At the sight of me sitting up in bed, she paid no heed to Anthony and ran over to my other side and threw herself onto me. “You’re finally awake,” she sobbed. “You’ve been asleep for three whole days! I’d thought that you have left me behind and don’t want to take me to K City anymore.”
It hurt my still frail body to be embraced by two people at the same time.
It was a good thing that Armond arrived in time to pull Nora off of me. “She just woke up. Are you planning on knocking her out again?” he chided Nora.
“Don’t be preposterous!” Nora shoved Armond indignantly. “Sienna is fine. She’ll always be.”
She wiped her tears at that. “I’m sorry, I did not know that you are allergic to sesame,” she said guiltily. “If I knew that the matcha cheese had that amount of sesame in it, I would rather die than to have caused you to have that reaction!”
I chuckled and patted her hand. “It’s not your fault, Nora. It was mine for not noticing in the first place. Anyway, it was an accident!”
Nora still felt to blame. “If you did not have that allergic reaction, we wouldn’t have come to the hospital, and you wouldn’t be abducted. It’s all my fault. If we ever caught the man who did this to you, I’ll kill him myself!”
“Have you caught him?” Armond turned to Anthony and asked.
Anthony pursed his lips and cast a meaningful look at Armond.
Nora did not understand. “Couldn’t you see what he looked like from the surveillance? Even if he had a mask on, you would have found him by now! It’s been three days!”
“There was a switch,” Anthony explained. “The man who took Sienna into the morgue wasn’t the same man who had administered the sedative.” He frowned, deep in thought. “The man who made it into the morgue made every effort to avoid the cameras.”
Armond was silent for a while. “Does the trail of evidence end here, then?”
Anthony said nothing but patted my back gently.
“Forget it,” Nora said, in an attempt to keep the conversation positive. “Let’s eat before we do anything else. There’s still plenty to do in Lavelian Village. We would have to go back there after eating.”
I perked up. “Has the project in Lavelian Village commenced?”
“Yes, it has.” Armond nodded.
I was still doubtful but did not pursue the matter.
Nora brought some food for me, then she and Armond departed in a rush.
I did not have much of an appetite as I had just woken up. Nora’s cooking was delicious, but I could not force myself to eat much.
“Finish up!” Anthony chastised as he saw me giving up after several mouthfuls.
“I’m really not hungry, I don’t feel like eating,” I pleaded.
“I’ll feed you.”
I glared at him. “Did the doctor say when I could be discharged?” I asked, in an attempt to divert the subject.
“A few more days, as you’ve just regained consciousness.”
I could tell from his expression that he was determined to let me stay and rest for a couple more days. At the thought of Lavelian Village, I grew serious. “Anthony, any leads on the case on Lavelian Village?”
I recalled him mentioning that he considered withdrawing his involvement.
“Another obstacle. Don’t you think that I am fulfilling somebody else’s wish by giving up and walking away?”
His meaning slowly dawned on me. “Do you think it was done by the same person?” I asked, my eyes wide as saucers.
The robbery at the base, Nora’s fall, and the numerous attempts on my life. These events appeared unrelated at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to be interconnected to serve a larger purpose.
The robbery at the base would delay the press conference. Nora’s accident would halt the project at Lavelian Village.
If I did not make it out of the morgue alive, Anthony would bring my body back to K City and never step foot in A City ever again. Acceptance of the Lavelian Village project would definitely be out of the question.
Upon arrival at this conclusion, there was still something that I did not understand. “Was everything intended to harm the Murphys or the Featherstones?”
Anthony was in no hurry to answer. His gaze fell onto the bowl of soup before me. “Shall I feed you?” he asked quietly.
I ate a few more spoonful. “Alright, I’ve eaten. Tell me more.”
Anthony rose to his feet without speaking. The doctor came in for a quick check-up. “Mrs. Featherstone is completely fine. A few more days of rest and she’ll be cleared for discharge.”
Anthony nodded. Capitalizing on his attention being elsewhere, I pushed the half-eaten bowl of soup away from me.
After the doctor left, I rose to go to the bathroom. However, my legs were not in use for too long and I toppled over the moment I put some weight on them.
Anthony’s reflexes were lightning quick. He reached out and caught hold of me. “What are you doing?” he asked sternly.
“I want to go to the washroom,” I answered, trying not to laugh. That was embarrassing.
Anthony lifted me up in his arms and carried me into the bathroom. He then threw me over his shoulder and undid my pants for me.
“Anthony, I can do this on my own,” I said hurriedly, pushing him away. “Please wait for me outside.” I was hoping he would leave before he saw how red I was.
“What’s the matter? I’ve seen every part of you before, haven’t I?” he said with a frown.
How is that the same?
I pushed him again. “It’s not the same. Please let me do this on my own. I think I can manage!”
Anthony threw my hands off bossily. “I have been changing your urine bags for the past two days,” he said. “You are my wife, I should be taking care of you. I’m sure you would do the same when I’m old and grey. Stop overthinking.”
I was speechless. He was right. After being married for so long, there wasn’t anything left to hide from one another.
It was one thing when I was comatose, but a whole other thing when I’m completely conscious. I pushed him gently. “That was different but I’m awake now. I can do this on my own. I promise to call you when I’m done, okay?”
Anthony pouted at me. “Be careful then,” he said.
I nodded.
I sighed with relief at the sight of his departing back. If not for his timeless good looks and graceful slender build, I would have assumed he was an old grumpy man.
When did he become so meticulous and fussy?
After two days of rest in the hospital, the doctor examined me one more time before declaring that I was fit to go home.
Anthony spent practically all of his time here at the hospital. He had even brought over all of my toiletries. Joseph was tasked with investigating my abduction, so the job of caring for my needs fell to Anthony.
I sat on the edge of the bed and watched him pack my clothes. “Anthony, when you’re old and broke, you could apply for a housekeeping job.”
“You think I’ll go broke?” Anthony placed my folded clothes into the suitcase and asked.
“No,” I answered after a moment’s pause. With his abilities, he would never be as poor as that.
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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