Chapter 79

Giselle’s reply left Donovan speechless.

She put on plastic gloves, cracked open the lobster, and fed a piece of meat to his mouth. “Alright. Here, have a bit to calm your nerves.”

Donovan quietly accepted the food she fed him without complaint. When his phone lit up with messages from executives, his attention shifted back to work.

Just as their lunch was nearing its end, a sudden, sharp scream came from another table not far away.

Startled, Giselle turned her head toward the commotion. A young mother held her infant against her chest about five feet away by the window.

Her frantic cries echoed through the restaurant, “What’s wrong with my baby? Oh God! What’s happening? No, please, no!”

The child’s grandmother, who was seated at the same table, was also shouting frantically. They caused a scene that drew everyone’s attention.

Two servers rushed over, helplessly trying to calm them down while one of them called emergency services.

Unable to just sit there, Giselle quickly got up and walked over to them. She noticed that the baby’s face was twisted in pain, turning red and stiff while his hands clawed at his throat.

The baby was choking and struggling to breathe. It was apparent that something was stuck in its airway.

“Give him to me!” she ordered decisively.

Without hesitation, Giselle took the child from the distraught mother and placed him face down across her knee. Supporting his jaw with one hand, she used the other to deliver several firm back blows between the shoulder blades.

When that didn’t work, she quickly flipped the baby over and cradled his head at a downward angle. With careful precision, she used two fingers to perform quick chest compressions while molding the fragile sternum.

Finally, the baby let out a strong cough, and the obstructing piece of food was expelled. Air rushed back into his lungs, and he burst out crying.

The restaurant erupted into applause as the baby’s sharp cry pierced the air. The mother and grandmother were overwhelmed with gratitude. Their tearful thanks tumbled out between sobs; they almost dropped to their knees in reverence.

“It’s okay. There’s no need to thank me,” Giselle reassured them with a smile. She comforted the family while teasing the baby, praising how adorable he was. When she turned around to return to her table, she noticed Donovan standing nearby. He had come over at some point and witnessed the entire rescue.

He was staring at her as if he had seen her for the very first time. There was a softness in his eyes that she wasn’t used to, something unfamiliar. “What are you looking at me like that for?” she huffed.

“I’m still a doctor, you know,” Giselle added teasingly. “Even if I usually treat animals, that little emergency was a piece of cake for me. It’s hardly worth the fuss.” Donovan said nothing, but that unexpected moment had changed his perception of her. Up until now, he had always considered her selfish, heartless, and borderline villainous.

He never imagined she’d act so swiftly and selflessly to help a stranger in crisis. That focus and professionalism she showed…

Maybe she wasn’t so unpleasant after all.