Chapter 9

The nurse's hand shook as she reached to remove the needle cap. She exclaimed in surprise, "You're awake, Ms. Thornton?" As the nurse's words fell, Angelica could feel Elliot's gaze settle on her. She struggled to sit up, but her body felt weak and limp, like she was drained of all her strength. In the end, the nurse kindly supported her, helping her shift from lying flat to being propped against the bed. Elliot looked down at her from above, his tone laced with mockery. "I knew you were faking it. There's no way it was that serious." The day before, he had casually mentioned this matter to Rosie after receiving the hospital's call. Neither of them took it seriously. But that same night, Rosie suddenly cut her finger on a blade, and the bleeding wouldn't stop. As a result, they rushed back overnight. Mubathro General Hospital kept a dedicated blood supply for Rosie. If anything happened to her, the emergency measures could be taken immediately. Thankfully, it didn't get to that point as the bleeding eventually stopped. Later, remembering that Angelica was also hospitalized, Elliot figured he might as well draw another vial of blood, just in case of any emergencies. Yet the moment he finished explaining things to the nurse, Angelica woke up. The doctor had said she might be unconscious for days before. Elliot sneered inwardly at the sight of her waking up. It hadn't even been 24 hours so far. What was even more laughable was that he actually did feel a hint of concern for her at that time. Angelica ignored Elliot's sarcastic remark. Her face was pale, and her voice calm. She said, "Until my body recovers, I won't give you a single drop of my blood, Elliot." To be precise, she would never give him any of her blood again. But for now, she had to keep up appearances. After all, they weren't divorced yet. Her fingers gripped tightly onto the bedsheet. Perhaps from exerting pressure, bright red blood flowed backward into the clear tube. But she didn't feel any pain at all. Seeing her in this state, the harsh words Elliot had almost let out ended up caught in his throat. He clicked his tongue and spat out the words, "You're such a hassle." But in the end, he didn't force her. Whether it was a sudden pang of conscience or something else entirely, no one could tell. Elliot sat in her room for a while. When he was about to leave, Angelica called out to him. "Elliot... did you tell Ms. Morris that I'm afraid of the dark?" "What? Ms Morris?" He frowned and corrected her. "She's my sister. Just call her Rosie as I do. Oh, right, I might've mentioned it to her." Ever since she'd known Elliot, Rosie had been especially concerned about their matters. She asked about everything, big or small. Elliot never thought much of it. He told her everything, including things that Angelica had confided in him, the wounds she had laid bare. "Why are you asking this?" he asked. Angelica hid herself under the blanket. Her voice sounded muffled. "Just curious." And yet, she couldn't hold back her tears from spilling out of her eyes, soaking the clean, white sheets. The hospital room fell silent again. A villa in a high-end, upscale neighbourhood wouldn't have had a power outage for no reason. The only possibility was deliberate sabotage by someone. And last night, the only people in the house were Angelica, Holden, and the maids. No matter how much the maids disliked her, they would only dare to gossip behind her back. They wouldn't actually do anything to her. But Holden was different. He was young, but already full of malice. For him to choose to cut the power, targeting her weakness so precisely, only meant that someone had instructed him to do so. And that someone… Rosie's face flashed through Angelica's mind. Her heart pounded violently, and her breathing turned erratic. Her hatred for Rosie grew by the second. But the person she hated the most was still herself. If she hadn't trusted Elliot so blindly, and hadn't exposed her vulnerability to him, none of this would have happened. … Angelica stayed in the hospital for five days. After all the turmoil she went through, her once round face seemed noticeably smaller, and she looked visibly exhausted. Lydia felt heartbroken for her. "I swear I'll help you gain back every pound you lost, Angelica!" Angelica laughed softly. "It's fine. Let's just treat it as me losing weight. Do you really want me to be chubby forever?" Today was the day she got discharged from the hospital, yet no one from the Quigley family showed up. Fortunately, Lydia came to keep her company, so she didn't feel completely alone. Once they got in the car, Lydia deliberately pulled up old photos of Angelica from college on her phone, comparing them back and forth. "You look good, both fit and chubby, Angelica. I like you either way." On the screen was a girl with jet-black hair and fair skin. She had a tall and slender figure, with curves exactly where they should be. Her features were bright and striking, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail. She looked youthful and vibrant. She looked nothing like now. After gaining 70 pounds, her body resembled an overinflated balloon. The moment she lowered her head, a double chin appeared. Angelica lowered her gaze and said softly, "But I like myself better when I'm slimmer." Hearing that, Lydia dug frantically through her bag. Three seconds later, she shoved a card into Angelica's hand. "Use my gym membership card, Angelica!" Angelica was about to refuse, but Lydia forced it into her hand. "No refusing! Think of it as helping me out. My brother said if I don't use up the balance within six months, he's cutting off my allowance. You know how hard it is to survive as a lawyer these days…" At that point, Angelica had no reason to refuse her anymore. She smiled. "Fine. I'll cover the cost of buying your kids' toys in the future." Lydia replied sarcastically, "Gee, thanks." She had zero intention of stepping into the graveyard that is marriage. That night, Angelica, who hadn't gone home and was temporarily staying with Lydia, received a call from Elliot. "Where did you go? Why aren't you at the hospital?" he asked. The first thing that came out of his mouth was an accusation. Angelica was already used to it. She tossed aside a ruined sketch and replied calmly, "I was discharged today." There was a brief silence on the other end. Then, his cold tone softened slightly. "Holden was making a scene at home, so I took Rosie home first." It almost sounded like Elliot was explaining himself to her. The thought of that startled Angelica. It had to be her imagination. Someone arrogant and wild like Elliot would never explain himself to a walking blood supply. She didn't want to read too much into it and get carried away. "What do you want?" The line went quiet again. After a long pause, Elliot finally spoke. "Where are you? I'll come pick you up." "No need." Angelica rejected him without hesitation. Elliot didn't expect her to reject him so directly. "Lydia ran into something, so I'm staying with her." Using Lydia as an excuse worked. Elliot had nothing else to say in return. Another stretch of silence followed after that. Looking at the fresh sheet of drawing paper, Angelica seemed to have remembered something and spoke first. "Is your uncle coming back for the holidays, Elliot?" "Yes, how do you know that?" Angelica made up something casually. "I heard it from your parents." Elliot didn't doubt her. Dominic's return had already become common knowledge in Mubathro. "Why are you asking?" Angelica had prepared her excuse beforehand. She said, "It's my first time formally meeting an elder. I have to bring a gift for our first meeting." After a pause, she added casually, "I heard your uncle has a son, about the same age as Holden." Elliot hated roundabout talk. His impatience flared up again. "What are you trying to say?" Angelica took in a deep breath. She was inexplicably nervous. "Do you know what kind of toys his son likes?" When no answer came after a long wait, she thought her question might have been too direct and quickly added, "Or… do you have any photos of his son?"