Chapter 63 She cares

Chapter 63 She cares
April walked into her office and shut the door behind her, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. 
Her heart was still racing, and her hands trembled slightly as she pressed them against her desk.
Why am I feeling like this?
She had thought she was over it—over him. Over everything that had happened years ago.
But seeing Richard again, hearing his voice, and watching the way he looked at her as if he had been longing to see her again, had stirred up emotions she had long buried.
She sat down in her chair, rubbing her temples.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath.
She had spent years trying to forget. Years telling herself that Richard Dowell was just a chapter of her past, nothing more. But being in that hospital room with him, seeing the shock in his eyes when he realized who she was, had been almost too much.
I should have known this would happen. I should have been prepared.
She had been so composed in front of him, acting as though she felt nothing. But the moment she walked away, it was like the walls she had built around herself had cracked.
Her fingers tightened around the armrest of her chair.
I won’t let myself feel this way again. I won’t.
She had worked too hard to build herself into the woman she was today—a respected surgeon, a woman who no longer lived in the shadow of a man who had once tossed her aside as if she meant nothing. She wouldn’t allow herself to be drawn back into that pain.
She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to regain her focus.
This is just a moment of weakness. It will pass.
She pulled a patient’s file closer, forcing herself to concentrate on work. Work is all that matters now.
Meanwhile, in the private ward, Richard sat frozen in place. His body was still recovering from surgery, but his mind was in complete chaos.
She was here. April was here.
Not as his wife. Not as the woman who used to wait for him at home, hoping he would notice her. But as Dr. Harrington.
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration bubbling inside him.
He had expected his surgeon to be some random doctor, not her. Never her.
She had changed. She was stronger now, colder. The warmth he once took for granted was gone.
And it was all his fault.
Richard leaned back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.
He knew he hadn’t treated her right.
Back then, their marriage had just been a business arrangement. He had married her because it had been expected of him, not because he had wanted to.
He had been in love with Tonia, his ex-girlfriend. Or at least, he thought he had been in love with her.
The moment the opportunity presented itself to end his marriage to April, he had taken it without a second thought. He had divorced her, believing that his future with Tonia would be perfect.
But it wasn’t.
Because it was only after the divorce that he realized what he had lost.
He had spent years trying to convince himself that what he felt for April wasn’t love. But when she left his life, he understood.
She had been the only constant in his world. The only one who had truly cared for him, despite how cold and distant he had been.
By the time he realized it, she was gone.
And now, years later, she was standing before him again—but as a stranger.
Her sharp words echoed in his mind.
“I have looked at you, Mr. Dowell. And I see nothing worth remembering.”
His jaw clenched.
That wasn’t true. She remembered. He saw it in her eyes—the flicker of something beneath that professional mask.
She was just pretending, just like she had learned to pretend with him in the past.
A soft knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in,” Richard said, his voice low.
Ethan stepped inside, his usual calm expression in place. But the moment he saw the look on Richard’s face, he frowned.
“Sir,” Ethan said cautiously, “are you alright?”
Richard didn’t answer right away. He was still processing everything, still trying to understand what exactly he felt at that moment.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward his assistant and spoke in a voice that left no room for argument.
“I want you to find out everything there is to know about Dr. April Harrington.”
Ethan blinked. “Dr. Harrington?”
Richard’s eyes darkened. “Yes. When did she return to the country? Where has she been all these years? I want to know everything.”
Ethan hesitated for a moment.
It didn’t take a genius to see that there was something deeper happening here. Richard wasn’t just curious about April Harrington. He needed to know about her.
The intensity in his gaze, the way his jaw tightened when he said her name—it was clear that this wasn’t just about a doctor-patient relationship.
This was personal.
“Understood,” Ethan finally said. “I’ll look into it immediately.”
Richard gave a short nod. “Good.”
As Ethan turned to leave, he paused at the door, glancing back at his boss.
“You know,” he said carefully, “she seemed… indifferent.”
Richard’s gaze snapped toward him.
Ethan continued, “Dr. Harrington. She treated you just like any other patient. If you’re expecting her to care—”
“She cares,” Richard interrupted, his voice sharp.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “And how do you know that?”
Richard exhaled slowly, his fingers tightening around the sheets.
“Because if she truly didn’t care,” he said, his voice softer now, “she wouldn’t have been so cold.”
Ethan didn’t argue, but the doubt in his eyes was clear.
“Regardless, I’ll get the information you need,” he said before stepping out of the room.
As the door shut, Richard leaned back against the pillows again, staring at the ceiling.
He didn’t know what he was going to do with the information once he had it. He didn’t even know why he needed it so badly.
But one thing was certain—
April Harrington had walked back into his life.
And this time, he wouldn’t let her disappear so easily.