Christine White walked out of the hospital jittery, ready to stop the car and go back.
But it’s early in the morning and cars aren’t easy to stop.
She stood on the curb for ten minutes waiting for a cab to pass by, but instead she was chilled to the bone.
“Can’t get a cab?” Ives Norton’s teasing voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Christine White rubbed her arms and turned, “What brings you here?”
“I was off work and saw you here, so I came over to say hi.” Ives Norton replied back before taking off his jacket and handing it to her.
Christine White flinched at the sight of his gesture, “What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you cold? Put it on.” Ives Norton passed the jacket forward a little more.
Christine White waved her hand, “No, I’m not cold.”
“You’re still not cold even with your lips blackened, so hurry up and put it on, don’t catch a cold, you’re not as fit as you used to be.” Ives Norton advised again.
This time Christine White didn’t say no again, and after two seconds of hesitation took the jacket and draped it over her, “Thank you.”
He’s right, her body isn’t what it used to be.
She didn’t know what to do if she caught a cold.
After all, she’s carrying a baby right now and can’t take medication.
Ives Norton smiled slightly as he saw Christine White obediently put on her coat, then made an invitation, “Come on, I’ll walk you back.”
“No, I can get back on my own, you must be tired just getting off work now, why don’t you go back and rest.” Christine White thanked him for his kindness.
Ives Norton held his forehead helplessly, “How are you going to get back? It’s hard to get a cab at this hour, come on.”
He lifted his feet and walked forward.
Christine White had no choice but to follow him.
In the car, Christine White hunkered down quietly in the backseat without speaking or knowing what to say.
It was the first time she’d been in Ives Norton’s car, and she appeared to be very formal.
Ives Norton naturally saw her nervousness and let out a low chuckle, “I hear it’s your birthday?”
“It was yesterday.” Christine White whispered back.
Ives Norton’s mouth twitched, “Look at me, I forgot, it’s early the next morning, a little late, but happy birthday.”
“Thanks.” Christine White smiled warmly.
Ives Norton glanced at her in the rearview mirror, “I was just going to ask, did you buy the flowers you’re holding yourself?”
“No.” Christine White shook her head, “It’s from a friend.”
The flowers were given to her by Hugh Dong.
She took it with her when she was discharged, only the cake she left for the nurses at the hospital.
“Which friend?” Ives Norton asked without a trace.
Christine White’s eyes flickered, “You don’t recognize it.”
“So does Baird know?”
“He … recognizes.”
But she didn’t dare say anything to Baird Lane, or he’d be angry.
Ives Norton rubbed his chin with one hand, “So Baird knows, too… By the way, did Baird get you anything for your birthday today?”
“He sent me a cake.” Christine White smiled a little, but her expression soon darkened again.
It was just that cake, and he was gone before she could even cut it.
“That’s not bad, he’s actually going to send you cake, is there anything else besides cake?” Ives Norton asked again.
Christine White shook her head.
Ives Norton skimmed his lips, “It’s really stingy, his wife’s birthday actually only sends a cake, and even now, it’s so late that he doesn’t know to let someone send you back.”
“He’s still angry.” Christine White smiled bitterly, “He’s convinced that I caused Miss Molly Bort to kill herself, so he’s mad at me right now.”
“Only Baird was fooled by that Molly Bort woman.” Ives Norton mocked.
Christine White leaned her head against the car window, her eyes dark, “Actually Baird is a very shrewd man, maybe he loves Miss Molly Bort so much that he is willing to be deceived by Miss Molly Bort.”
“What the hell, he’s just stupid.” Ives Norton rolled his eyes.
Christine White gave him a somewhat disgruntled glare, “No talking about Baird like that.”
Ives Norton blinked in dismay, “I say Christine White, I’m speaking for you, and you’re actually being mean to me!”
“You’re just not allowed to say Baird anyway,” Christine White muttered.
Ives Norton was so angry and amused, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop, I really don’t know why you’re still turning to Baird after what he did to you.”
“Because I love him, it’s only natural that I’m on his side unconditionally.” Christine White said.
Ives Norton’s eyes darkened for a moment and he put away the smirk on his face, his voice became serious, “Christine White, seriously, both as a friend of Baird’s, I don’t think Baird is worthy of your love, and it’s not too late for you to quit.”
“What do you mean?” Christine White’s heart tightened.
Ives Norton’s lips parted, “I don’t know how to tell you this, remember what I told you on the phone last time?”
“As I recall, you said whatever Baird told me, don’t say yes to him.” Christine White sat up straight.
Ives Norton slid the knot in his throat twice, “That’s right, I wasn’t going to tell you, but I just couldn’t bear to, so I decided to tell you that Molly Bort her leukemia isn’t completely cured, she …”
“She still needs bone marrow surgery right?” Christine White cut him off.
Ives Norton jerked the car to a stop, then whipped his head around to look at her in shock, “How did you know.”
Christine White smiled hard, “Because I was told so, he said that Miss Molly Bort was in the advanced stages of leukemia and that one operation wouldn’t cure it at all and that it would need to be done consecutively, so by asking me not to say yes to Baird you were asking me not to say yes to a second bone marrow donation, right?”
“Yes!” Ives Norton nodded, a little afraid to look at her.
Christine White still kept her smile, but tears slipped down her face once again, “It’s true, what Baird kept from me, it’s true this is it, but why didn’t you guys tell me about it in the first place, you never told me about the need for a bone marrow donor during the first surgery!”
“I’m sorry …” Ives Norton apologized, knowing he was being unreasonable, “We didn’t tell you because we were afraid that if we did at first, you wouldn’t agree to donate bone marrow anyway, after all, when one hears that they have to donate several times in a row, they are sure to back out.”
In the beginning, that was the reason he hadn’t been honest with her, and that was because his senses hadn’t shifted on her yet, and he was still stuck looking away.
But after his senses shifted towards her later on, and even after he realized that he could possibly be attracted to her, he already regretted supporting Baird’s plan to have her bone marrow.
And the latter he did not tell her, is afraid to see her now so sad sad look, but the paper ultimately can not wrap the fire, she still knows …
“You guys are really mean!” Christine White yelled down as she clenched her palms.
Ives Norton smiled to himself.
He felt mean too.
“Christine, I know this whole thing has hit you hard, but I still want you to listen to me and never say yes to Baird,” he advised.
Christine White wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, “Do you think it’s possible? If Baird was doing it for Molly Bort, do you think I could refuse? And even if I refused, wouldn’t he force me into surgery?”
“This …” Ives Norton didn’t say anything.
While he felt that Baird Lane had some feelings for Christine White, how much of that feeling he couldn’t guarantee.
Molly Bort is, after all, Baird Lane’s first love, and it’s not necessarily what Baird Lane wouldn’t do for Molly Bort.
“How long is Molly Bort’s second surgery?” Christine White asked, expressionless.
Ives Norton replied in a hushed voice, “It was scheduled for half a month from now, but Molly Bort had a suicide today, and there was a problem with the leukemia in her system, so the surgery will have to be moved up, probably this week.”
Is it so urgent?