Chapter 795
The hospital was dead quiet at two in the morning. Every sound seemed to echo.
As the IV drip entered my arm, I suddenly felt a chill. Maybe the AC was set too low, but I started shivering. Ryan had been holding my hand the whole time. When he noticed me trembling, he asked softly, “Are you cold?” I nodded.
Without a word, Ryan pulled me into his arms. I tried to struggle a bit, but he just held me tighter, as if saying, ‘Just stay still. You’ll warm up.’
Ryan whispered in my ear, “Don’t move. Just stay like this, you’ll get warmer.”
Suddenly, I didn’t feel like moving at all. Every muscle ached, and I was so tired that I just drifted off to sleep in his arms.
When I woke up again, I heard the nurse say the drip was finished and she needed to take out the IV. I felt a sharp sting on the back of my hand, and the next thing I knew, Ryan was pressing a cotton swab to the spot. The nurse told him to hold it there for about five minutes. Ryan glanced down at me, but I turned away from his gaze and softly closed my eyes.
“Looks like it’s not bleeding. Can I get up now?” After a moment, I said to him.
Ryan took away the cotton swab and checked my hand – it looked all better. “How did you get sick all of a sudden? Did you take a cold shower last night?” Ryan asked curiously as he walked me out of the hospital. “No,” I replied. “Maybe I just got startled or something.”
Ryan fell silent right away and didn’t say a word until we were in the car. Then he spoke softly, “Hey, Vic, it’s really not as bad as you think. Don’t worry, okay?” I nodded. “I know what I have to do now. And I hope you guys in the Jennings family will keep your word.” Ryan’s eyes widened in surprise for a second. Then he frowned and asked, “What are you going to do?” I stared down at my hands, nervously twisting my fingers. “I’m done with the Jennings family. From now on, I never want to see any of you again.” Ryan looked like he’d just taken a punch to the gut. “So that’s really what you’ve decided? I thought you just wanted to leave Uncle Edward.” “Ryan, stop being so naive,” I said, meeting his eyes. “Even if I divorce Edward, you and I could never be together. You know that. Your grandpa would never let it happen.”
Ryan’s expression was full of pain. “If you hadn’t ended up with Uncle Edward…” “There’s no ‘if,’” I said, gazing out the window, feeling completely lost.
Ryan started the car in silence, and we headed back to the private estate. Just as I was about to get out, my stomach let out a loud growl. I hadn’t eaten much on the plane earlier, and now I was seriously starving – honestly, it was starting to get painful. Ryan looked over and asked, “Want to grab something to eat?” I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
Ryan got out of the car and headed into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and said, “There’s plenty of food, but I have no idea how to cook.” “Let me handle it,” I said. “Your hand just had an IV, so you shouldn’t get it wet. I’ll do the washing, you do the cooking,” Ryan reminded me. I didn’t protest. I stood by and walked him through how to wash everything. Ryan was hopeless when it came to hands-on stuff.
He somehow managed to get his shirt all wet just from washing the veggies. He shot me an embarrassed look, his handsome face flushed. “Vic, I… I didn’t realize the water would come out so fast,” he stammered. When he turned the faucet on again, the water shot off the leaves in two streams – one hit him, the other hit me. We both got splashed.
I crossed my arms and turned away, not even bothering to look at him.