Adapting Desires (Endangered Heart Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

again.
    “I—thank you, Mrs. Levkin. I appreciate the consideration.” She sighed into the phone and considered something else. “Why are you whispering anyway?”
    “He’s been keeping me busy all week with silly tasks around the manor. I suppose he doesn’t trust me not to say anything to you.”
    Emilia smiled. “Where are you now?”
    “Hiding in the basement. I have to go now, dear. I’ll see you soon.”
    Despite the frightening news, Emilia laughed. Mrs. Levkin was a reliable resource to have on her side—perhaps even, she realized, something of a weapon.
     
    ***
     
    For the first time in many years, he willed himself to look in the mirror. Because of the undeveloped tissue, Hartwell was unsure of how Kasper’s minor facial injuries would heal. In five days, the swollen cheeks that should have begun to recede had not—a terrible sight if there ever was one. And though the swelling of his nose had gone down considerably, Kasper still had great trouble breathing out of it on his own.
    Eventually Hartwell was brave enough to refer a plastic surgeon.
    As a child, many doctors—mostly still students themselves—had offered his aunt sums of money to attempt to repair Kasper’s facial features. Everything from lip collagen to hair follicles were installed in the young boy as though he were a living experiment. While hopeful they could give him a somewhat normal appearance, time and time again something would go wrong—making his face that much worse. Once the infected jaw implant had been removed, Kasper swore never again to put himself through such ordeals.
    The good doctor, as well as Mrs. Levkin and Aasif, had spent that first day or so trying to convince him that the procedure was more practical rather than cosmetic. He shushed them immediately and tried once more to will his body to heal.
    Unfortunately, that proved unsuccessful.
    If Kasper was honest with himself, he would admit that despite his vow to himself, there had been another time he considered the potential of plastic surgery. As an undergraduate, he was often granted handicapped access to his academics, allowed to indulge in the private study program and remain in the dark of his chamber. He often watched others from his windows, envisioning himself laughing with friends and talking with girls. He had done quite a bit of research then and had learned about the advancements in cosmetic surgery. Still, there did not seem to be a real reason to invest himself in the pain associated with such elaborate procedures. Kasper was used to his life, and set in the ways of being alone. And if he should have gotten his hopes up only to find his time and money wasted—well, that seemed far more difficult than trying to once again accept his ugliness.
    Another ten years had passed since that point. Kasper could not deny that the medical advances greatly appealed to him, but more than that, he now had a new reason to consider the option of plastic surgery.
    She never complained, and for that, he was more grateful than any words he knew. Kasper could not even provide his new bride with a normal honeymoon, could not show her the sights himself for fear of being seen, could not, would not, attend functions that did not take place during the evening.
    He could buy her anything in the world, but he could not give her an average life.
    But what if he could? What if this surgeon could offer him the opportunity to do just that? Was it even possible to touch the light of the world for himself?
    Kasper stared into the mirror. If he stared hard enough, he thought it was almost imaginable.
    “Kasper! Kasper, where are you?”
    He had the vaguest sense of déjà vu and shivered. Was it not so long ago that she had shouted the very same thing to him from the front door? Then again, why was she there at all? Did they not agree to wait until the long weekend to meet again?
    Kasper stood up and walked to the staircase railing outside his office door. Sure enough, she was