Chapter 368
Chapter 368
Chapter 368 Can’t Stop Caring About Him
Her mind was shrouded in confusion again. If the white car’s angle resulted from Leo turning the vehicle around out of reflex when he realized that Jessie was crashing into him, then why did Jessie give her a look with such hate?
Does she hate me because she thinks that I’m the one who snatched Leo from her? Amelie thought. Suddenly, the surgery room doors burst open, and a doctor wearing a white robe and surgical mask strode out.
She dismissed those thoughts as she set aside her phone hastily, trotted over, and asked worriedly, “How’s he doing, doctor?”
“His head and chest suffered trauma, but luckily, he was sent here in time, and we managed to stop the bleeding. He just has to stay for observation for a few days, and he’ll be up and about again in no time.”
A breath of relief escaped Amelie’s lips at the doctor’s words because she thought that he was severely injured when she saw him utterly drenched in blood earlier.
“Thank you,” she said, and the bed rolled out, but nobody was on it.
She frantically swept her gaze across the room and quickly noticed Leo slowly ambling out after the bed.
His head was wrapped in bandages, but his wounds were definitely still bleeding; she saw some blood seep through the bandages and leave a red stain. His freshly washed face appeared so pale that even his lips had turned slightly gray due to blood loss. He had a change of clothes as well—the light-colored patient robes provided by the hospital—and she could see the bandages around his chest from the collar of his shirt.
Although he took each step slowly, he was still staggering slightly. Coupled with the light-colored patient robe, he appeared like a beautifully fragile and sick man.
Amelie strode over and immediately supported him. “Why did you come out by yourself?”
He merely grunted curtly in a low and soft voice. There was a brief second where his gaze fell on her hands that were supporting him. However, he didn’t say a word of protest as they slowly made their way to his ward.
Although Leo’s life wasn’t in danger, his injuries were far from light, and he had to be hospitalized for a few days.
Amelie carefully helped him to the bed and pulled the sheets over him as he watched her every move with pursed lips.
When she had tucked him under the sheets, she brushed her palms together and started, “Well…”
She wanted to ask him what exactly happened, but she swallowed back the words that were about to tumble off her lips. Unfortunately, to her dismay, no matter how she tried to word the question, it sounded like she was trying to find out something about his private life.
Finally, all she said was, “Take a good rest.”
“Okay,” he muttered almost inaudibly. “Thank you for sending me to the hospital regardless of your busy schedule, Miss Dillon. You probably have other things to attend to.”
Amelie could already tell that he was trying to drive her away even before he finished speaking. Regardless, she didn’t plan to hang around where she was not welcomed, so when she saw Eugene running over from the end of the corridor, she said, “Get well soon, Mr. Alston.” After that, she gave him a nod, twirled around, and walked away.
“Hi, Miss Dillon—”
At the door, she bumped into Eugene, who had just run over, and she smiled at him politely before stepping past him and leaving.
Eugene turned his head to watch her retreating figure as it disappeared from his line of sight, then he turned to the quiet man on the bed. The man’s eyes were also glued on Amelie’s back, but there was a hint of life and light in them, which were different from its usual lifelessness.
“Mr. Alston, why didn’t you let Miss Dillon know that you’re injured because you tried to stop Jessie from hitting her cab?” Eugene asked, pacing into the room.
He only discovered the truth behind the accident after visiting the police station earlier.
Leo raised his eyes and looked at him for a brief second before looking away. “At the end of the day, I’m the reason this happened. She’s just an innocent victim,” he explained calmly.
Eugene watched the thoughtful but stoic expression on his face and sighed. Despite the anxiety he was feeling in his heart, there was nothing he could do for Leo.
In his mind, the scene where Jessie was wailing in the police station appeared.
“That woman named Dillon has no feelings for him, but he insists on sending her off and even changes his car because he worries that she would notice it was him. How am I any less as compared to Dillon? Why won’t he notice me? Why did he break up with me? No, I can’t take this. I want to kill that woman and make him give up!”
It’s genuinely terrifying when a woman loses her mind. If Mr. Alston hadn’t discovered her plan, the one lying on the hospital bed now would be Miss Dillon. But did he save her just because he blamed himself for implicating Miss Dillon when he was the one who befriended Jessie?
Eugene was finding it even harder to understand what was on Leo’s mind, and he didn’t dare to draw any conclusions lest he arrives at the wrong one.
“Where’s the document on that project? Did you bring it?”
When Leo asked him about the file, he quickly opened his briefcase and passed it to him. The instant Leo’s hands touched the folder, he began reading through it.
As Eugene watched him go through the document, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly once more. Mr. Alston has turned into a robot now, only working and reading documents whenever his eyes are open. He barely speaks, and the look in his eyes is also turning colder as time passes. At this point, he won’t even talk to anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary. If this continues, I’m really worried that…
Meanwhile, Amelie dazedly stood on the side of the road for a while after departing the hospital. Her flight had already taken off without her by now, and there was only one flight a day. So, she could only leave tomorrow.
How am I going to spend the rest of the day, then?
Although she had quite a few friends in this city, everyone was living their own lives now, and she didn’t want to impose. In the end, she decided to visit Quinn Town.
Two years had passed since she last returned to this place, and the small town had undergone significant changes. The streets were wider, there were fewer potholes, and so were the roads connecting to the other neighboring cities. They were absolutely bustling, with cars passing by almost every other second.
On the side of the road, two roadside vendors were chatting while running their business.
“This town looks amazing, but you know we might not be far off from those big cities in a few years’ time.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We don’t have to visit the city anymore because we can buy everything we need here. Oh, I heard that the reconstruction isn’t finished yet. The town hospital will be torn down and reconstructed again.”
“Really?”
When Amelie overheard their conversation, she looked lost. The town hospital was the place where she met Leo when they were young. If they tore that place down as well, that would mean wiping out her memories with Leo altogether.
Regardless of their many misunderstandings, the time they spent together in their youth was one of her cherished memories. So, while she reminisced about the past, she strolled to the town hospital and stopped at the central atrium to admire the magnolia trees that had grown.
As she stared at the trees, she could see them in her mind’s eye all those years ago. From the entrance of the atrium to the spot under the trees, and from under the trees to the artificial hill, they took lovely strolls as they held each other’s hands, seated side-by-side as one read out loud for the other to listen to… She even remembered the time when they threw pebbles by the artificial hill.
Those were beautiful times, she recounted with a sigh and was so engrossed in reminiscing that it was already dusk by the time she came to her senses. When she lowered her head to check the time, she saw that it was already past 6.00PM. How time flies!
She initially wanted to visit the old house as well, but it was too late for that now. So, she slowly strolled out and was ready to return when her phone started ringing.
She didn’t check the caller ID as she swiped to answer and placed the phone to her ear. “Hello?” she said.
“Miss Dillon, you haven’t left the country yet, right?” From the other end of the call, Eugene said in a hushed voice after stealing a look at the man in the VIP room.
“No, not yet.” She was a little surprised when she recognized the voice of the caller. “What’s the matter?”
“Okay,” he began and continued worriedly, “Will you please make a trip to Prix Bar? Despite his injuries, Mr. Alston is drinking with business partners and won’t do otherwise, no matter what I say. If he continues like this…”
He trailed off, not knowing whether he should continue.
“A business meeting?” Amelie’s brows shot up, taken aback by this piece of information. “What on Earth is he doing? Does he have a death wish?!”
“Exactly!” Eugene clutched the phone tightly with agitation and felt as though he had found someone who could relate to him. “He already had quite a few drinks.”
He’s drinking even though he’s still injured? That’s no different from committing suicide, she thought with a huff.
“Please come over quickly. If Mr. Alston continues drinking like this, his condition will only worsen.”
Regardless, she lifted her head as she stared at the scarlet sun that was slowly dipping into the horizon little by little and pursed her lips. “You should call Mrs. Alston for an issue like this or his sister. I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be there,” she said and hung up.
Eugene stared blankly at the phone, utterly speechless, and sighed in resignation. One is tough while the other is heartless, he thought.
By the time Amelie returned to Clouson, it was already past 8.00PM, and she instructed the cab driver to drop her home via GPS.
While she was in the backseat, she looked out the window and blankly watched the neon lights from the bars and clubs that were pouring through the car windows brightly.
Out of the blue, she was reminded of Leo. Is he still at Prix Bar at this time? I don’t think so. However, his injuries seem rather serious, and I reckon he should be in the ER now if he really drank for two hours.
In her opinion, even if Leo went for a work-related social meeting, he was only there for show and wouldn’t really disregard his health. Content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
Although she sounded so confident with her deduction, she still stopped the car and hopped off when it passed by Prix Bar.