Chapter 522

Justin coughing up blood and fainting in front of them shocked the three men to the core. Luckily, they were right in front of the hospital. Ryan and Ian hurriedly helped the doctors and nurses transport Justin to the emergency room. Steven stood on the other end of the hallway in a daze as he watched Justin, pale as a sheet with blood staining the corner of his mouth, get wheeled through to the emergency room. How did this suddenly happen? Was this another one of his tricks to gain pity? But Justin had been fine when he brought Bella back from Mount Jaglee to the hospital. It was only when he got here that he collapsed… Justin looked like such a tall and tough man, so how had he just collapsed like that? “M-Mr. Hoffman… Mr. Salvador won’t—” Ian spoke tearily as he clenched his fists. “He won’t.” Ryan watched as the light for the emergency treatment room lit up, his heart filled with panic, and his eyes bloodshot. “Justin will be fine. He’s the toughest, most stubborn, and bravest man I’ve ever known. He’s definitely going to be okay.” Right then, one of Asher’s bodyguards walked up to Steven and bowed. “Mr. Lovett, Mr. Thompson sent me to lead you upstairs.” “Alright.” Steven held a heavy heart as he turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and said to the bodyguard in a low voice, “Mr. Justin Salvador, president of Salvador Corporation, is undergoing emergency treatment right now. Pass my words on and tell the dean of the hospital to get two of the most senior doctors to treat Mr. Salvador.” - Bella slept until the next evening. She slowly opened her hazy eyes, feeling as if she had been fully recharged. “Mm… Where am I…?” She could not muster any strength, and she felt as if she was about to fall apart. “Bella! You’re awake! It’s me, Declan!” Declan shouted excitedly and threw himself onto the bed to hug her. He had stayed up all night holding his little sister’s hand tightly, his eyes red and swollen from the countless times he had cried through the night. “Declan…? Are you really back?” Bella’s eyes widened and slowly filled with tears, the tip of her nose turning red. Declan nodded vigorously as he kissed his little sister’s forehead. It was not as hot as it was before, and her fever had pretty much subsided. Last night, the doctor said that it was lucky she had been sent to the hospital in time, or else it was very possible she would have gotten a lung, brain, or heart infection, which would have been complicated. “What about your army posting? Wasn’t it important? How did you manage to get leave to come back?” Bella worried about Declan instead of worrying about herself. “It is important, but no matter how important it is, my little sister always comes first.” “Declan…” Bella hugged her brother around the neck and pressed her cheek against his. Declan had not seen his little sister in a very long time. She had lost a lot of weight since the last time he had seen her, and her gaze was not as bright as it used to be. His heart ached like countless needles were stabbing into his heart, and his throat burned. “Oh, right. How did I get here?” Bella asked as Declan helped her sit up. She leaned weakly against the head of the bed. Declan pursed his lips silently. “Where’s Justin?” Bella’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she spoke, her voice a little hoarse. “He came back with our helicopter. He’s alive and well, Bella. You don’t need to care about him.” Declan spoke coldly and dismissively. But for some reason, Bella felt a terrible, inexplicable fear, and she asked anxiously, “Where is he?” Right then, the door to her hospital room opened. Asher and Steven walked in, one after another, and they were overjoyed to see Bella awake. “Ms. Bella!” Steven was so delighted that he could not help but smile and tear up. He was about to run over to Bella, but when he saw that Declan was present, he bowed slightly before walking over to kneel beside the bed on one knee. “You must have been scared terribly last night, weren’t you, Steve…?” Bella was still very pale, but there was light in the beautiful eyes that curved up at him. “I’m sorry for being willful. But there was a life at stake, and I had no other choice then.” Steven gazed deeply at her, so choked up that he could not speak and only shook his head. He had heard that Bella had nearly fallen off a cliff and shattered all the bones in her body. It was Justin who had risked his own life to save her at the critical moment. “Ms. Bella… There’s something I have to tell you.” Steven hesitated but still told her. “Justin Salvador has suffered very serious internal injuries and even coughed up blood.” “What?!” Bella suddenly sat up straight, her eyes widening as she unconsciously held her breath. “How did it happen?!” This piece of news obviously also came as a shock to Asher and Declan, and the two of them looked stunned. “I heard from the attending doctor that he suffered a heavy blow to his back, which injured his internal organs and caused him to vomit blood,” Steven answered honestly. He might detest Justin Salvador, but he was not so small-minded as to be jealous and conceal the truth. Bella’s eyes widened as a memory came to mind. She suddenly remembered that when Justin dragged her back from the edge of the cliff, he had hugged her tightly, rolled to the side to avoid the cliff’s collapse, and hit his back on a large rock. But at the time, he had clearly said he was okay! Liar! Bella was both anxious and angry as her eyes reddened and she made to get out of bed. Her action drove the three men who loved her dearly into a panic as they all hurried to stop this little troublemaker. “Bella, what are you doing?! Are you going to look for Justin Salvador?!” Declan pressed her shoulder. “This happened to him because of me! I can’t just sit back and do nothing!” Bella’s heart was in her throat, and she was very determined to go look for Justin. “What are you going to see him for? He deserves whatever has happened to him. Who cares what happens to him now?!” “Declan, I—” Declan’s eyes seemed like they were about to burst into flames as he gripped her thin shoulders hard. “You’ve wasted thirteen years of your life on him. Can’t you stop caring about that bastard from now on?! I’m begging you… Please! Can’t you be selfish for once?!” “Dec...” Bella took a deep breath before saying softly, “I can be ruthless, but I can’t be inhumane. There’s one thing even you guys can’t deny—if it hadn’t been for him, I might not even be alive right now.” - In the end, Declan was unable to stop Bella. She still inquired about the ward Justin was staying in and pushed on the door with Steven’s support. But they were both stunned by what they found. The hospital room was empty. Even the blankets had been folded neatly. But Bella could still smell Justin’s unique scent in the air, and it wrapped tightly around her like an impermeable net. “Excuse me, may I ask where the patient who was staying in this room is?” Bella called out to a nurse to ask. “He was discharged in the afternoon.”