The moment Christopher stepped into the room, he hadn’t anticipated the ripple of tension that clung to the air like a suffocating fog.
He had intended to make his entrance swift and authoritative—enough to command respect, but not to send shivers down anyone’s spine. Yet, the charged silence that greeted him wasn’t what caught him off guard.
It was her.
The realization hit him like a freight train. His piercing blue eyes locked onto her trembling form, her lab coat barely masking the panic that radiated off her like heat from a dying flame.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glassy with unshed tears, and the slight tremble in her bottom lip made something twist inside him.
He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat almost painful as his gaze roamed her figure. The way the thin fabric
