The veins on Lucian’s arms bulged, and he vented his rage by swinging a fist at the wall. There’s nothing much to be done. I have to let her go even if she will hate me for it. I’ll do anything to save her life, including submitting to Jack.
After an exhausting day in the ward, Madilyn emerged and was surprised to see Lucian standing at the door. “Have you been standing here this whole time?”
Lucian nodded. “How is she?” Madilyn sighed. “It’s too early to tell. We’ve softened up her arteries a little and will continue doing so tomorrow. You should go in and keep her company.”
Lucian gazed at the figure inside but somehow could not move his feet. “Roxanne would want you by her side,” Madilyn said. It was only then that Lucian’s gaze softened.
A moment’s hesitation later, he walked in. After standing guard outside the ward through the night and seeing no change in Roxanne’s condition, Lucian did not feel his anxiety alleviated in the slightest. Peregrine’s words weighed heavily on his heart.
He knew a change was taking place within her body that was invisible to the naked eye. At the first light of dawn, Madilyn and the team of experts entered the ward to pick up where they had left off the day before.
Lucian rose to leave. This time, he no longer stood guard at the door. Peregrine had not returned, but it was time for his appointment with Colby. He was anxious to see if Colby had come up with anything.
Lucian sped all the way until he arrived at the prison entrance. Having been too hasty in his arrival, he had forgotten to inform his friend ahead of time.
Fortunately, the guard who had greeted him the day before hurried over at once, having just started his shift. “Are you here to see Colby Galloway again, Mr. Farwell?”
Lucian nodded expressionlessly. With a tactful nod, the guard relayed an order to have Colby brought out. The pair met once again in the visiting room.
Still bounded by shackles, Colby remained under the guards’ watchful eyes but regarded Lucian with less hostility this time. The pair sat across from one another in silence.
As the minutes passed, Lucian’s heart sank. If Colby had thought of something, he would not waste any time by telling me the second he saw me. He also wouldn’t have that look on his face. The pair did not speak. Lucian nodded. “I got it. It’s all right. I’ll think of something else.”
Just as he was about to leave, Colby piped up, “Surely you’ve made some progress over the past two days. Any other clues? Tell me. Perhaps I could think of something.”
Lucian paused at those words. He returned to his seat and relayed Peregrine’s diagnosis once more. “Her arteries have hardened, and the constriction in her circulation is causing them to contract further.”
Colby repeated Lucian’s words with bewilderment in his eyes. Lucian inclined his head as an affirmation of his summary. After several minutes of silence, Colby looked up gravely. “Who discovered this?”
He was not convinced of the severity of whatever poison that was. “Mr. Peregrine Lomax. He is said to be the King of Medicine of Merania. You might have heard of him.”
Despite not knowing much about the medical. world, Lucian was aware of the old man’s prestige from the experts’ reverence for him.
Old Mr. Lomax! Colby’s eyes were filled with shock at Lucian’s words. He even managed to hire Old. Mr. Lomax. Even more surprisingly, Old Mr. Lomax couldn’t handle Roxanne’s condition. Otherwise, Lucian would not have come to see me today.
“What else did the old gentleman say?” He was desperate to hear Peregrine’s diagnosis. Lucian shook his head, his expression dark. “Old Mr. Lomax is still perusing the medical literature for a way to cure Roxanne.”
Colby turned grim; his eyes thoughtful. “Let me mull it over. I will think of something.” I am in prison while Roxanne lies on a hospital bed with her life at stake. Even Old Mr. Lomax couldn’t save her. I need to do something for her no matter what it takes.
Lucian’s words played over and over again in his mind. Colby’s brows were furrowed as he tried to decipher any information he could from those words.
However, despite wracking his brain, he could not think of any medicinal herbs that could match the drug’s efficacy. Colby grew frustrated.
“Dr. Jarvis spent most of her time in the laboratory. She is susceptible to the smells of medicinal herbs, including rare specimens that have passed through her hands. She would have noticed something if she smelled something poisonous, and Jack knows this.” Swiftly, he arrived at a possibility. “To disguise the smell of the medicinal herbs, he must have used a good amount of fragrance.”
“Don’t push yourself if you can’t come up with anything.” Lucian felt touched at the sight of Colby’s panic. “As you said, despite Old Mr. Lomax’s skill, there isn’t anything he could do now.”
Colby regained his composure, though there were traces of defeat in his gaze. “If Old Mr. Lomax could come up with something, Dr. Jarvis would be delighted upon waking to find out that it was he who had saved her.”
Lucian looked at him in puzzlement. “Why do you say that?” He knew the old man was a legend in the medical industry and that it would not be unusual for Roxanne to idolize him, but Colby’s words seemed to indicate something else.
Remembering something, Colby said, “I have worked with Dr. Jarvis to develop several medications that would undoubtedly be of great interest to the industry, some of which were based on Old Mr. Lomax’s research. He should have had a share in the profits.”
Peregrine had disappeared without warning years ago and left behind much half-done research. He had even released it to the world, hoping that somebody would take over and produce something with his research.
Many within the medical industry became interested and began conducting follow-up research. However, Roxanne was the only one who had led them to perfect the drugs. They had tried to contact Peregrine, but to no avail.
Roxanne had been uneasy about being unable to share the profits with him, so she had set the price of the drugs low enough just to break even and recoup the costs to pay tribute to the man they otherwise owed.
It was this incident that had given Colby his first good impression of Roxanne. In their subsequent encounters, the fondness increased until it became an obsession. At the recollection of the past and of the foolish things he had done, Colby could not help resenting himself.
Lucian’s gaze dimmed when he listened to how Roxanne and Peregrine met. She would be thrilled if she woke up and learned that Old Mr. Lomax had treated her. But given the current situation, keeping her safe is…
“If there is no other way, I can only give Jack what he wants,” he said expressionlessly. Colby was taken aback. “Jack gave you his conditions? What are they?”
There must be a catch for Lucian to be thinking twice. Lucian’s grim gaze met his. “You only need to know one of them. He wants me to marry another woman before Roxanne regains consciousness.”
“Is he crazy? How could he make you do that?” Lucian gave a self-deprecating laugh. “It was my negligence that resulted in Roxanne’s predicament. I should pay the price.”
It is a heavy price to pay. Colby looked at the man before him, still in shock, as his expression shifted. He would sacrifice his marriage for Roxanne’s safety.
He recalled the time he had first heard Roxanne’s story six years ago. He had been disgusted with Lucian and thought him unworthy of her.
Then Roxanne returned to the country six years later. Upon finding out about their union, Colby held on to the notion that Lucian’s sin was unpardonable and realized that it was wishful thinking to envision a future with her.
Now, it seems the person most worthy of Roxanne is the man before me. He is the only one who truly loves her to be willing to give anything for her. My and Jack’s feelings for her, on the other hand, are only excuses we have used to hurt her. What I have done is unforgivable.
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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