“Is she okay?” Bertie asked, calling her immediately.
“I think so, but inside she must be suffering.”
“Take good care of her.”
“I will. I can’t help but think that ever since she enrolled, bad things have happened to her.”
“She should never have enrolled at Ocean University.”
“Why?”
Bertie did not reply. Some things, even he didn’t know too much about. “It’s late, get some sleep.”
He hung up on her, and Zofia, looking at her phone, felt quite frustrated. Why would he be so vague?
The next day, Kathy woke quite early. Benedict was back, and she wanted to train with him. She went
to the hospital, which she still felt a bit apprehensive about. The patient who’d been infected had not
yet woken. Because Aaron was not a neurologist, the patient had been passed on to Benedict.
Aaron, seeing Kathy, narrowed his eyes. “Benedict, why have you brought Kathy?”
“She’s my student.”
“Her behavior isn’t acceptable, the president wants her expelled.”
“Professor Fisher, I haven’t been expelled yet, I have a right to be here,” Kathy responded coolly.
Aaron scoffed, “Is that the sort of attitude a student should have?”
“You disrespected me first. I don’t think my attitude is the problem.”
“You! Kathy…”
Coldly Benedict cut in, “All right, Aaron, I’ll take over with the patient. Thanks for your work up until
now.”
Aaron flushed and stormed away, and Kathy heaved a sigh of relief before focusing on the task at
hand. But it wasn’t long before a middle-aged woman entered asking, “Are you Kathy?”
“Hi,” Kathy replied, “I’m—”
But before she could finish, the girl stormed over and shoved her, saying, “You’re despicable, it’s your
fault that my son won’t wake up!”
Kathy paled, leaning against the wall for support, but it was as if the woman before her had gone mad
—she wanted to shove her again. Kathy steadied herself and fended off the other woman, saying, “I’m
sorry for what’s happened to this patient, but right now the incident is unclear, please calm down.”
“How can I calm down? This is all your fault, it’s your fault he was infected, it was you!” Her voice was
quite loud, attracting the attention of many in the hallway. They all looked at Kathy with reproach.
“So it was her fault… I heard she used surgical tools that hadn’t been disinfected…”
“No way, our hospital is one of the best, how could we have that sort of person here?”
“She’s a student, still training, she must have made a terrible mistake…”
Kathy heard the discussion, leaning against the wall. She tried to keep her eyes on the woman before
her, but felt lightheaded, her complexion growing increasingly pale. She could hardly support herself.
Then a voice broke through the haze. Kathy tried to open her eyes, and glimpsed a familiar figure. Was
it Joseph?
Arms wrapped around her, steadied her, and Bertie heard her murmur, “Joseph…”
His expression darkened. Looking at the people around, he said angrily, “This is a hospital, everybody
keep quiet!” Then he picked Kathy up and took her to the emergency room.
But the people didn’t clear out. Benedict left the patient’s room and heard all the clamor. He furrowed
his brow. How could they all be gossiping about Kathy? And it was all negative, even though the facts
hadn’t come out yet.
…
Kathy woke an hour later. Bertie sat beside her, his gaze never leaving her form. Her first impression
was that she was in an unfamiliar place, and that before she’d passed out, there’d been quite a
commotion. It was as if she could still hear their voices. She smiled wryly.
Bertie looked at her with concern. He’d never seen her like this before. Clearly she was hurting, yet she
smiled. It made his heart ache. He’d been gripping her hand, but she brushed it aside. Shakily she
asked, “How am I here?”
“You passed out.”
“I see. And you’ve been here the whole time?” she asked, looking at him. She’d thought the figure from
right before she’d blacked out had been Joseph’s. but he was in BV City. Thinking of it now, she
realized she’d not heard from him in two days.
Immediately she searched for her phone. She wanted to speak to Joseph. Bertie passed it to her, and
watched as she dialed Joseph’s number. He pursed his lips, stood, and said, “I’ll go buy you something
to eat.”
“Sorry for the trouble,” she said distractedly. Joseph did not answer when she called, and she couldn’t
help but worry. So she called John.
“Miss Kathy, he’s busy…”
“Okay, if he gets a chance, please have him call me. Thanks.”
“Got it.” John hung up and looked at his boss, cold sweat dripping down his back. “Sir, Miss Kathy
requests that you call her.”
“Okay,” said Joseph. Yet he made no move to do so. John didn’t dare say anything, though Joseph was
not busy at that moment…
Some time later, Joseph left the hotel. Along the river was a restaurant, its interior romantic and
tasteful. Nearly all its patrons were couples. Joseph entered expressionlessly and sat down at the best
table. Ella approached.
She wore a long red dress that hugged her figure, and looked bewitching. Yet she was no more than
twenty. Coyly she said, “I’d half-thought you weren’t coming.”
“You dared threaten me. How could I not come?” he smiled coldly.
“You know, I like you.” Faced with him, she couldn’t control her feelings. A year ago he’d driven her out
of City N, and her parents had divorced. She’d gone to live with her mother, changed her name, but her
feelings for Joseph had never changed.
Now she wasn’t Sophie Fisher, but Ella Bridges. Yet Ella still loved Joseph. Though she’d never be
Sophie again, she’d go after what Sophie had wanted.
“You say you like me, yet you threaten me,” he noted coolly.
“It’s all I can do. I know you and Kathy have divorced, so I’ve got a chance.” She pursed her lips
hopefully. She always wanted to act mature, but before Joseph, she was just a little
girl.
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