Chapter 28
Of course, I did not tell him that.
As soon as I opened my mouth, I could not hold back my urge to throw up.
I shoved his hands away and leaned over the edge of the bathtub. My
stomach was empty, so I could only retch.
There was a loud bang at the door. Liam had already left.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I curled up in the water and stared dazedly at the
streaks of blood on the surface.
Fatigue overcame me. I closed my eyes and lost consciousness.
My hunger woke me up.
I opened my eyes to a stabbing pain in my guts. I felt hot and cold at the
Chapter 28 I Didn’t Mean Any Offense
same time, and every muscle felt sore.
I sat up and looked around to find I was sitting in my bedroom.
Maybe the servant took me out of the bathtub when she came into my room
to clean.
On the bedside cabinet were a pill box and a bowl of chicken soup. Even
though it had cooled down, it whetted my appetite.
I picked up the bowl but noticed a slip of paper under it. I shuddered, and the
bowl fell from my hands.
On the slip of paper was written, “Eat the soup before taking the medicine.”
That was Liam’s handwriting.
The door opened, and I quickly pulled the blanket close to me. Fortunately, it
was only Auntie Sidney. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found that
only the bowl had fallen. “You’re finally awake, Mrs. Mendez. Are you feeling
better?”
I nodded in a daze.
“Don’t be afraid. Mr. Mendez had already left,” Auntie Sidney said while feeling
my forehead. “The fever hasn’t subsided yet. Stay in bed and don’t move. I’ll
get another bowl of soup for you.”
Liam had already left.
I lay on the bed just like I was told, feeling relieved.
The servant came to clean the carpet, and Auntie Sidney brought me a new
bowl of soup.
As I ate my soup, Auntie Sidney stood next to me and told me, “When Mr.
Mendez brought you out from the bathtub earlier this morning, you had a
high fever. The doctor said you were soaking for too long in the bathtub.”
I clenched my spoon tightly and said nothing.
Chacter
He was the one…
“You’re safe now. Mr. Cailan called earlier, and he said Mr. Mendez was going
away on a business trip for a week,” Auntie Sidney said while rubbing my
back. “You can rest at home.”
I looked at her. “Really?”
“Of course,” Auntie Sidney said with a smile. “He wants me to pack his
suitcase, and the driver will pick it up soon.”
Auntie Sidney was the chief caretaker of the house. She was in charge of
tasks like that.
“Thank you, Auntie Sidney,” I said, relieved.
After I had some food in my stomach, I lay down again to nap. However, an
intense bout of dizziness woke me up, and I went to the toilet and threw
everything up.
I could not go on like that.
I returned to bed and took my phone. The battery was dead.
After I charged it and turned it on, I received several missed call notifications
from a landline.
I dialed the number, and it was soon picked up. The person on the other end
of the call was Chris, and he sounded professional. “Good morning. This is Dr.
Chris Norman.”
“Dr. Norman, I’m Vivienne Nyra. I’m sorry that I missed your calls earlier. Are
you free? I’d like to collect my medicine,” I said.
“I’m dealing with a patient now.” Chris’ voice became gentler. “I can send it
over at dinnertime.”
“I can go to the hospital. I shouldn’t bother you.”
“Has your fever receded?” he asked.
Chapter 28 I Didn’t Mean Any Offense
“It has. My symptoms are a little serious, and I hadn’t… Wait, how do you know
I have a fever?”
Chris was silent for a moment. “Your husband told me.”
I was taken aback. “Did my husband call you earlier?”
What is Liam doing?
“I called you before my morning shift and wanted to ask you if I could deliver
your medicine over, and he picked up,” he said. “Don’t worry. I didn’t tell him
anything.”
“Did he tell you anything?” I asked.
Chris was silent.
“Dr. Norman?” I was eager to find out.
“Oh.” Chris seemed to come to his senses. “He didn’t.”
It was obvious that Liam did.
I said, “Dr. Norman, you must tell me if he said anything that offended you. I’ll
deal with him.”
Chris chuckled. “What do you mean, ‘anything that offended me’?”
“Anything that made you uncomfortable,” I said.
“No, he didn’t,” he said gently. “When I heard it was not your voice, I told him
that you couldn’t hear anything in your left ear yesterday, and I’d like to follow
up on your condition.”
The left ear was where he slapped me.
“You didn’t tell me about my ear yesterday,” I said.
“Of course not. I made it up,” Chris said with a smile. “Your husband told me
you
had a fever, and you were resting. He also said he instructed the family
doctor to attend to you, and I did not have to worry.”
To me, that sounded incredibly rude.
“I’m so sorry…” I said.
“I should be the one to apologize. I probably caused a misunderstanding with
what I said yesterday,” I said. “I hope he didn’t give you any trouble.”
“No. He wouldn’t give me trouble because of that,” I said.
He did not need any reason to give me trouble.
“That’s good to know,” Chris said. “You can wait for me at home. I’ll come and
look for you in a while.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Norman.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Remember to remove my number from your
blocked contacts. I’m using the hospital landline now.”
After the call ended, I scrolled through my call record and did not see any
unknown numbers. I found one in my blocked contacts, and I removed it.
Thinking that Liam would tamper with my phone again, I saved the number
as “CN” and changed my phone lock to my fingerprint.
I napped for a while longer after that, though I woke up and threw up twice.
Eventually, I received a message from Chris saying that he was waiting at the
entrance and that I should go and meet him whenever I saw the message.
I quickly got dressed and went downstairs, but Auntie Sidney stopped me at
the door. “Where are you going, Mrs. Mendez?”
Auntie Sidney never asked me that before. “Why are you asking that, Auntie
Sidney?” I asked.
Auntie Sidney seemed awkward. “Mr. Mendez told me not to let you out
because you’re ill. He also said he’ll get someone to take care of your father.”
“I have other business,” I said.
“Your college is on winter vacation, right? It’s very cold these days. You should
stay indoors.”
“I can at least take a stroll in the garden, right?” I said.
“Of course.” Auntie Sidney seemed visibly relieved. “But you need to dress
warmer. Wait a second, I’ll go get your warm clothes for you.”
Auntie Sidney went upstairs. I sent a message to Chris, telling him to put the
medicine at the back gate.
I put on my jacket, and Auntie Sidney accompanied me in the garden until
she had something else to do. I went to the back gate without attracting the
attention of the gardener.
