“What’s the matter, Dr. Jarvis?”
Colby had just fallen asleep when he was jolted awake by Roxanne’s call. When he glimpsed the caller ID, he immediately answered the call.
Hearing his voice, Roxanne furtively breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t the time to exchange pleasantries with him, so she cut to the chase. “If it isn’t too much trouble, can you make a trip to the research institute right now?”
At that, Colby sat up from the bed. “Is there anything important?”
While saying that, he had already started changing without waiting for her reply.
He knew that there must be something crucial that she was calling at that hour, but he wanted to know the specifics.
Roxanne glanced at the three children in the room, her voice grave. “I have kids here who developed an allergic reaction due to bacterial infection. The spray we formulated back then might be effective, but I’m really needed here. As such, I can only seek your help.”
Having said that, she added, “Forget it if it’s too much trouble. I can also make a trip over myself.”
By then, Colby had already gone downstairs after snagging a coat and draping it over himself. “I’ve already left home and will be arriving soon.”
Roxanne thanked him gratefully, saying, “I’m really sorry for troubling you at this hour.”
At her words, Colby merely chuckled nonchalantly. “It’s no big deal. The children’s health comes first. I remember that the symptoms of such an allergy can get exceedingly serious. Take care of them first. I’ll rush over as soon as possible.”
Roxanne murmured an acknowledgment and thanked him again before hanging up the phone.
By the time she returned to the room, Estella’s face had already flushed bright red. The red spots on Archie and Benny’s bodies had also spread to their necks.
It was the first time they had such a severe illness. Although they were already sufficiently strong, they were still inexorably afraid.
Utter distress inundated Roxanne at the expressions on their faces. But still, she gritted her teeth and soothed them. “Don’t be afraid. It’s just a bit of an allergy. I’ve already asked someone to send the medication over. Just put up with it for a while longer.”
Unwilling to cause her concern, the children nodded meekly.
Turning her back to them, Roxanne sighed soundlessly.
While Colby had promised that he would rush over as soon as possible, she couldn’t help feeling anxious. Thus, she went downstairs to wait.
At the sight of her retreating back, Lucian’s gaze darkened. He shifted his eyes to the three children on the bed.
Discerning his intention, Archie and Benny instantly patted themselves on the chest and vowed, “We’ll take good care of Essie!”
Following that, Lucian bobbed his head at them and left the room as well.
When he arrived downstairs, he bumped into Roxanne, who was about to head upstairs with a pot of hot water in hand.
Lucian took the pot from her. “What illness is this exactly?”
Roxanne didn’t bother to stand on ceremony with him. She whirled around and took a few brand-new towels from the bathroom before following behind him. “It’s an allergy due to bacterial infection. Adults can still endure it, but kids’ resistance is low. As time drags on, there’ll be a series of complications, such as high fever, laryngeal edema, and the like. In serious cases, there’s even a possibility of asphyxia.”
At her words, Lucian’s heart promptly sank to rock bottom.
Essie is already running a high fever now. It’d be bad if things were to drag on.
“I’ve already asked someone to help get the medication. Right now, I’m going to use hot towels on them to alleviate the itching first.”
Roxanne’s heart was similarly heavy.
Earlier, she initially planned to go downstairs to wait for Colby. But when she arrived downstairs, that idea occurred to her.
Lucian didn’t know much about pathology, so he could only do as she said.
An hour later, Roxanne’s phone rang. Colby had arrived. Roxanne went downstairs to open the door for him.
Meanwhile, Lucian and the children heard the male voice on the other end of the phone. Without waiting for the man to speak, the children took the initiative to urge him to follow Roxanne downstairs for a look.
Seeing that they were even more anxious than him, Lucian inclined his head a fraction and went downstairs with huge strides. “Thank you.” Roxanne stood in the courtyard as she took the sprays from Colby.
Since the condition was contagious, she could only try her best to keep a distance from him. However, he brought a number of sprays, so she couldn’t quite carry them all. “I’ll carry them in for you,” Colby suggested at her conflicted expression.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Roxanne turned him down. “As you know, this kind of bacteria is highly contagious. I already feel horribly bad for troubling you to make this trip late at night. You’d best not go into the house, for I’m afraid that you’d get infected as well.”
As a fellow doctor, Colby also played a part in formulating the spray. Naturally, he knew full well the contagiousness of such a bacteria.
Therefore, he didn’t insist after she had said as much.
Just when he was racking his brain for a way to help her carry the sprays in, a figure suddenly walked out of the mansion door.
He reflexively lifted his eyes and cast his gaze over.
The instant he recognized the person at the door, a glimmer of surprise flittered across his eyes.
Lucian? Why is he here at this hour?
While he was still perplexed, Lucian had already walked over to him with mighty strides and regarded him expressionlessly. “You’re… Dr. Galloway?”
He had seen Colby once when he went to the research institute to pick Roxanne up previously.
When it came to the men around Roxanne, he had a deep impression of them, even if he had only seen them once.
Snapping back to his senses, Colby courteously extended his hand and greeted, “Mr. Farwell.”
His brows furrowing imperceptibly, Lucian didn’t extend his hand. Instead, he merely explained, “Sorry, but I’m infected, so I’d better not shake hands with you for your sake, Dr. Galloway.”
Upon hearing that, Colby was again stupefied.
When Roxanne asked me to go over to the research institute to get the medication, she said there were kids who were sick, so I instinctively presumed that it was Archie and Benny. But if it were them, why would he be here? To top it off, he’s even infected? What’s their relationship exactly?
Likewise, the look in Lucian’s eyes was pitch dark.
I remember that Roxanne exited the research institute with this man when we met the last time. And in such an urgent situation now, she asked him for help. What’s their relationship exactly?
For a moment, the atmosphere between them turned a touch tense.
Worried about Archie and Benny upstairs, Roxanne didn’t notice the strange atmosphere between the two men. “It’s late now, and considering the situation today, I won’t be inviting you in.”
Gathering his wits about him, Colby nodded in understanding. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to remind her gently, “Take care of yourself. Don’t tire yourself out.”
Roxanne merely pursed her lips and flashed him a smile.
A while later, Colby got into his car and left.
Roxanne and Lucian remained in the courtyard, watching until his car had disappeared from their lines of sight before they spun around and went back into the mansion.
They held two large bottles of spray in each hand respectively.
By the time they returned to the bedroom, they were greeted by the sight of the three children lying on the bed sickly. Estella had already plunged into semi-consciousness from her high fever.
“Mommy…” Archie and Benny mumbled indistinctly when they saw them entering the room, still somewhat conscious.
Roxanne hastened forward and touched their foreheads, only to sense searing heat.
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.
Leave a Reply