the fortunes of living in a small town. The police officer helped her up as the paramedics took Richie away; she grabbed his keys, phone off the table and ran after the stretcher. They would not let her go in the ambulance, and a police officer guided her over to a car."Don't wor
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The Disreputable Duke Frustration in Both Camps.
When Kylie got to the hospital that afternoon, Richie already had a visitor. A woman was sitting ramrod straight on the edge of the chair next to Richie's bed. All Kylie could see was her black hair pulled back to a tight bun on the back of her head. Kylie looked in the porthole window in the door; neither of them had noticed her so far.Kylie didn't go into the room. It looked as though Richie wasn't thrilled with her. She was older than Richie, maybe in her early forties. She could see Richie was talking to her. He had his business face on and certainly wasn't smiling.Kylie turned to the nurse's station behind her. Sarah, the staff-nurse, looked up from her note-taking. "Hello, are you here to see Richie?""Yes, do you er, know who is in with him now?"Sarah pulled a face, "Apparently, that's his housekeeper. She was how can I put this, rather abrasive to the staff when she first arrived.""Oh dear, she was like that when she called me this morning.
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After Ellie had taken the sandwiches up to her mum, she made her excuses."My ribs are aching. I'm going to rest for a while," Ellie said to no one in particular."Are you alright?" Jasper asked quickly.Ellie nodded, "Yes, I'm fine." She mumbled, turning her head, not wanting him to see the tears filling her eyes. Once the door had closed, she could hear them all chatting away, her mother laughing. Her dad was cracking his silly jokes, probably at her expense. She knew it was meant with love, but sometimes she just wanted love without the jokes. Without her mother pushing her to do the next thing on her list. No one ever seemed to look at her list and the things she wanted to do. She had never told them about Greg about why she had left the hotel, her mother would have raised the roof, and all she wanted to do was forget. She didn't want to be reminded of that. Her mum would have just gone on and on about it.She went to get her painkillers, which were still in
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The Disreputable Duke Jasper's Present.
Charlotte ran hell for leather to her car. She threw open the door and threw her overnight bag, and dived into her vehicle after it. She clutched the steering wheel, her hands shaking, tears rolling down her face. What was she thinking? How could she even think of doing something like that? Was she out of her mind? The tears turned to laughter at how stupid she was, at how ridiculous that she could walk into Ellie's bedroom and somehow get her out of the room so she could do her harm. What a dreadful thing to even think of doing! Next time she would plan ahead, there would be no second chances for Ellie Neyve next time.Ellie looked at the clock, almost four-thirty. It was black outside. Jasper would be home in a few minutes, and she really couldn't be bothered to go and find Charlotte. Whatever it was could wait. If it was that important, she could go and find Francis and tell him. She put another log on the fire. It was so lovely to watch the fire, especia
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The Disreputable Duke An Unexpected Guest.
It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the past two weeks had been the worst of Ellie's life. She and Jasper had said only about a dozen words to each other since their friends had been to see them on that fateful afternoon. The only good thing about this dreadful performance was that Jasper was sleeping in his dressing room, which meant that she could at least get up and be sick if she felt like it without hiding it from him. However, Ellie was sure he would be more impressed if she were pregnant with a herd of elephants rather than with his child. He was furious that she had gone behind his back and sent that text to Ronnie, but this was her family, and she cared a great deal about Gareth.They had not shared a bed for almost two weeks, and this so hurt Ellie. It had only come about by accident, and now neither of them would give in to the other. They were just as stubborn as each other.
