Chapter 62

His fingers were cold and rigid, every knuckle sharply defined. He was also unnervingly strong. When his joints pressed down, the pain was so intense that Ivy couldn’t help but cry out, her eyes flying open.

“Bear with it,” he said, his voice flat and severe, offering no comfort.

But Ivy couldn’t bear it. She was already in agony—now, on top of that, he was tormenting her with this pressure. Instinctively, she struggled, gripping Jamison’s hand so tightly that her palms turned slick with sweat.

“Ah—it hurts—stop, Jamison, please, it hurts-” Ivy curled into herself, clutching his hand as if it were a lifeline.

Jamison, however, didn’t waver. He continued pressing on the pressure point, unmoved by her pleas.

Micah hurried back, and the moment he stepped inside, Ivy’s cries of pain hit him. For a split second, he thought his uncle was actually hurting her, and he rushed in, panicked.

“Uncle—don’t-!”

But as he took in the scene, he realized it wasn’t what he’d imagined.

Jamison glanced back at him, his eyes sharp as knives. “Did you get what I asked for?”

Micah nodded quickly and strode in. “Yeah—painkillers, acupuncture needles, alcohol wipes, a hot water bottle… It’s just the rubber kind, though.”

“Fill it with hot water,” Jamison instructed.

“Okay.”

Jamison finally stopped the massage and tried to pull his hand away, but Ivy, dazed from the pain, was still clutching him tight.

“Let go,” he said coldly.

Only then did she realize and release her grip.

Jamison left and came back with a steaming mug. “Take some painkillers first—they work the fastest.”

Ivy lay on her side, still curled up, eyes squeezed shut. In a faint voice, she replied, “I already took two…”

He looked genuinely surprised. “You’re still in this much pain after taking painkillers?”

No answer.

“Did you tell your doctor about this last time you went for a checkup?” Jamison’s brow furrowed as he recalled running into her at the hospital.

“I had an abdominal ultrasound… They didn’t find anything…”

Jamison’s frown deepened, his expression grave.

He knew she couldn’t just keep popping painkillers forever. Sighing, he conceded, “At least drink some hot water. It’ll help warm you up.”

Ivy didn’t protest, but she was in too much pain to even sit up. With a look of irritation, Jamison stepped over, helped her up, and pressed the mug into her hands.

Micah dashed in again. “The hot water bottle’s ready.”

Jamison took it, checked the temperature, and handed it to Ivy. “Warm your hands with this.”

Micah muttered under his breath, “It’s boiling outside already…”

“Get out. If I don’t call you, don’t come in.” Jamison was clearly annoyed with his nephew—spineless, indecisive, and far too talkative.

Micah hesitated. “Uncle… is there anything we can actually do to help Ivy? Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?”

Jamison didn’t bother answering—he simply shot Micah a look over his shoulder. That was enough; Micah clammed up and slunk out.

Ivy sipped the hot water and hugged the bottle to her stomach. She did feel the tiniest bit better, but the pain in her lower abdomen still felt like her insides were being viciously twisted. Her legs ached with a deep, dull soreness she couldn’t even describe. She lay back down, eyes closed, her features screwed up in pain.

“Ivy, acupuncture can help with the pain—but you’ll have to cooperate. If you struggle like before, I could miss the right spot, and that could be dangerous,” Jamison warned coolly as he opened the box of needles.

Ivy didn’t even open her eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper. “No, thank you. I just want to sleep this off…”

“You’re in this much pain and you think you can sleep?”

“None of your business.”

“If I hadn’t come, it wouldn’t be my business. But since I’m here, it is—and I’m not letting this go,” he retorted, cold but commanding.

With that, Jamison pulled out his phone and made a call, setting it on speaker beside the bed.

“Professor Brown, hello, this is Jamison. I’m about to perform acupuncture on a patient with severe period pain, but I’m uncertain about a few points. Could you guide me?”

Ivy’s eyes snapped open. She stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t know what you’re doing?!”