Lunch ended on a positive note. And because the wounds on Belinda's body weren't fully healed, it was a bit inconvenient for her to try on the wedding dress. If she got blood or ointment on the wedding dress, that wouldn't be so nice.
"Leena, we're headed to the hospital right now. Are you staying home or coming with us?" Duke was holding a food container in his hands, and he couldn't help but frown at Leena. When she arrived Duke noticed that she was really pale -- paler than usual. He was considering taking her to the hospital as well, and having Tom run some tests on her. Of course he was concerned about Belinda, but that didn't mean ignoring Leena.
"I guess I'll just be staying home and resting. I don't want to go out today. I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm going to take a nap upstairs. You two go, and don't worry about me or bother me. Just come and get me when dinner's ready, okay?" Leena's words were swallowed by a yawn, and then another. She slowly walked upstairs with a hand covering her mouth.
"What happened to her? Why is she this tired? What was she doing during the night?" Belinda asked, her brows furrowed. She looked at Leena's retreating back, feeling quite confused.
"Don't mind her. I guess she must have stayed up late drawing again!" With these words, Duke took Belinda's hand and walked her towards the door. Though he was worried about Leena and her habit of staying up late, he also knew that her inspirations always came late at night. So there was really nothing to be done about it.
Drawing? To be honest, I still don't know what she's studying. What's her major?" Belinda curiously asked. Though she heard that Leena had come back from abroad not for long, she had no idea what that girl had been studying all this time.
"Fashion design. She is pretty talented in this. I really hope that she will be recognized soon and launch her personal brand." Duke was being a gentleman, as he opened the car door for Belinda and waited for her to get inside the car. He still didn't know that his little sister was already a rising star in fashion industry who not only had her personal brand, but also got invited to be the judge by a lot of fashion shows. And that was all because Leena didn't want him to know and intentionally hid all these things from him. He was overprotective as it was, and she didn't want him involved, fouling things up.
"Oh, please tell me that my wedding dress was not designed by her!" Belinda became quite unsure all of a sudden. It was obvious that she didn't trust Leena with her wedding dress. And who could blame her for this? Leena had always acted so vivacious and irresponsible in front of them. So letting Leena design her wedding dress sounded like a train wreck, at least to her.
"I'm pretty sure it wasn't. She's not good enough to design a wedding dress by herself. I guess that she probably asked her professor to help." Duke also got in the car, then started it and drove to the hospital.
"Oh, that's good. You had me scared for a moment." Belinda let out a sigh of relief. She really couldn't rest easy if she knew that Leena designed her wedding dress all alone. She believed that Leena was surely very good, but she was still a rookie and the dress was really important to her, so it was better to let someone with experience handle this. And at the same time, she decided that she must have a look at the wedding dress that Leena brought back once she got back from the hospital, or she couldn't stop worrying about it.
When they finally arrived at Renxin Hospital, it was close to one o'clock in the afternoon. Duke held the food container in his hands, and the corner of his mouth was raised this whole time, making others feel very uneasy. Or, at least, that was how Tom felt when he saw the smile on Duke's face.
"Tom, sorry, we're here to bother you again." Belinda didn't know the exact reason why she still couldn't fully relax in front of Tom. Perhaps she never would. Maybe it was because she grew up being awestruck by doctors.
"Don't say that. It should be me who's feeling sorry. I really don't have the time to go to your house, so I had to ask you to come here to the hospital." Tom stopped the work he was currently doing for a moment, and said apologetically with a small smile.
Well, you should indeed feel sorry. Oh, and now tell me, what did you mean on the phone when you said something about a love rival." Duke had always been the type who was secretly very interested in gossip. That was why he was this curious about the thing Tom mentioned this morning on the phone. He wanted the juicy details. A love rival sounded weird all by itself. He couldn't wait to find out more.
"Oh, the love rival! Of course I meant Hero! Who else could it be? You remember him, right? He is the one who's into Daisy. He tried to kill himself in prison, and his condition is not looking good. I just heard about him before, but today, I finally saw him in person. To be honest, he's quite good-looking. But compared to Edward... Well, truth be told, he's not as handsome as Edward."
Tom shook his head. He really couldn't understand why Hero had chosen to end his life. And what he really couldn't understand was why his boss asked him to save Hero. Though he knew he didn't want Daisy to feel sad, that was only one of the reasons. In his mind, it was also Edward's male ego talking. He didn't like his rival in love being a coward. Maybe calling him coward was a little harsh. But still, he didn't want Hero to wriggle out of his responsibilities.
You mean that arms dealer? But why did he want to commit suicide? I don't understand." Duke was suddenly silent for a moment. If what he guessed was right, Edward must admire that man a lot. If only they weren't on opposite sides. Because he knew that this guy was exactly the kind of man that Edward would like -- an intelligent man -- so he couldn't watch him die at such a young age. Maybe that was the reason why Edward asked Tom to save him.
"How would I know? I'm not him! Maybe it was due to pride. He probably couldn't stand being a prisoner! In my opinion, he must have lost hope in everything, and so he tried to kill himself. I guess there isn't anything in his life worth sticking around for. Otherwise I can't possibly explain why such an excellent man would choose to commit suicide. It's really strange."
This was how Tom thought of Hero after finally seeing him in person. Or he still couldn't understand why such a man who was once a kick-ass and high-powered arms dealer would make such a messed up decision to end his own life.
"Maybe! If you're too proud, you can't accept failure. I guess that's the case with Hero. It's really a shame." Duke sighed, feeling sorry for Hero. He had seen the man on the day when the kidnap happened. He was quite impressed with the man's fearlessness when faced with a crisis. But he didn't expect that such a strong man would also be so vulnerable after falling in love.
Who the hell are you two talking about?" Belinda looked at them, feeling very confused. She couldn't understand a word what they were saying just now. It seemed that they were talking about Edward and some love rival? Her confusion made her feel left out and anxious.
"No one. No one you know, at any rate. Oh, Tom, could you take a look at her wounds? Do you think her injuries will be completely healed before the wedding or not?" Duke quickly changed the subject. He knew that Belinda didn't know Hero, so he couldn't really explain it to her in a few words. After all, it was also something that had something to do with Daisy, and she was Daisy's best friend. So it was not his story to tell. He would just have to let them two sort it out.