Chapter 16: She Could Smile
Chapter 16: She Could Smile
"Good news?" Alvera looked at him in bewilderment. A moment later, she suddenly smiled. "You've
done it?"
Samuel nodded.
"Okay, I understand now," she said, as they looked at each other.
Samuel patted her on the shoulder. "You chose your own path, so you have to walk it. If you die in this
surgery, I'll pretend that never happened."
"Are you sure you're here to see me, not curse me?" Alvera asked jokingly as she lay back down on
the bed. "Miss, let's go quick, I don't want to see this a*shole."
...
Samuel laughed and stepped back from the bed. "Good luck. I'll wait for you here."
...
Alvera and Andrina were pushed into the operating room one after the other.
As the doors closed, Alvera could hear Andrina crying bitterly and calling out Roland's name weakly.
She was put under anaesthesia as was required in the operating room.
Everything after that just felt like a long dream...
Outside the operating room, Luna was crying while leaning on Thomas.
...
Samuel paced back and forth at the door, checking the time repeatedly.
Roland was the only person who was indifferent as if nothing was happening. He played with an unlit
cigarette in his hands, glancing at Samuel from the corner of his eye.
...
This man was making him feel uncomfortable.
He knew all of Alvera's secrets.
Roland's expression turned cold as he thought of all the times Alvera had lied to him.
Alvera recovered well after the surgery and was soon transferred to the general ward after being in the
ICU for just three days.
When she was sent back to the general ward, Roland was in the room.
She glanced at him but said nothing.
"I've hired these four nurses to take care of you," he said. "If you need anything, let them know. If you're
not well, you can also tell them and they will find a doctor for you as soon as possible."
"Okay," she replied.
Roland looked serious as he asked, "Does the wound... still hurt?"
Alvera looked at him and forced a smile. "Guess."
Roland felt as if he had been kicked when he saw her smile. His irritation threatened to burst from him
as he turned around and left.
...
"How is Andrina?" Alvera asked one of the nurses.
"I heard that the preliminary examination is very good. She still needs to be observed in the ICU for a
few more days," the nurse replied.
Alvera nodded and did not ask any further. She closed her eyes and rested.
About two hours later, Samuel arrived.
Alvera asked the nurses to wait outside when he came.
Samuel was extremely worried. "How are you? Does the wound still hurt?"
"You don't need to ask such a dumb question? Go get cut and see if it hurts," she replied.
"I guess it doesn't hurt, then, since you can still make me angry. I shouldn't have worried."
Alvera sighed. "It hurts. It's really painful. I miss my mother."
"How can I not know?" Samuel said. "You were such a fragile kid when we were younger. When you
scraped your knee while running back then, you cried for half an hour. Now, you don't cry or fuss even
though you've had a piece of your liver cut out from your body."
"Alright, alright, stop talking," she laughed. "You talk as if I'm so brave and noble. I would give myself
an honourary medal if I could."
"God, you're so annoying. Here, let me show you something to ease your pain." He pulled out an iPad
from his bag and showed her some photos from the gallery.
...
"How is this? Are you satisfied?" he asked.
Alvera nodded as she looked at the photos and smiled. "I'm very satisfied."
"Don't worry, since you didn't disappoint me and made it out of the operating room alive, I'll help you
realize your dreams too," he said.
Alvera smiled sweetly. Her smile was genuine and reached her eyes.
Luckily she still had Samuel. He was probably the only good thing that had ever happened to her in her
life.
Outside the ward, Roland watched her genuine smile from the opposite side of the glass and raised his
eyebrows.
She could smile.
What kind of charm did this Samuel Lambert have that made her treat him so sincerely?
She could confess her pain to him and smile with him.
He frowned as he looked at her smile again.
Samuel said that in the past, she would cry for half an hour because of a scraped knee.
The Alvera he knew would never cry. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
"Do I know a fake Alvera?" he wondered.