Born Ditzy: Drunk Vows, Sober Goodbye Chapter 08

Born Ditzy: Drunk Vows, Sober Goodbye Chapter 08

A nurse came in to change Nolan’s dressing. She smiled when she saw us leaning against each other. She said, “Mr. Steele, you really scared Mrs. Steele this time. She was even paler than you were when you were brought in.”

Nolan turned to look at me.

I said seriously, “It’s because I’m anemic. It wasn’t from being scared.”

The comments went wild.

[Lyra, this isn’t the time to correct her!]

(Mr. Steele: My wife’s priorities are always so unique.]

[But why is this so cute?]

Once the nurse finished changing his bandages, Nolan said he wanted to transfer to another hospital. “This place is pretty basic. I’ve already contacted a private hospital. I’ll be transferred there tomorrow.”

I was puzzled. “Didn’t you say you were bankrupt? Private hospitals are really expensive.”

“I have enough money,” he hedged.

The comments popped up.

[Nolan is definitely hiding something.]

[No way he’s just a bankrupt CEO-there’s more to this.]

[I bet he’s from the Jalton Steeles.]

[That family’s old money. It’s been around for a century.]

I glanced at Nolan but didn’t push further.

After Nolan was discharged, he didn’t go back to the construction site. He told me he’d quit the job there and found something new. He still left the house early in the morning and came back late at night, sometimes with the faint smell of alcohol.

When I asked what kind of work he was doing, he only said he was negotiating business deals.

[I bet he went back to the Steele family.]

[But if that’s the case, why is he keeping it from Lyra?]

My pregnancy symptoms were getting worse. Every morning, the first thing I did when I got up was throw up.

Nolan was more punctual than an alarm clock. The second I made a sound, he would rush into the bathroom with warm water

and a towel, gently patting my back as I retched.

The blisters on his hands still hadn’t fully healed. His rough fingertips pricked a little when they brushed my back, but his movements were incredibly gentle.

(Mr. Steele is so attentive.]

[This is the difference between loving and not loving someone. He never treated Celia like this. 1

[So did he ever love Celía?]

That was something I also wanted to know, but I didn’t ask. Because every night, Nolan would massage my feet. They were

swollen from pregnancy and puffed up like little loaves of bread.

He would lift my feet onto his lap and gently massage them. His touch was light, and the pressure was just right. Halfway through, his hands would still, and he would just stare at my belly, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” I’d ask.

“Nothing.” His voice would go hoarse. “It’s just… It doesn’t feel real.”

[Mr. Steele probably still hasn’t gotten over the shock of almost losing the baby.)

[He looks like a lovestruck idiot when he stares at Lyra’s belly every night.]

(It hits right in the feels, though.]

A week later, Nolan came home with a folder. It was thick and packed with papers. He sat across from me, more serious than I’ ever seen him. “I need to tell you something.”

I was in the middle of eating the dessert he’d brought back and answered with a muffled hum.

Nolan took a deep breath. I set my spoon down.

The comments instantly exploded.

[We’re finally getting the big reveal!]

[I knew it! No way Nolan was truly bankrupt!]

what exactly is the truth?]

om the Steele family in Jalton. You probably haven’t heard of them, but it’s a century old and of old money,” he said.

as right. I’d never heard of them.

“I’m the grandson the Steeles lost track of years ago. Not long ago, they found me and told me to go back.”

Nolan’s voice was calm, but I saw his fingers tap lightly against the edge of the table. That was his nervous tell.

He continued, “I didn’t want to go. So, my grandfather, Arthur Steele, set me up and forced me into bankruptcy to make me

obey.”

[Holy crap! The Steeles from Jalton are, like, a top-tier reputable family!]

[So Nolan really is a rich heir!]

[I get it now. He’s the lost rich grandson whose family tracked him down. He refused to accept his inheritance, so they ruined him to force his hand.]