I stared at the phone helplessly.
After consoling John, now I had to console Anthony. I must be the most miserable person in the world right now.
I placed the phone next to my ear before speaking sincerely, “Mr. Featherstone, your wife has realized her mistake and promised never to repeat her mistake ever again. Will you be kind enough to forgive her?”
Silence ensued. After all, Anthony could hold a grudge longer than John.
“What should I do to appease your anger? I can do anything you wish.” I went all out.
John pretended to cough lightly beside me. “Oh, this is X-rated!” he teased.
I glared at him to make him stop.
Finally, Anthony spoke, his voice hoarse. “Tomorrow, ask John to buy a collar and leash at the pet store tomorrow.”
“Mm? You want a pet? Is it a dog or cat?”
“It’s you.”
I stiffened in shock. A flush crept up my cheeks when I saw John gazing at me curiously. I turned around slightly and covered the phone before agreeing to Anthony’s request. “I’m not against spicing things up, but there are shops who sell those things specifically. Why should we involve a pet store?”
I could understand that men were fascinated by new stuff, but this was an intimate affair, so we shouldn’t be fooling around.
“What are you talking about?” Anthony returned. “You said anything, right? If it happens again, you shall wear the collar and stay by my side as an obedient pet. You won’t be able to escape.”
“Ah? Oh, I see.” The flush deepened in my cheeks as I was utterly embarrassed.
“What else could it be?” Anthony responded in all seriousness.
“Nothing. That was what I meant, too. Anyway, sure. I’ll ask John to do that tomorrow. Can we talk now?” I hurriedly changed the topic.
“Go ahead,” came Anthony’s reply.
Sighing in relief, I explained about my plan which I had told John earlier.
“As long as we work together, there’s a chance that we might find our son. What do you think?”
Anthony fell silent and deliberated before replying, “Let’s wait for the results to come out tomorrow.”
“But we’re in M Country. If we don’t prepare ahead, we might lose the chance.”
After seeing those children forced to separate from their parents at a young age, I grew increasingly determined to rescue my son from their clutches.
Marcus was a changed man, and Armond was cruel. I couldn’t keep praying for a miracle to happen.
“Did you just forget what you promised me earlier?” Anthony’s voice was calm but assertive.
I fell silent as helplessness washed over me.
In the end, Anthony caved in. “Fine. I agree to prepare in advance, but before we can do that, let’s wait for the test results. We need to make sure you’re fine or your illness can be treated before carrying out the plan. Your health is of utmost importance.”
“Alright.”
I had been reckless countless times, so perhaps it was time to calm down and wait for the good news.
The next afternoon, the plump hospital director entered my ward with a specialist trailing after him.
After flipping through my medical report, he sighed and told me apologetically, “Ms. Stanhope, I’m sorry to inform you that there’s no cure to the toxin in your body.”
“No cure?” John snorted and shot a disapproving look at the director. “You’re useless.”
He walked slowly towards the doctors, looking as ominous as a ghoul that had just crawled out from the depths of hell. “What a bunch of charlatans,” he sneered. “How dare you call yourselves the best doctors that M Country has to offer?”
Suddenly, John stretched out his hand and grabbed hold of the white-haired director. Lifting him up from the ground, John gritted his teeth and said in the most threatening voice he could manage, “I don’t want to hear any more of your rubbish. If you can’t cure her illness, I’ll make sure this hospital closes down!”
I started coughing violently. “John…” I called out weakly. I tried to sit up in bed, but lost balance and collapsed back onto it.
“Letty!” Seeing this, John flung the doctor aside and ran over to help me up. “How are you feeling?” Turning to the doctors, he hollered, “What are the lot of you waiting for? Give her some medication immediately! Can’t you see how much pain she’s in?”
He roared so loudly with every bit of energy he could summon that beads of sweat had formed on his brow.
I opened my mouth as if to say something. Before a word could bubble to the tip of my tongue, I suddenly tasted the potent stench of blood at the back of my throat. The next moment, blood had spewed out of my mouth and splattered all over the floor. In an instant, John’s white shirt was covered in splotches of bright red as he held me.
“You’ll be alright, Letty. I’m here—nothing will happen to you…” John tried frantically to wipe the blood from my face, comforting me as he did so. He turned around and threatened the doctors again, “I don’t care what sort of method you use. If Letty doesn’t survive this, I’ll make sure to bury you lot alive with her. Men!”
Hearing this, his subordinates rushed into the room at once. The sight of men in black made the doctors gape in shock.
As one of the bodyguards pressed a knife to the neck of the male doctor, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. The female doctor, on the other hand, looked rather helpless. She yelped for a few times before shutting up when the bodyguards threatened to kill her.
In comparison, the director seemed rather unbothered. Stuttering slightly, he protested, “Mr. John, you need to calm down, please. It’s true that Ms. Stanhope’s illness is incurable. However, her immune system is very weak as well, and she stands no chance against the toxin. This is why she was so susceptible to it. It’s very unreasonable of you to blame the doctors like this.”
Something flickered in John’s eyes. He shot an ominous glance behind him before turning around and helping me to lay back down on the bed. He then pulled the covers up to my chin before walking slowly towards the director again.
John was half a head taller than the director. The two of them gazed into each other’s eyes for half a second. Then, in the blink of an eye, John grabbed hold of his bodyguard’s knife and stabbed it into the director’s thigh.
The smell of blood became even stronger in the room, but John didn’t seem to realize. With a cold expression, he said, “This is just the start. If you don’t save my sister’s life, I’ll make sure to stab you in the chest next time.”
His fluent English, coupled with his handsome face, would have made any girl swoon. However, his words only came across as cruel and bloodthirsty being spoken in a room full of bloodshed and in his icy tone.
Though my vision was rather blurry, I could see the doctors shooting dark glances at one another. In the end, they finally conceded. One of the younger doctors stepped forward and announced that they would do their best to save me and increase my lifespan. With that, they hurriedly carted the white- faced, bleeding director away.
John shut the door and quickly returned to my bedside. He comforted me, “Don’t worry, Letty. You’ll be alright very soon.”
I coughed twice, loudly. Frowning slightly, I summoned up all my courage and whispered reassuringly, “You’re the one who should stop worrying. I know my body the best. I have a weak constitution to begin with; on top of that, I didn’t go through with my confinement period properly. I shouldn’t have come out before it ended. I brought all this upon myself. Don’t feel sad.”
John bowed his head and knitted his brows together, trying his best to hold back his emotions.
“John, can you promise me one more thing?”
There were only the two of us in the room, and it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. My voice, though soft, was clearly audible.
John’s hand lay on top of my chest, crumpling my blankets into a twist. He still refused to look at me. “You must be very tired now. Have a good rest first. When you get better, let’s do it together. Go to sleep now.”
I shook my head stubbornly and refused to listen. “I’m afraid I might run out of time before that. John, this is my last and only wish. Find the child and make sure that he…” here, I coughed again, “…that he isn’t abandoned on the streets. Promise me that, alright?”
“Stop talking right now!” John turned away abruptly. “I’ll go talk to the doctors about the recovery process. You have a good rest!”
“John…”
Even as I doubled over and coughed, John pretended as though he hadn’t heard me. He quickened his footsteps and disappeared out of the door in a matter of seconds.
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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