Chapter 17 Filthy Diseases

Frank left the hospital ward when he saw Thea coming in. Thea had just knocked over a bowl of stew and spilled some of it on her clothes and arm. Skylar reached out for her hand to check on it. "Why aren't you resting in your own ward? Did you burn yourself?" Thea shook her head, her eyes growing red. "I'm fine. I just had Lucy make some stew for Ms. Shelton since she got injured." Skylar wiped the spilled stew off Thea's arm and helped her sit down. "You're also recovering, so you should focus on taking care of yourself. You didn't have to do this." Thea's eyes turned redder. She looked at him and whispered, "Skylar, you still don't believe me, right? You think that I lied to you and framed Ms. Shelton. So now, you want to look for Wendy to testify about me, right?" Skylar did not expect Thea to overhear his conversation with Frank. He felt a little guilty. "Please don't misunderstand, Thea. Of course, I believe you. I'm just worried that you're being used. I can't be certain if there's someone else trying to hurt you, or rather, someone else other than Elaine. "After everything that you've gone through, I need to investigate thoroughly so that I can give you the justice you deserve." Thea started sobbing softly. "I did my best to endure all those years abroad. When I finally made it back home again, my biggest fear was that you wouldn't believe me. I'm already dirty. If you don't believe me or if you don't want me anymore, what's the point of being alive?" She then turned to look at the fruit knife on the bedside table. Skylar immediately stepped forward and positioned himself between her and the knife. He replied in a soft tone, "Don't say that, Thea. You suffered all because of me. I would never not believe in you. Don't worry—I'll always be on your side no matter who tries to harm or even falsely accuse you." Thea leaned into him as tears streamed down her face. "I thought that you'd abandon me as well." Skylar gently comforted her. "I'll never do that. Don't overthink it, okay? Right now, the most important thing is for you to recover—" Before he could finish, however, Elaine started coughing on the bed and finally woke up. She was unconscious for a very long time, and the first thing she saw after waking up was Skylar and Thea in an emotional embrace right by her bed. The only words that popped into her mind were, "What bad luck!" She then closed her eyes as if she had not seen a thing. Elaine had just narrowly escaped death. She didn't have the strength to deal with any of them, nor did she want to. Skylar subconsciously tried to pull away from Thea. But upon realizing that the woman he loved was Thea, he softened his tone and said, "Go back to your ward and rest, alright? You shouldn't be staying up late given your current condition. I'll come to you soon." Thea gave a well-behaved nod and left the ward. Once outside, she clenched her fists tightly. A cold and vicious expression appeared on her face. Thea realized that Skylar had begun to have doubts about her. This was not good news at all. If Wendy, who was extremely loyal to Madeline, was found, the truth about Thea abandoning Skylar and going abroad, as well as her having an affair with Elliott, might not stay hidden for long. Thea realized that she needed to deal the fatal blow to Elaine soon. She couldn't afford to let Skylar soften up toward Elaine. She needed to make Skylar believe that Elaine was a truly wicked and shameless woman capable of doing the worst things imaginable. Back in Elaine's hospital ward, Skylar had sat back down by her bed. Elaine continued to lay on the bed with her eyes closed, refusing to even glance at him. It had been a very long time since Skylar had taken a good look at Elaine from up close. Only now did he realize just how much worse she looked compared to before. He suddenly remembered the bloodstained tissues he saw in the trashcan back in the bedroom. Back then, he had just assumed that it was from some minor injury. But now, he realized that it was most likely blood that Elaine had coughed up. Elaine's coughing had been growing worse and worse as of recently. Sometimes, Skylar could hear her coughing late into the night whenever he passed by her room after leaving his study. He wondered just what was wrong with her. Skylar's expression darkened as he spoke up in a low voice. "What's going on with you, Elaine? Why did Dr. Middleton say that you need a heart transplant? You'd better explain yourself clearly. I don't want to share a bed with someone who has filthy diseases on them." Elaine opened her eyes and looked at him. She was genuinely amused by what he said. She realized that it only made sense that someone as heartless as him didn't actually care about her. She figured that what Skylar really cared about was whether someone he had touched was still pure or not. Elaine didn't have the strength to argue with him and just replied coldly, "It's my hereditary heart disease. I've had it since I was young. You should know that, don't you?" Skylar was visibly displeased. "Dr. Middleton said that your condition is nothing like the usual heart disease. The usual heart disease doesn't require a heart transplant like you do." Elaine chuckled and replied, "Well, what do you think it could be? Cancer? Tumor? Or could it be some terminal illness of sorts? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have any of those. As for a heart transplant, if my heart disease can be resolved by getting my heart swapped out for a suitable one, isn't that for the best?" She casually listed off all the worst possibilities that he was thinking of in his mind. She spoke in such a nonchalant and indifferent tone that it actually eased his suspicions. Skylar thought about it for a moment and agreed with Elaine. He recalled how back when they had just gotten married, Elaine would always make a big fuss over just a mere paper cut. She would keep shoving her wound in his face. He figured that if she really had some serious illness of sorts, she would be crying to him for sympathy right away. He believed that there was no way she would decide to hide it from him. But he still felt uneasy upon thinking about how Elaine had been coughing up blood recently. He replied coldly, "You'd better not lie to me, Elaine. You still owe Thea a lot, remember? You need to stay alive so that you can repay her for all you've done. Your blood type is a match with Thea's as well, so your blood and your organs should also be preserved for her just in case. Consider it your atonement to Thea." Skylar grew even more irritated when he saw the indifferent expression on Elaine's face. He continued, "I'm warning you now. People like you don't get to just die and be done with it. Death would be too easy of a way out for you. You need to pay Thea back for everything she has suffered." Elaine laughed and replied, "Don't worry, I'll stay alive just in case your precious little Thea ever needs anything. I'll make sure that she lives a long and healthy life." His words reminded her of her eventual death in six months. She figured that Skylar would probably harvest all of her organs and then freeze them to preserve them for his beloved Thea. With that in mind, Elaine decided that she had to find a way to leave Skylar before she died. Only then could she, at the very least, be given a peaceful rest after death. Skylar could feel the anger rising within his body after listening to her sarcastic reply. But he did not want to argue further with Elaine, given how lifeless and exhausted she looked. He decided to just stand up and leave the ward for a smoke at the end of the hallway. He had smoked half a pack of cigarettes when he saw the sky outside starting to turn brighter. But the scenery only caused his frustration to deepen instead of calming him down. Skylar recalled promising Thea that he would go keep her company. He put out his cigarette and stood by the window a little longer to air out the smell before finally heading to her ward. As he approached Thea's hospital ward, a nurse rushed out from within and shouted, "Is anyone here a friend or family of the patient in ward number three? Something has happened! We need your help!" Skylar froze up as he realized that ward number three was Thea's. His face went pale as he rushed inside the ward, only to find Thea lying on the ground with her abdomen stabbed and her face ashen. Standing beside Thea was Elaine's younger brother, Eric, along with a bloodstained knife lying at his feet.