Elise remained in William's hospital room, keeping him company while working on her laptop. There was still a substantial amount of work demanding her attention.

She became so deeply absorbed in her tasks that she occasionally missed what William was saying to her.

He didn't interrupt her focus. Instead, he quietly picked up a nearby apple and began peeling it with careful precision.

Samuel Wilson happened to be passing by the room and glimpsed the scene through the doorway. His jaw nearly dropped. Was that really his boss playing the attentive caregiver? He quickly retreated, not wanting to disturb the intimate moment.

Meanwhile, Elise was reviewing several authorization requests that required her approval. Her concentration was broken when she noticed a small plate of meticulously sliced apple pieces beside her laptop. Each slice was neatly speared with a toothpick for easy eating. She absently picked one up and ate it.

It had been ages since she'd last eaten an apple. She'd almost forgotten how satisfyingly crisp and sweet they could be.

After the first slice, she reached for another, her eyes never leaving the computer screen... until a sudden realization dawned on her.

There were only two people in this room.

If she hadn't prepared the apples, then...

She abruptly looked up and found William watching her from his bed, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"You did this?" she asked, gesturing toward the plate.

William shrugged casually. "Who else was going to?"

"But you're the patient here," she reminded him.

"I still have full use of my hands," he countered smoothly.

Hadn't they just agreed that she would be taking care of him? And hadn't he claimed just yesterday that his hands were too weak to function properly?

She remembered how she'd basically shoved chunks of apple into his mouth yesterday, unlike these perfectly sliced pieces he'd prepared so thoughtfully.

No matter how she looked at it, her caregiving efforts seemed downright negligent compared to his.

"I'm not really a fruit person," she explained, attempting to justify her lack of attention to such details.

"I noticed," William nodded, his eyes drifting to the nearly empty plate where only two small apple slices remained.

"This apple tastes different," she tried again, searching for another explanation for her unusual appetite.

"Well, I'm honored that you enjoy..." William grinned before finishing, "...my apples."

That wasn't what she meant at all! She absolutely wasn't suggesting the apple tasted special because he'd peeled it!

She took a deep breath, suddenly realizing she was digging herself deeper with each attempted explanation.

Pursing her lips slightly, she simply turned back to her computer screen, determined to refocus on her work.

"Can I ask you something?" William's voice broke the silence just then.

Elise had more or less completed her immediate tasks. Now she was just waiting for Benjamin to fulfill his part of their arrangement.

"What is it?" she asked, turning to face him again.

"Why did you become so distant after I left on that business trip?" William asked, his tone shifting to complete seriousness.

The question caught Elise completely off guard.

He'd never brought this up before, almost as if it hadn't mattered to him.

And it had happened so long ago—why would he mention it now?