Chapter 320Having said that, Natalie raised her leg, preparing to step over both of them.
Just as Natalie passed Shane, he grabbed hold of her arm and jerked her towards him. Glaring, he
demanded, “I'm going to ask you again. What happened to your eyes?”
This woman is really trying to get away from me!
Jacqueline suddenly came to upon hearing Shane's words. Natalie had indeed just emerged from the
Ophthalmology Department. Jacqueline hurriedly snuck a look at Natalie's eyes and saw that they were
indeed rather red. The smile that had been hovering on Jacqueline's face instantly vanished.
Natalie could not feign ignorance in the face of such direct questioning. Dismayed, she fidgeted with
the bag in her hand as she muttered, “Smoke got into them. It's slightly infected.”
“They are infected?” Jacqueline broke in before Shane could respond. She was quite agitated that she
raised her voice.
Puzzled at what she felt was a rather extreme reaction from Jacqueline, Natalie answered, “Yep.”
Jacqueline went pale. She wrestled free from Shane's grip and staggered over to Natalie.
Despite Natalie's confused expression, Jacqueline reached out and took Natalie's face with both hands
savagely. “Natalie, didn't I tell you to take care of your eyes properly? Why didn't you listen to me? How
could you let your eyes get infected? Don't you know that once your eyes get infected, your vision will
deteriorate?”
“I... I know that,” Natalie stammered, bewildered by Jacqueline's sudden burst of anger. She could only
barely manage a nod in the face of Jacqueline's fury.It was also Shane's first time seeing this side of Jacqueline. He was stunned for a moment, then
yanked her hands away from Natalie's face. He helped Jacqueline back as gently as he could.
“Jacqueline, what are you doing?” Shane asked in a harsh tone. He looked at Natalie's flushed cheeks
and Jacqueline, who was panting slightly with distress. His face looked glum.
At the note of indignation in Shane's voice, Jacqueline snapped back to reality and composed herself.
Realizing what she had just done, Jacqueline panicked. She immediately clutched Natalie's hands in
hers and said apologetically, “I'm very sorry, Ms. Smith. I must have scared you! I didn't do it on
purpose. I was thinking about my own eyes, so...”
Midway through her hasty apology, Jacqueline dropped Natalie's hands, covered her own face, and
started sobbing.
Natalie was baffled at the sight of a distraught Jacqueline.
Wait, ain't I the victim here? Isn't she the one who frightened and hurt me? Why is she the one crying
instead? Natalie wondered. An ignorant observer might have presumed that Natalie was the bully in
this situation.
Natalie massaged the sides of her face and turned her gaze towards Shane, who was standing aside.
“Mr. Shane, what did Ms. Graham mean? What about her eyes?”
“Jacqueline was in an accident many years ago. It damaged her corneas,” Shane replied evenly,
darting a look towards the crying Jacqueline.
“So that's why she's so upset.” Recognition dawned upon Natalie. She nodded. So that's why
Jacqueline's eyes always looked rather dull and not focused! I'd only assumed that it was because she
wasn't feeling energetic that day.Does this mean that the spare corneas Jackson previously reserved at Stanford Hospital were meant
for Jacqueline?
“All right, stop crying,” Shane tenderly took Jacqueline's hands from her face and consoled her.
Jacqueline stopped. She turned to look at Natalie with swollen eyes and said, “Ms. Smith, I'm only
impatient with those who don't treasure their eyes because I'm almost blind myself. That's why I lost
control of my emotions just now. I'm terribly sorry. Will you forgive me?” Jacqueline stuttered between
sobs.
Th€ connection to th€ §ource of thïš dat@ r€§t$ in n0v3lebookLooking at Jacqueline's pitiful state, Natalie could not bring herself to hold a grudge against her. Natalie
forced a smile onto her own face as she said, “Don't worry, I forgive you.”
“That's great! You're too kind, Ms. Smith,” Jacqueline said gratefully.
Am I really being kind? Natalie wondered, scratching her head in embarrassment. “Thank you for the
compliment, Ms. Graham. But it's getting late, and I should get going.”