Chapter 9 - CHAPTER 9

After saying all that, I couldn't help but start to doze off. The alcohol made it impossible for me to stay awake, and I was swamped with sleepiness. I figured Damon would leave me to sleep in the car, but when I woke up the next day, I found myself in my own bed. This was the second time he brought me back to my room to sleep. It was becoming a weird pattern. My head was killing me. After taking a bath and changing into fresh clothes, I felt a bit better, but then hunger kicked in. I thought Damon wasn't home, so I didn't bother with a bra and just slipped on a light silk nightgown, ready to look for something to eat. Halfway down the stairs, I saw a couple of guys sitting on the sofa, all of them staring at me. Damon was also there, holding some poker cards. His face turned sour the moment he saw what I was wearing.. "Hey, eyes off!" Mitch quickly pulled down another guy's head. I quickly dashed back upstairs to change, feeling a bit annoyed at Damon. Why had he been home so much lately? When I came back downstairs all dressed, they had stopped playing cards and were chatting. Damon had several good friends, all of whom I knew, but was not close with. Mitch, Jones, and Cooper. They were all well-off young men. Jones was a bit different, not working in his family's business but choosing to be a doctor. They all knew Damon didn't like me, so they never regarded me as Damon's wife. In fact, they even helped Damon chase other women, all except for Jones. They watched me walk into the kitchen without saying anything. I focused on making a simple plate of pancakes. "Let's go." Damon stood up and said to the other two guys. Mitch and Cooper nodded and followed Damon out. Soon, I heard the car engine outside, but I didn't care as I ate my pancakes.

After breakfast, I put on some light makeup and prepared to go to the hospital. Today was mainly for a check-up and to visit Joshua.

At the hospital, I registered and went through the check-up process, mainly for breast examination. Luckily, there was no major problem, just simple hyperplasia of mammary glands. I kept the examination results, and then prepared to visit Joshua. "Dr. Jones, off work? Wanna grab some food together?" I just arrived at the ward when I heard a young nurse's sweet voice. Not far away, Jones was in a doctor's uniform. He was lean and had a unique temperament. The rich young men in that circle were all about pleasure, but Jones chose to devote himself to the medical field. He mostly hung out with Damon and the others, drinking and gaming, hardly having close contact with any woman or man. But didn't Jones eventually fall head over heels for Ariel? I decided to ignore him, walked into Joshua's ward, and found Ariel there again. "Ariel, it's just a little skin injury on my leg, my hands are fine. I can eat by myself." Joshua was enjoying being pampered by Ariel, eating an apple she fed him while mumbling. Ariel's laughter was crisp and gentle. "What, you're not happy with me being so good to you?" "Happy, very happy, you are the best!" Joshua was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes full of love for the beautiful girl next to his bed. I coughed, breaking up the lovey-dovey atmosphere between the couple. Joshua was surprised, "Eliana, you're here again?" Ariel quickly got up to let me sit. "Eliana, sit." Ariel's face was even more beautiful up close. I suddenly thought of Jones who just left, immediately grabbed Ariel's hand, and dragged her out of the ward. "Eliana, what's going on?" Ariel was startled, following me quickly through the corridor. How did Jones disappear so quickly? I was a bit disappointed. In my past life, it was Damon who met Ariel first, then Jones met Ariel through Damon. What if Jones met Ariel first? Would it be different? Would he fall in love at first sight like Damon did? I sighed, and then showed Ariel a faint smile, "Nothing, I just wanted to introduce you to a good doctor. He's skilled, and he can help Joshua with his stitches in the future." "Eliana, you're too thoughtful."

"Actually, Joshua's injury isn't serious." Ariel laughed, a bit embarrassed, "He's a rough guy, not afraid of this kind of injury. He used to get hurt all the time playing basketball, he's used to it." I nodded, but in my heart, I was determined to bring Ariel to Jones next time. With Ariel, the official girlfriend, around, I didn't have much chance to chat with Joshua. After a few minutes, I left. On the way home, I stopped by the pharmacy and bought some more nourishing supplements. "James, did you find the housekeepers?" Back in the car, I called James. "Madam, I'm on my way to your house with them," James replied. "Alright." Half an hour later, I arrived at Starlight Estates. James was a step ahead of me, the maids were all in their places, busily doing their tasks. I was satisfied with James's arrangements. Seeing me return, James introduced me to the maids, and they all respectfully greeted me, "Good day, madam." I nodded and handed the supplements to the kindest-looking maid. "Please prepare this for me." After that, I went in to rest. A while later, a maid came over with the supplement, saying politely, "Madam, it is ready." I looked at the supplement on the table, then at the still charming face of the maid, and asked kindly, "What's your name?" "Madam, my name is Cherry." Cherry quickly replied. "Alright, thanks Cherry!" I flashed what I thought was my warmest smile, then waved her off. "You can leave now." With a nod, Cherry turned and left, but my eyes lingered on her retreating figure. Whether it was her face or her body shape, Cherry bore a striking resemblance to Ariel. I suddenly found myself marveling at the weirdness of the world, like a row of dominoes ready to topple. Chasing after Ariel's boyfriend, hiring Ariel's mom? I shot a text to Ariel to send over the files on the nannies, then gave Cherry's a thorough look-over. The emergency contact listed was usually a spouse.

I couldn't help but smirk when I saw the name listed under emergency contact. Cherry, and Ariel's dad, these two names were all too familiar to me. During my past life, my investigation into Ariel didn't yield much, but I did manage to dig up her parents' names.