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As the door opened behind him, he lifted her in his arht in by his personal medical staff He shook his head as Arif opened his mouth They waited in silence as the two paramedics checked her vitals

He couldn’t let her go, not until he found the video footage But he refused to lock her up

“Put her in the extra suite in uard outside her suite and ask Dr Farrah to give her a thorough checkup”

All three ainst one of the traditional custoes, even by mistake, of a man’s quarters

Arif said, “We can send her to the wouard there”

“No”

Letting Lauren wake up in soers when this was all his fault, that was inexcusable, even for him

He wanted her close, so a fuss and curiosity, which she undoubtedly would anywhere else

And he was no normal man like he had told her He was not the favored orphan any to use, or abuse—he didn’t care which—his power in this

“Do as I command, Arif”

Stealing one last look at her, he turned and headed toward the elevator, Lauren’s words echoing in his ears

“The man I mourned doesn’t exist Or if he did, he’s truly dead”

How close she’d coent man he’d been in New York, he truly didn’t exist

CHAPTER THREE

LAUREN OPENED HER eyes slowly, feeling a sharp tug at her wrist Her mouth felt woolly as if she had fallen asleep with cotton stuffed into it It took her aa little frayed, she propped herself on her elbows and scooted into a sitting position

She was lying on a huge bed on the softest scented cotton sheets The subtle scent of roses tickled her nostrils A dark red tapestry hung on the opposite hile sheer silk curtains fluttered at the breeze Her whole apartht, awed by the s

“It is nice to see some color in your cheeks,” said a voice near the foot of the bed in heavily accented English