- Belcan Hospital -
"Hey, put me down already! I can walk on my own!" Jessica's legs swung back and forth, wanting to get out of Alfred's embrace. During the entire ride to the hospital, he had kept an eye on her. She wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything until she had her examinations.
"It's only a few more steps. Besides, drugs could be in your system. It'll be dangerous to let you move around so much." Alfred refused with a convenient excuse.
"My legs feel numb already! I'll get an amputation from lacking blood circulation before the drugs even take effect! I'm heavy! What if you drop me on the floor?" She found countless excuses to ask him to release her. Unfortunately, for her, this wouldn't happen.
Chuckling, Alfred continued walking. He replied, "that won't happen. Since I have picked you up, I'll take responsibility for you. As long as you are with me, I'll never let you get hurt. You are too light and not heavy at all. To prove my point, I'll only let you go when we get to the emergency room."
"I said I was fine! Who the heck needs the emergency room from drinking red wine?! I only took a tiny sip!!!" She squeezed a small gap between her thumb and index finger.
"Do you know how serious this tiny sip of yours could've done to your body? If there were drugs in that wine, you could be affected by it. What if something happens later tonight? If I easily let you off because you weren't feeling the effects at that moment, then I will regret it later. I don't want to see you hurt!" He halted his steps and stared at her.
"Jessica Wang, I do not want to see you hurt. Not even a bit. You hear me?"
When he asked that question, his concerned tone echoed into her ears again. She felt as if he was a protective boyfriend, not allowing her to do anything risky.
Facing the sudden tension, she could only nod and soothe his worries. "I understand..but..."
"No buts."
When Alfred stepped foot into the hospital, the nurses hurriedly surrounded them and spoke many words simultaneously. Confused, Jessica pointed at herself and then the wheelchair in the nurse's hand. Many question marks filled her thoughts, making her hide in Alfred's embrace.
"No, I will carry her over. Have doctor Martin come over, please. Too many people would scare her. I'll take her to the private room. Have all examination rooms prepared since I want her to go through every test possible." Alfred finished speaking and carried Jessica to the private room.
Before their arrival, he texted Selina to have Jason contact the hospital staff. Under Jason's request, everyone in the hospital waited for Jessica's arrival. They thought the patient had a serious accident or was going through labor. Nobody would've thought that the young lady was brought over because she had tasted a small sip of red wine at a restaurant.
At last, Jessica felt her bottoms touching the soft bed in the private room. While waiting for the doctor, she looked at Alfred with a smile.
"Do you like what you see?" Alfred realized she had been observing him since a while ago.
"So-so. When you're not mad, you look quite handsome. But you could also be a devil when you're angry like before." She reminded him of his grumpy expression on their ride to the hospital. He was recklessly beeping at drivers as if his wife was going to give birth.
"Hah, not my fault people couldn't drive when I'm in a hurry. Plus, I was worried about your health. I'm only a devil when it concerns you. Did you know how serious the consequences would be if the one who drank that glass wasn't that man, but you? You would probably be taken up to the hotel already! You answer me, how could I not be anxious?" He flipped the situation around and started questioning her instead.
"Eh? But how would I know that it was spiked? I've already asked them to replace the wine!" She felt wronged when he made it sound the way it did.
"You shouldn't trust strangers! You could've left and rescheduled the dinner if you smelled something fishy going on. Have you looked at that bastard's eyes properly? His fox tail was swaying happily when he smiled! His eyes were staring at your body! Haven't you learned your lessons over the years with all the matchmaking sessions?!" He couldn't help but mention the past incidents.
"That was my elder cousin! He said my parents wanted to come, but an event came up! If I left and my dad found out that I didn't stay for dinner he would be sad. Besides, even if I went through matchmaking sessions, what does that have to do with this? Tonight was tonight! How could I reject the dinner when most of the things were prearranged?"
She raised her voice by a tad and argued with him.
Alfred sighed, knowing his attitude wasn't that great just now. He calmed his temper and controlled the volume of his voice. "Then focus on the incident tonight. Selina would never lie to you about these things. Your mother bribed the manager to add the drug to your wine. Your father was the one who ordered the wine for tonight's dinner."
"Your father was the one who wanted to have this dinner. If you want to talk about coincidences and party events, then fine. He could've sent you a message or given you a call about this. He chose not to because he wanted you to attend this dinner with your elder cousin."
"Believe it or not, but there are no such things as multiple coincidences. If it weren't for Selina who swapped the two wine glasses, the person who fell unconscious would've been you. Even if you want to say that your parents were innocent, then what about that key card? Your elder cousin? Who would have a hotel card ready? And the drugs?"