Chapter 7

An hour after the surgery, Natalie sat on her hospital bed, reviewing materials for her academic exchange. Oliver suddenly appeared at her side. "How are you feeling? Do you feel better?" He showed up so casually, holding the same oatmeal he had bought earlier for Linda. A wave of nausea rose in her stomach. She had no idea what he was trying to do. "What do you want?" she asked. "I know I haven't been with you lately," he began. "You know, Linda comes from a modest background and lacks reassurance. She's alone out there, and whenever I can help, I do. "Besides, didn't you always say that what goes around comes around? I'm just thinking ahead for both of us." Natalie had indeed said that once, and she had always tried to live by it. That was why she had saved Oliver and helped the struggling Linda. It all felt like a joke now, though. Noticing her silence, Oliver continued, "Besides, if you hadn't been so strict with Linda, she wouldn't be so anxious all the time." She had been strict with Linda because medicine was a grueling path. A tough mentor would only produce excellent students. She had only wanted to guide Linda out of the mire with everything she knew, but Linda hadn't shown any ambition. Instead, she tried to claw her way up using underhanded methods. Natalie had caught her attempting to seduce wealthy patients' family members—or even superiors—more than once. Succeeding would truly be absurd for a person who meddled in others' families. Did Linda really like Oliver? No. He was simply successful in business, had some money, dressed well, and was handsome. Targeting him was only natural, but none of this mattered to Natalie anymore. She continued to ignore him, and his patience began to fray. He glanced at Matthew, who reluctantly stepped forward. "Mom, don't be mad. Fine. I'll let you kiss me." He closed his eyes, wearing a determined, self-sacrificing expression. Matthew had been a germaphobe since he was little, never letting people get close. He wouldn't even let Natalie hold him. At first, Natalie thought it applied to everyone until she saw him feeding grapes to Linda earlier. That was when she realized that it wasn't distance. It was because Matthew and she weren't related by blood, so there was no closeness to begin with. And now, he was willing to be close to her for Linda's sake. However, it was too late. Once she discovered he wasn't her biological son, she couldn't bring herself to care about him. "Save it. Just cut to the chase." Oliver wouldn't show up without a reason. Why would he suddenly come to her ward to take care of her? "The parent-teacher meeting is coming up. Since you're not feeling well, Linda can attend in your place." Hearing that, Natalie laughed. So that was what this was all about. Linda didn't just want to take Natalie's place as his wife. She was trying to take her place as Matthew's mother too. Fine, then. After all, those were things she didn't want anyway. She might as well dump them all on Linda like trash for recycling. Oliver frowned. "Why are you laughing?" "Alright." Natalie's words puzzled him. "She can attend in my place." "You're not angry?" he asked. "Nope. You were only looking out for me, so why would I be angry about that?" Oliver sensed something off about Natalie, though he couldn't pinpoint it. Perhaps she had finally seen through everything, which was fine by him. He sighed. "Relax. It's just a parent-teacher meeting. Nothing will happen." He reached out, wanting to gently pat her shoulder in comfort. However, she pulled back, dodging his touch. His hand met only empty air. Oliver froze for a moment, an unexpected sense of emptiness settling over him.