Nathaniel then took a deep breath, and an exasperated look and a frown crept upon his face. “He’s not dead. I was only joking with you.”
“Not funny.” I glared at him before flinging his cold hand away. Shakily, I supported myself with the drawer and climbed back onto the bed.
Nathaniel quietly watched me from the side. Once I was on the bed, he left the ward.
A while later, a nurse came in to treat my head wound.
During that time, I asked the nurse a few questions. I then learned that I was back at K City and that no one was guarding my ward at all times. In other words, I had a certain amount of freedom, but that did not mean that no one was watching me from the shadows. Nonetheless, I could not bother myself with that.
After the nurse left, I contacted John.
He picked up the call almost immediately. “Thank god you finally called me back. Gregory told me that Nathaniel was the one who took you away. Are you okay?”
While I was unconscious, John had been spamming me with calls, but I missed them all. It seemed like I had made him worry.
“I’m fine,” I replied as I took a glimpse at the injury on my shoulder. “How are Gregory and Audrey?”
I made a promise to the kids, but I broke it. I’m sure they’re disappointed.
“What do you think? I’ve brought them to my place. Don’t you know how Emma works? She’s great at consoling the children; she played with Audrey and Drew, and they’ve forgotten about you in the midst of their fun,” John half-jokingly said.
I pressed my lips tightly but smiled. “That’s good.”
If they only have bad memories of me, then I’d rather they forget about me so that they can stay happy.
“Yeah, right. When are you going to come back?” John asked.
“I still have something else to do. Maybe in a few days.” The boy was smart, so going back while I was injured would only worry him more. Thus, I would rather recover a little bit more before meeting him again.
Fearing that John would notice something amiss, I quickly changed the topic. “I called you for something else. I think I’ve found Nathaniel’s base.”
John instantly turned solemn. “Where are you right now?”
At that, my heart leaped into my throat. Does he know that I’m in the hospital?
“On an island,” I whispered.
“What island? Are you in the country or overseas?” John continued.
It was then I let out a sigh of relief. “I need your help because I don’t know which island I’m on. Nathaniel has already brought me to his drug lab. I’m mostly certain that’s the core of his empire is. As long as we destroy that place, it’ll be much easier for us to deal with him.”
“Stop,” John suddenly said.
However, there was no way I was going to stop at that moment. “No, listen to me. This is a little hard, but we can—”
“I asked you to stop!” John bellowed, scaring all the words I had on the tip of my tongue back down my throat.
Then, in a cautious but firm voice, he said, “Once a spy is exposed, they can’t come back in one piece. I don’t want to see only bits of you the next time I see you. What we have is time. Come back first, and we’ll slowly resolve this matter. Before that happens, no matter what you say to me, I’ll pretend that I heard nothing.”
Rendered speechless for a moment, I then reluctantly agreed, “All right. Sorry to trouble you with taking care of Gregory and Audrey for now.”
“You’re right. It’s troublesome,” John said in a serious tone. “So get back here as quickly as possible and take them back.”
What a soft-hearted person. He’s clearly afraid that it’s too dangerous for me out here, so he’s urging me to go back. I chuckled and nodded. “All right. I’ll come back once I’m done with everything. I won’t even delay for a second.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.” With that said, I ended the call.
The sky outside the window was gloomy. I could not tell what time it was, so I unlocked my phone to look at the time.
It’s twenty minutes to eleven in the morning. I must have slept for an entire day and night. I wonder how things are at Anthony and Joseph’s side. Nathaniel doesn’t want me to die. In other words, I must mean something to him now. That will be my bargaining chip. With that, I won’t be forced to do as he says the next time we meet. It’s not that he can’t love someone, but that he doesn’t want to lose. If I’m dead, he won’t be able to match up to Anthony. He’ll forever be a loser. I can’t die, but I have to make Nathaniel think that I’m not afraid of death. That’ll be the only way I can make him wary of me.
What I had most was time while I was recovering in the hospital. While Nathaniel was not around, I tried to find out the general location of that island.
Unfortunately, when I zoomed into the map, I realized there were tons of islands around the mainland. My memory of the trip alone was not enough for me to figure out which island I was on.
It was then I came to the realization that Nathaniel must have chosen that place as his factory because of that. The news of the nearby islands getting swarmed by police would give them enough time to respond.
Around noon, the door to the ward opened again, and Nathaniel entered with a thermal food jar. It seemed like he was going to plead for forgiveness by acting like a good husband.
There was a total of six dishes, including two kinds of soup and a dessert. It was a sumptuous meal for a patient.
Nathaniel quietly unpacked the food before getting a plate with a fork and putting it in front of me. He then said, “Eat.”
I lowered my head to glance at it before lifting it again. Stubbornly not taking the fork, I said, “I have an injury on my shoulder, and my head is spinning. How am I supposed to eat?”
Hearing that, Nathaniel glimpsed at my forehead before standing up to head out. “I’ll get the nurse.”
However, he halted in his tracks two steps later. After a second of standing transfixed, he turned around and picked up the plate and fork. He then stabbed a piece of broccoli and held it in front of my lips, saying, “Open your mouth.”
I instinctively flinched. After a moment of hesitation, I reluctantly opened my mouth and slowly ate the broccoli.
The moment the broccoli entered my mouth, my tastebuds came alive. I had to admit that the food tasted great.
However, I kept a calm look on my face. As a matter of fact, I even taunted, “You made this? It’s not as good as Anthony’s, but it’s somewhat edible.”
Nathaniel did not respond immediately. After feeding me a piece of meat, he said, “This is made by Anthony.”
I nearly choked on my own saliva.
“I was afraid that you might not eat, so we made a deal, and I got him to make a meal in exchange,” Nathaniel added as he carefully adjusted the angle of the fork. He made it seem like feeding me was something so important that no mistakes could be made.
“What deal?” I asked as I continued chewing. Anthony knows me well. No wonder the food has the right intensity of flavor of my preference.
“Something you’re not interested in.” Nathaniel then put down the fork and scooped some soup for me instead. “Drink this. It’ll be good for you.”
Nevertheless, I did not even spare it a glance; I was more interested in finding out what deal he had made with Anthony. “What deal?”
“Are you a parrot?” Nathaniel furrowed his brows as a tinge of anger laced his voice.
I fell silent, and my mood turned foul. A scowl appeared on my face, and I turned away from him, a sign that I did not want to speak with him anymore.
“Have Anthony ever said that you’re a difficult person?” Nathaniel questioned, evidently not used to courting a woman.
Difficult? This is called a sweet burden. I’m under great pressure flirting with you here. Not only are you not expressing gratitude toward my act, but you’re even being picky and questioning my ability to play the role you want?
Thus, I turned my face further from him and ignored him. In other words, I was giving him the cold shoulder.
Once again, the atmosphere in the ward turned tense. Nathaniel put down the fork loudly on the table and warned, “For you not to finish this means that Anthony isn’t a good enough cook. A call from me will make sure that you’ll never see him again.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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